Everton have confirmed plans to end their sponsorship deal with SportPesa.
The Kenyan gaming firm struck a five-year agreement with the Blues in summer 2017 that saw their logo emblazoned on the club’s shirts.
In line with the announcement, SportPesa chose to relocate its European headquarters to the Royal Liver Building on the city’s waterfront.
However a series of misguided posts on their official Twitter account during the early months of the arrangement angered the Goodison Park faithful.
They lavished praise on Arsenal for racking up a 5-2 win against Everton in October 2017 in what proved to be Ronald Koeman’s final game in charge.
That was followed by referring to the club as ‘a hopeless place’ as it greeted official news of Sam Allardyce’s appointment as the Dutchman’s replacement.
Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale admitted at January’s General Meeting that ‘in an ideal world the club would prefer a different type of sponsor’
On Sunday, the club announced its plans to sever ties with SportPesa at the end of the current season – two years ahead of the original expiry date.
“This has been a difficult decision but one that allows us to best deliver on our commercial plan and to grasp the new opportunities now open to us,” a club spokesperson said.
“The club would like to thank SportPesa for all of the work that has been done together.”