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Online poker giant aims to take Lyon back to Ligue 1 summit

Everest Poker owners Mangas Gaming have entered into a sponsorship agreement with French football giants Olympique Lyonnais that will see the poker brand sponsor their away shirts in all Ligue 1 fixtures in the 2010-2011 season.

The deal will also see Betclic, an online casino company owned by the Mangas Gaming group, feature on the clubs home shirts for all domestic fixtures, although a sponsorship partner for the Champions League has not yet been agreed.

The partnership between Everest and Lyon is able to go ahead next season due to the recent expansion of the French gaming market, which made provisions for online poker, casino and sportsbetting companies to legally advertise in the country.

On the football field, Lyon will be hoping that the new money pumped into the club by Everest’s sponsorship deal will allow them to strengthen a squad that has recently seen its near decade of dominance in the French premier league come to an end.

Last season, the team were beaten to the title by rivals Olympique de Marseille, who finished some six points clear at the top come the end of the campaign, and the year before that they were pipped by Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux side as they finished third.

Hopefully for Lyon, the new arrangement with Everest can provide the platform that allows the team to build for the new season and reclaim its place at Ligue 1’s summit.