The Australian Football League have announced a renewed multi-year partnership with Virgin Australia until 2018. 

The League’s official airline since January 2011, Virgin Australia was called in as naming rights partner of the Grand Final Half Time Show, the post-match Premiership Party and the Grand Final Week Party this year.

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou commented on the deal: “There’s no question the AFL and the broader Australian football community has benefitted enormously from the partnership we’ve enjoyed with Virgin Australia since 2011.”

“We’re delighted that the partnership has been extended for a further five year period which illustrates the commitment from both organisations and the value we place in Virgin Australia as a key partner.”

Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti echoed Demetriou’s sentiments, saying the partnership had strengthened.

“The AFL players are some of the most frequent flyers in the country and it is therefore a huge vote of confidence in Virgin Australia that they were keen to extend our partnership,” Borghetti said.

“We look forward to continuing to provide the AFL with the best possible travel experience and working together to support its large Australian fan base.”

Virgin Australia has provided thousands of extra seats for finals footy fans.

“They have raised the level of service for our supporters and our clubs and continue to bolster the football-related travel and tourism sector throughout the country,” Demetriou said.

The airline has also played a major part in instituting the Any Game Anywhere initiative – the AFL’s travel service which enables fans to tailor travel packages, tickets and accommodation.

Brasileiro giants Corinthians have renewed their shirt sponsorship deal with Italian telecommunications firm TIM.

As part of the deal TIM will partner the FIFA Club World Cup champions through to January 2016 and will continue to have branding presence within the numbers on the back of the club’s shirts, impotent along with displaying its logo at the team’s training ground.

Livia Marquez, director of advertising and brand management at TIM Brasil, said: “The strategy of being close to Brazilian clubs, extolling a national passion, has shown promise. Over the past three years, we have shared challenges and achievements with Corinthians. We have been together since 2010, during which time the club marked history with the achievements of the Campeonato Brasileiro, Copa Libertadores, Club World Cup, the Recopa Sudamericana and Paulistão.”

Caio Campos, marketing manager of Corinthians, added: “In an innovative initiative in Brazilian football we are with TIM, a multinational company that has stood out in its area since 2010. Renewing this sponsorship for another two and a half years reflects exactly what we seek in the department of marketing – combining the Corinthians brand with serious businesses and establishing long-term partnerships.”

Valvoline, one of the largest producers of motor oil in the United States, has announced a new partnership with NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports in 2014.

The new multi-year agreement through 2017 will see Valvoline featured as a prominent associate sponsor on the four cars driven by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne. Valvoline will also be the preferred oil for the Hendrick Automotive Group, the fleet of dealers owned by Hendrick Motorsports team boss Rick Hendrick.

Valvoline has past history with Hendrick – it was a lubricant technology partner for Gordon’s first three full seasons in Cup from 1993 to 1995 – and Hendrick himself won his first drag race at age 14 with Valvoline in the car.

Valvoline has long been associated with Roush Fenway Racing, notably on Mark Martin‘s No. 6 Ford and more recently with its green Valvoline NextGen brand featured on the No. 17 Ford driven by Matt Kenseth and this year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It has also been on the No. 13 Germain Racing Ford driven by Casey Mearsthis year.

“The Valvoline team is thrilled to partner with Hendrick Motorsports and continue the long history of winning on the track for both organizations,” said Sam Mitchell, president of Ashland Consumer Markets (Valvoline). “Both companies have a strong heritage and similar values with employees driven by hard work, commitment to innovation and passion for cars. This is going to be an exciting and great relationship.”

When I was 14 years old, I won my first drag race with Valvoline in the car,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group. “It’s an innovative American brand that has great racing heritage and a winning history with our organization. This is the company that basically invented motor oil, and we’re excited about having them as a corporate sponsor and hands-on technology partner.

The British Basketball League (BBL) has appointed Service Graphics as their official Visual Communications Partner.

Service Graphics will be exclusively responsible for producing and installing a wide range of BBL branding and promotional material in venues and courts throughout the UK.

Fans will get their first glimpse of our new look stadium branding on Friday 27th September when the new season starts.

BBL’s Commercial Director, David Leyden Dunbar said: “Having secured a number of exciting new partnerships for the 2013/14 season it was crucial that the way in which those brands were represented across the entire league was professional and had the uniformity that any official partner would expect. I had no hesitation in turning to Service Graphics to help develop this from a vision into a reality and with them having been heavily involved in the venue branding of the 2012 Olympics I was confident we were in very capable hands.” 

Service Graphics Managing Director, Steve Parkin added: “We are delighted to be working closely with such a dynamic and forward-thinking organisation. Basketball has soared in popularity around Europe over recent years and this move to secure and streamline BBL’s branding and promotional material reflects their status as a leader in the field. We understand the dynamics, the logistics and the expectations of sporting events and we have the skills and infrastructure in place to meet the demands of sponsors and fans alike.”

Delta Air Lines have announced today they have become the official airline of Syracuse University Athletics.

The Syracuse football team will also use Delta as their charter carrier for the 2013 season.

“Delta is proud to continue its commitment to the Syracuse community by partnering with Syracuse University – an institution with a strong reputation for academic and athletic excellence,” said Gail Grimmett, Delta’s senior vice president – New York.

As the official airline of the Orange, Delta will be featured on gameday signage at the Carrier Dome and sponsor in-game promotions during football, basketball and lacrosse games.

Delta has marketing relationships with eight NCAA athletic programs in addition to Syracuse – Boston College, Brigham Young, Duke, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and University of North Carolina. Delta serves as the charter carrier for 41 NCAA Football programs.

British multinational financial services group Standard Chartered has renewed its sponsorship of the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) in a new three-year deal worth S$810, doctor 000 (US$645,917).

The deal, valued at S$270,000 per annum, will run from this year to 2016, effectively stretching SCB’s support for the sport to almost two decades.

In turn, the SRU’s national jerseys will feature Standard Charterd logos on their fronts.

The SCB first came on board as a sponsor of the SRU in 1997. Its sponsorship is used mainly to run the Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy (SCNRA) which develops young budding talents and also runs programmes for disadvantaged youth.

Mike Rees, SCB’s Group Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wholesale Banking: “Standard Chartered is proud to be a sponsor of the Singapore Rugby Union which has played an important role in raising the awareness of rugby in Singapore.

“Our programmes focus on making a difference in the community and we believe with this sponsorship, Standard Chartered will be able to continue the support of the Union’s efforts in using rugby to positively influence the lives of young Singaporeans.”

SRU Technical Director Sam Chan said: “With the continued support from Standard Chartered, we will be able to continue to promote rugby to more schools and be able to nurture and groom more youth players.

“This sponsorship also supports Singapore’s aspirations to instill a strong sporting culture as part of the Singapore Vision 2030 master-plan that promotes living better through sports while ensuring we can use sports to give back to society. This is a big part of the focus of the SRU.”