Pirates team up with Frankie & Benny’s 

The East Kilbride Pirates are delighted to reveal their first new sponsorship deal of the year –a cash boost of £500 from their local branch of Frankie & Benny’s.

In exchange, Pirates player Neil Baptie will wear the American Italian restaurant’s logo on the sleeve of his game shirt for the duration of the team’s 2011 season.

Twenty-one year old Baptie from East Kilbride joined the Pirates last year as a rookie, and soon earned a place on the team’s Offense as a Quarterback.

“This is a huge boost for us,” said Pirates Chairman Amanda McDonald. “We’re very pleased to be associated with Frankie & Benny’s, and their sponsorship money will go towards buying new game shirts for the team. We’ll also be looking to try and double the money with an application to Sportsmatch – an award scheme that could potentially match this amount pound for pound, giving us additional funds to put towards equipment for our Youth team.”

The sponsorship agreement was the direct result of media coverage the team received last year, which led to Frankie & Benny’s marketing co-ordinator for Scotland Alan Partridge getting in touch with the team to explore opportunities.

“We’re really excited about this new sponsorship deal,” commented Alan. “And look forward to following the progress of Neil Baptie and the East Kilbride Pirates. As a restaurant bringing a taste of the USA to East Kilbride, we’re delighted to be associated with one of the UK’s leading American football teams.”