Strong drink and football don't mix as far as UEFA are concerned so Hibs need a replacement name for their shirts in Europe.

Space for hire
Hibs are on the look out for a new sponsor for their efforts in the InterToto Cup as current UEFA rules prevent them from wearing their Whyte & Mackay sponsors logo. The club have a five year deal with whiskey producers but the company are willing to allow Hibs to carry another sponsor's name into Europe. Hibs have been here before when they were forced to wear Whyte & Mackay's distinctive blue shield on their shirts when they played FK Vetra in the InterToto Cup four years ago. This did nothing for the company as the shield meant nothing to the viewing public. They therefore agreed that Hibs could negotiate special shirt deals in subsequent European adventures. Brewers Carling are Hibs "official beer sponsors" and stepped in as sponsors for UEFA Cup games against Dnipro in 2005 and against Dinaburg Daugavpils and OB Odense two years ago in the InterToto Cup. With Hibs due to meet the winners of the InterToto tie between HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands and Sweden's IF Elfsborg, the commercial team are talking to potential sponsors again.

The Easter Road's opponents meet meet in the first leg tomorrow (Sunday 22 June) in Torshavn, with the return leg the following weekend in Boras, with Elfsborg, currently second in the Allsvenskan, favourites to progress for the game Edinburgh on July 6. Any deal Hibs manage to secure will inevitably be based on the level of success/exposure they can deliver for the sponsor's wares. This is not the main aim of the exercise as manager Mixu Paatelainen has pointed out, the InterToto Cup does carry the prize of an alternative route into the higher profile UEFA Cup. If Hibs get past two rounds, they'd be in the final qualifying round of the UEFA Cup with a chance of making the lucrative group stage which, with the prospect of television exposure, would undoubtedly prove highly attractive to a potential sponsor
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