KUALA LUMPUR: The renaming of Queens Park Rangers’ stadium to Matrade Loftus Road Stadium has not cost the government any money, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the English Championship club’s Malaysian owner renamed the stadium as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.
“He (club owner) said he wants to promote trade, especially now that the United Kingdom is participating in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“As his contribution to Malaysia, he is renaming the stadium for free, but only for three years to promote the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade),” Tengku Zafrul said in his winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Johari Ghani (BN-Titiwangsa) who asked how much money Matrade spent for the sponsorship of QPR’s stadium.
In a statement, QPR said it reached an agreement for Matrade to become its naming rights partner for the stadium on a three-year deal and the new name, which takes immediate effect, would be in place until the end of the 2025/26 season.
QPR chief executive officer Lee Hoos said he was delighted with the agreement.
“This decision to render the naming rights of the stadium is made with the commercial interests of the club at heart. We look forward to working with Matrade,” he said.
Meanwhile, Matrade chairman Reezal Merican Naina Merican said he saw the partnership with the London club as a great way for Matrade to enhance its visibility.
“When I initiated the proposal for Matrade to rebrand, the naming rights partnership was a great opportunity for Matrade to elevate its visibility on the international scene,” the former housing and local government minister said. - FMT
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