Southampton: Le Tiss and Lambert help launch LD Sports brand as main Saints sponsor in China

Southampton legends Matt Le Tissier and Rickie Lambert were on hand in China to help with the launch of main club sponsor LD Sports.

The new brand was launched in front of Chinese Media in Macau, where Saints will be playing a pre-season friendly against Chinese Super League side Ghangzhou R&F tomorrow.

When a partnership with LD Sports was announced earlier this summer, fans were somewhat sceptical about the brand.

The main concern was that the business was not visible online, but their website has now been launched to promote their operations as a sports content, marketing and entertainment platform (http://www.ldsports.uk/).

One factor that Saints will be pleased with is the investment that the company are making in them; reportedly the biggest sponsorship deal in the club’s history to date.

It appears as though Le Tissier and Lambert answered questions and met football fans in Macau to try and raise awareness of the Saints brand.

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China is a potentially profitable area to try and exploit. Interest in football is increasing in the country’s vast population and it could be smart move by Saints to try and claim some of that market.

Le Tissier became a club ambassador back in January and should be ideal for this role considering he has been voted as the club’s best ever player on a number of occasions. He scored 209 times in 540 appearances, with many of them memorable for being spectacular strikes.

Lambert is also a cult hero after netting 115 goals and laying on 64 assists in 230 games and will also know how much the club means to others as well as him.

The LD Sports connection between Saints and the Chinese public also means that promotion for the club could be even bigger in the region.

With commercial growth also a target, a strong 2019/20 season under Ralph Hasenhuttl could well be invaluable for the club as a whole.

Saints still remain in another partnership with Virgin Media alongside LD Sports, whilst they will see out the remainder of their current seven-year agreement with Under Armour too.