Today as we approach 4,000 signatures the club has issued a press release via the official site however this does not appear to address any of the issues many have expressed through the comments here. Prior to this release I'd already been drafting the first email to the club and I have now sent that along with attachments of the growing list of signatures and the comments. I started the email with my individual views and comments on the issue before moving on to the petition in the second half of the email, I've copied it in full below although unfortunately the various links haven't. Thank you all for your efforts so far and please keep sharing as the fight is not over yet. I will share their response as soon as I receive it. Tom. Dear Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, I am writing to you regarding the recent announcement of the Money Shop as our main sponsor for the next three years. I am extremely disappointed with the decision to associate our illustrious club with a company that as recently as 6 months ago was forced to repay more than £15m to nearly 150,000 vulnerable customers due to its practices (link), which almost certainly includes some of the "diverse communities of Wolverhampton and the surrounding area" where according the clubs mission statement exists a bond that the club take great pride in. I think this partnership clearly puts into question the value the club place on this bond between the local community and itself, several local MPs, council leaders and other local figureheads, have criticized the deal and highlighted their concerns over the damage this deal could do to the community. The previously alluded to same mission statement also includes that the "The Club aspires to excellence in all that it does and works in consultation with supporters, customers", I would like to know if and where the consolation was for such an important decision and the impact it has on supporters (as the club represents it's supporters) and why, if it did not happen, have the club not followed its own promises and commitments to supporters that it has made itself and published on the website? The responses so far from the club to the concerns from the supporters, including the release today, do not suggest that the commitments outlined above are actually being kept, and instead suggest that the club really does not value our opinions to such an extent where it feels we are being treated with contempt. The club also claims to be a family club, here is The Children's Society's view on the damaging impact short term lending advertisements has on children, which has forced a consultation on this issue for advertisements in shows popular with children. Whilst the news today that the money shop logo will not be printed on children's clothing, it does not do enough to limit the exposure of minors to money shop advertisements for a club that claims to be a family club. It will not provide the option to any minor who does not fit in children's sized clothing, so far there has been no suggestion that they will not receive any promotional material from the money shop as part of the clubs usual direct communications (emails and paper correspondence) and as we have already seen this season's goal of the season award, which is something very popular with children, is sponsored by the money shop. The partnership is also deeply at odds with the club's philosophy of being self-sufficient and it's different approach to most other football clubs by ensuring that it is largely debt free and has even operated at a profit at times, even if this approach has perhaps cost the club on occasions; I also believe that the club has been quite critical of other clubs who don't operate quite as we do regarding finances and operate at significant losses with large levels of debt. This again is another example of the deep flaws in this partnership and the difference between clubs image and ethics and those of the Money Shop, the club are now promoting and endorsing that it's supporters and the local area get themselves into debt even though the club knows the issues and consequences of this well enough to point that it is unwilling to do so. Finally I am not sure how aware the club are of the Money Shop's practices and recent history, and I would hope that you are, some of Jez Moxey's comments, which drew ridicule in a national newspaper, suggested that you may not. As previously mentioned they were forced to repay in excess of £15m recently after an independent review following the company's £700,000 fine but in addition to this, the "reputable" company were also found to have failed to comply with the ASA's responsible advertising. I am also writing to you as the founder of the petition seeking to overturn this error of judgement which I'm sure you are aware of given the local and national attention it has drawn and the significant numbers of signatures it has already managed to secure. Here is a link to the petition, which has so far obtained more than 3,800 signatures. The petition is as follows: Petitioning CEO of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC Jez Moxey: Reconsider football team sponsorship agreement with the Money Shop Jez Moxey, as CEO of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, we are calling on you to reconsider the sponsorship agreement between the football club and "The Money Shop". Whilst we acknowledge that they have already sponsored the club in the past and that their business practices completely legal, we feel that the move to become the main sponsor is a step too far forming a significant link between the football club and their business, including their practices. We believe that this significant change is one that impacts negatively on the club to such an extent where we must ask for the association be completely broken between the two entities. We strongly feel that that the Money Shop's business practices, whilst legal, do not fit with the ethics of the football club, the supporters and the area it represents and believe that this is something that as custodians and employees of the club you should seek to consider and uphold where ever possible. We hope that the club will appreciate and accommodate our strong views on this and are requesting you, as CEO, quickly rectify this error of judgement. I have also included the details of the signatures along with the comments they have made. I look forward to the hearing your response and getting this important issue resolved as quickly as possible and I hope that the club will uphold the commitments it has made and published to supporters. Yours faithfully, and on behalf of all those who have so far signed the petition, Thomas Byrne