O'Connor Knights link up with new major sponsor Bing Lee

Tonci PRUSAC

CANBERRA - Last Saturday afternoon, prior to the ACT Premier League Round 2 clash between the O'Connor Knights and Queanbeyan City, the Croatian backed club announced a major partnership deal with the major sponsor of glamour A-League club Sydney FC, Bing Lee. 

According to a press release issued by Capital Football, the sponsoring partnership has been developed so as to allow Bing Lee to engage with Clubs in a win-win-win situation.  The arrangement will be trialled this season and depending on results may be extended to other soccer clubs in the region next year.

The sponsoring partnership arrangement allows members of the O'Connor Knights Soccer community to make purchases from Bing Lee in Belconnen and receive best prices; a percentage of these sales is provided to the Knights and Bing Lee Belconnen will generate a sale - so everyone wins all round. 

As part of the sponsorship deal, Bing Lee Belconnen will also provide a number of special prizes for the O'Connor Knights including tickets to A-League games and additional discounts.

A Sydney FC (A-League) jersey will also be presented to the O'Connor Knights, as part of the sponsorship deal. The strip has been beautifully framed and has been signed by every Sydney FC player who took part in the historic defeat of the David Beckham led LA Galaxy match last year. 

The O'Connor Knights intend to auction the framed strip top to raise funds for the further development of its Under 18 and Under 16 Premier League squads.

According to the president of the O'Connor Knights, Robert Skrnjug, the sponsorship deal is a huge boost for the Croatian backed club. It comes hot on the heels of success in the pre-season ACT Federation Cup, when the Knights defeated fellow Croatian backed side, Canberra FC, in the final just three weeks ago.

''The majority of our sponsors are loyal supporters who have a close affiliation with the Knights due to the strong (Croatian) community ties. However, it's very hard to attract sponsors outside of this community using the normal marketing approaches,'' he said.

As a result, added Skrnjug, the club worked with Ricky Lai, the manager of Bing Lee's Belconnen outlet, on developing something a bit different, where everyone could win. 

''It's a great opportunity to generate an income stream to the club over time.  We will work hard at making it happen as its in all our interests,'' Skrnjug said.

On the field, in Round 2 action last weekend, the Knights recorded their first win of the season, defeating Queanbeyan City to the tune of 5:2. Captain Goran Veljanovski scored a hat-trick, with singles to Ben Barac and Justin Selkirk rounding off the annihilation.

Veljanovski's hat-trick took his amazing goal scoring tally to a remarkable 15 goals from his last eight matches!

In the other game featuring a Croatian backed outfit, Canberra FC maintained its 100 percent record with a tough 1-0 win against Tuggeranong in muddy conditions on Sunday.

A second half strike by Adam Spaleta was all that separated the two teams at the end of the 90 minutes.

In Round 3 action this coming weekend, Canberra FC hosts Woden Valley on Sunday at Deakin Stadium, while across town at Woden Oval, the Knights come up against Canberra Olympic. Both games kick-off at 3pm.

PHOTO: Ricky Lai presents Robert Skrnjug with the framed Sydney FC guernsey