Welsh girls’ U14 team AFC Rumney has hip-hop mogul 50 Cent as a new sponsor.
His name and G-Unit label are featured on their away kit. The sponsorship came from an ask made by one of the players’ fathers who worked with 50 on his “Final Lap” tour.
Rumney manager Richie Brown said some of the parents nudged the parent who knew 50 to see if he would sponsor. Turns out it worked.
“He said he would ask the question – worst case scenario was [50 Cent] would have just said no. Thankfully, he didn’t, he agreed to it,” Brown said to the BBC recently. “He sponsored our away kit first of all, and then we were a little bit cheeky. We asked for a little bit more, and he sponsored us again for our tracksuits.”
They Love Football in Wales
AFC Rumney is a community football club in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Of course Cardiff is no stranger to football as they are home to Cardiff City Football Club, a professional team in the second tier of the English football league system. Cardiff also hosted the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final won by Real Madrid.
Famous American stars investing in Welsh football teams is becoming a thing.
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham AFC, a professional football club in England’s fourth division.
The two actors have become incredible brand ambassadors for the club and are seen all over Wales.
American Celebrity Interest
Maybe they have some competition with 50? Even though his sponsorship is of the junior division of a team.
“I think Ryan Reynolds has got a bit of competition now. I’m sure the community up in Wrexham is absolutely buzzing with what Ryan Reynolds has done, and hopefully 50 Cent can have that same kind of impact with us down here,” said Brown.
American popular culture is influential all over the world. Any interest by big-time American celebrities will draw huge media attention.
However, the AFC Rumney coach did say the parents were more excited about the 50 Cent sponsorship than the players, given their ages.
“I’m sure more of them know who he is than the players because of their ages, but the buzz around the team and the whole club really is amazing and its all down to him,” he said. “At first when you tell anybody they don’t believe it, they just say ‘no way, there’s no chance that’s going to happen, he’s too big of a superstar’. It’s huge for grassroots football teams to get people and businesses support us to be able to get better things.”
Hopefully, the buzz generated by 50 will be beneficial for the club for years to come.
