32Red Online Casino revealed today that a lucky Swansea City FC fan and 32Red player will be joining his favourite team for the season. Sporting the official number 32 shirt of the South Wales club, the fan will be able to get close up and personal with the squad throughout the 2009/10 season.

32Red Online Casino became Swansea City FC club sponsor in a two year deal in May. The partnership sees the 32Red.com logo displayed prominently on the Swan’s home and away shirts as well becoming the club’s official gaming partner, offering over 350 casino games in their online casino (32Red Casino), online poker (32Red Poker), bingo and more to Swansea fans.

Ross Mitchell, the 32Red winner and die-hard Swansea fan, had this to say on his competition win and on becoming part of the Swansea FC line-up this season.

"Most fans have dreamt of seeing their name in the matchday programme, and given my lack of footballing ability this is the only way I could have got to do it! The entire competition is a terrific idea and I hope others get a chance to experience what I have, thank you Swansea City, and thank you 32Red!"

Ross will be in the official team photograph for the 2009/10 season, will feature in the squad list in matchday programmes and be involved in a range of team activities, becoming an integral part of the Swansea FC team this season.

Swansea City FC vice-chairman, Leigh Dineen, said: "This is the first of a number of initiatives we will be working on with our new sponsor 32Red this season."

"They have given us fantastic support so far and I know that they want to involve the fans as much as possible."

"Ross attended our game against Sheffield United recently where he was given the full VIP treatment. Manager Paulo Sousa presented him with his No.32 shirt and had a good chat with Ross. With the amount of injuries we’ve got at the moment, he may have to wear the shirt on the pitch soon!"

Mark Quayle, Head of Marketing for 32Red Online Casino, remarked: "This is just the first of many competitions we plan to run with Swansea to celebrate our partnership with this proud and progressive club. Football is becoming increasingly commercial but both Swansea and 32Red know the priority lies with the fans. We both plan to ensure these next two years are as exciting and as special as possible for them."

Ross saw the competition on the official Swans website (www.swanseacity.net) and "…felt it was too good an opportunity to miss out on. I enjoy playing a bit of blackjack and so the chance to become the number 32 for the Swans was just too tempting, so I went through the official site and registered at 32Red’s online casino and got playing. But he was taken by surprise when he returned a call from the club to star as the team’s number 32.

Swansea City Football Club Announce Sponsorship Deal with 32Red Online Casino

32Red Plc and Swansea City FC announced today a partnership that will see the award-winning online gaming firm become the South Wales club’s official shirt and gaming sponsors.

The two-year sponsorship deal will see the 32 Red logo placed on the front of the Swans’ home and away shirts, while the Gibraltar-based company will also become the club’s official online gaming partner.

32Red Online Casino offers players over 350 unique casino games and a choice of welcome bonuses and monthly rewards. The poker site provides thousands of poker tables where players can enjoy games of Texas Hold’em, Omaha poker and more in addition to online bingo and a mobile phone casino.

The deal also reverses the current trend where an increasing number of professional clubs are failing to secure shirt sponsorship in today’s difficult financial climate. Swansea City’s vice-chairman, Leigh Dineen, was delighted to secure 32Red Casino as club sponsor, especially as 32Red’s previous shirt deal was with Premier League Club Aston Villa.

“It shows how far the club has come,’’ explained Dineen. “32Red were talking to a number of other football clubs, including some in the Premiership, about shirt sponsorship; but we are delighted to become their chosen partners in football. We are now a Championship club with a Premiership sponsor – and that’s something we are very proud of.”

Dineen added, “It was also encouraging to see a number of companies express an interest in becoming our main sponsor. There were some very interesting discussions over the course of last season, but 32Red was without doubt the best deal for us. It is a modern company with global reach; has pro-active ideas and will help us spread the Swans message to the international stage. We are really excited about working with them and I’m sure we will make a great team.”

The deal also represents an exciting and potentially lucrative opportunity for the club to share revenue drawn from 32Red’s online casino, poker and betting services. The club will be announcing some exciting initiatives on this link for its official website and supporters’ on July 1.

Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Swansea City, one of the most exciting clubs in the Championship. Swansea has become a highly progressive team over recent seasons and we are looking forward to an exciting time as the club’s main sponsor.”

“The deal means we will once again raise our profile throughout the UK by becoming part of the football scene. And, thanks to the increased media coverage of the Championship, we expect our tie up with the Swans to deliver significant interest in our award-winning online casino.”

The sponsorship deal was facilitated with the help of Jim White and his commercial consultancy company, The Changing Face, and David Little of Magrath and Co in London. Both are avid Swans fans.