BetClic Everest Group, one of the world leaders in on-line gaming, yesterday had their name added to the list of sponsors of local football champions Birkirkara.

The deal is spread over the next 18 months.

BetClic has become a major sports sponsor in Europe. Among those benefiting from sponsorship deals from the company are Juventus of Italy, Lech Poznan of Poland, Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon of France, 28 teams from the Portuguese leagues, Trientino Volley of Italy, Stade Toulouse (rugby, France), and JDA Dijon (basketball, France) and Montpellier (handball, France).

Among their ambassadors are some well known names as Marcel Desailly, Tony Parker, Arrigo Sacchi, Mateusz Borek, KIKO, Stefan Effenberg and Csapo Gabor.

Michael Mifsud, a representative of the company in Malta, said they were glad to be sponsoring the local champions.

He said the company was enjoying success locally and it was already employing 250 people. It has become one of the fastest growing brands in on-line gaming in Europe, especially in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland.

Birkirkara FC president Carm Galea thanked Mifsud for BetClic’s sponsorship. He said such deals helped local clubs in no small measure as they continuously aim to improve their standards.

He assured everyone that with the help of coach Paul Zammit, the club now has a semi-professional scheme where the players also train in the morning. “Of course, to be competitive, we need more funds and this is why we consider a deal such as this one with BetClic as very important,” he added.