Qantas has continued it’s long-term deal with the Australian Rugby Union after re-signing as naming rights partner for a further four years.

Qantas began its association with ARU in 1990 before increasing that association in 2004 to naming rights partner of the Qantas Wallabies.

ARU Managing Director and CEO, John O’Neill AO, said: “Qantas has been a long-time supporter of Rugby in Australia and the decision to extend that association and support is greatly appreciated and welcomed.” 

“The support provided by our partners, particularly Qantas, is vital in ensuring the ongoing success of the team on the field as well the strength of the game off it.

“Qantas is one of Australia’s most iconic brands and to have such a respected and high profile organisation as the naming rights partner and on the front of our iconic Gold jersey is the perfect fit. “We look forward to working closely with Qantas over the coming years and continuing to build on our already strong partnership.”

Group Executive of Qantas Airlines Commercial, Rob Gurney, added: “We look forward to supporting the team and carrying them to their competitions both in Australia and overseas,” Mr Gurney said.

The Irish Open received a significant financial boost this morning with the news that Emirates is to become the official airline of the tournament.

The Dubai-based carrier, apoplectic which launched its Dublin service in January, generic has signed up to a three-year deal which will include course branding, viagra 100mg tournament hospitality and advertising.

James Finnigan, the tournament’s commercial director, said: “Emirates is a world-class partner that brings added global exposure and prestige to the Irish Open.”

“This event has massive appeal, attracting audiences from all over the world, so it’s appropriate that a like-minded sponsor with an extensive global reach and a strong foothold in golf is on-board.”

This year’s Irish Open takes place at Royal Portrush from 28 June – 1 July and will feature world number one Rory McIlroy as well as major winners Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Keegan Bradley.

Online sports retailer Kitbag.com have announced a major partnership with the Grass Roots Football Show.

Kitbag.com, viagra 100mg the official online store to Premier League Champions Manchester City as well as to Manchester United, ambulance Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have signed an agreement to become the first ever headline retail partner for Europe’s biggest grass roots football show.

The agreement includes naming rights to the showcase arena at the event which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from the 25^th-27^thMay.

Kitbag.com will be selling a full range of football equipment, boots and balls from the biggest brands in the game in the specially designed retail zone.

Ed Boardman, Commercial Director of Kitbag.com, said; “Kitbag.com are delighted to be the first ever retail partner of The Grass Roots Football Show.

“The Show has grown and grown in the last few years and the vision for the future of the event is very exciting and something we are very keen to be a part of.  This is a fantastic opportunity for Kitbag.com to engage with a key target audience.

“We look forward to seeing all of the football family at the seminars and coaching master classes in the Kitbag.com arena and we will have a wide range of products available in the retail zone.”

Joanna Burns, Director of The Grass Roots Football Show, added: “Following the feedback from our visitors at last year’s show it was vital for us to secure a major retail partner.

“The partnership with Kitbag.com is a significant signal of our intent to keep improving The Grass Roots Football Show by listening to the people that matter and creating partnerships with high quality brands that we know will deliver for our audience.”

The Grass Roots Football Show 2012 is the biggest football event of its kind in Europe and takes place at the NEC in Birmingham between 25^th and 27^th May.

Rado will be the Official Watch Partner and Timekeeper of the AEGON Championships, sales taking place at The Queen’s Club in London from 11 to 17 June.

Ranked as one of the world’s top tennis tournaments, this grass court competition acts as a crucial proving ground for Wimbledon. A total of 25 of the past 27 winners of the men’s singles title at Wimbledon competed at Queen’s the week before. This year’s tournament watch will be the high-performance Rado D-Star 200, characterised by its impressive water resistance to a pressure of 20 bar.

The partnership between Rado and the AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club celebrates a shared passion for achieving firsts and an evident talent for obtaining iconic status. Established in 1886, The Queen’s Club was the first multi-purpose sports complex ever to be built anywhere in the world and Queen Victoria became its first patron. The AEGON Championships is the second oldest grass-court tournament in the world and over the past 126 years, The Queen’s Club has become an exceptional sporting venue.

European Tour golfer David Dixon has gained a new sponsorship for a new car courtesy of Kellands Plant Sales Ltd in Bridgwater so that he can travel to his European Tour events and airports.

He said: “I am really looking forward to representing this local company and am very grateful to Graham and Kellands Plant Sales Ltd for all their help in setting up this excellent deal. Hopefully this can be the first of many partnerships I can set up with local businesses.”

Dixon recorded his first top ten finish of the season in Madeira last week recording an impressive 15 under par total for the four rounds. He has one European Tour victory to date.

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Scott Loach has become the latest ambassador for Precision Goalkeeping.

The addition of Loach to the Precision Goalkeeping stable takes their Championship tally to six as the Nottingham born keeper joins Kasper Schmeichel, impotent Frankie Fielding, Brian Jensen, Andy Lonergan and David Forde in the top tier of the Football League.

Loach, who has made over 150 appearances for Watford and represented England Under 21’s, will wear the brand new Precision Goalkeeping contact foam gloves with roll finger.

Brand and Marketing Director, David Sanderson, said of the new signing: “Scott is a superb signing for the Precision Goalkeeping stable and we are delighted to have him on board.

“As a Nottingham based company and it is great to have a keeper linked to the city, he started his career just down the road at Southwell and even played two games for our Managing Director’s beloved Radcliffe Olympic.

“Since then he has gone on to bigger and better things and is recognised as one of the best keepers in the Football League.”

Loach, who has been called up to the full England squad on two occasions, said:“Precision Goalkeeping are the new gloves everyone is talking about and I am really pleased to have joined.

“The brand new contact foam gloves have only enhanced what was already a premium product and you only have to look at the list of goalkeepers that are currently wearing the gloves in the UK to realise this is superb brand.”

Precision Goalkeeping was launched in 2010 as part of a brand expansion programme by Precision Training.

Loach joins an impressive stable of Precison Goalkeeping talent that includes Kasper Schmeichel, Kieren Westwood, Frank Fielding, Andy Lonergan, Brian Jensen, David Forde, Darren Randolph, Robert Olejnik, Ian McLoughlin, Trevor Carson and Republic of Ireland goalkeeping coach and former International Alan Kelly.

Former England manager Graham Taylor is lead Brand Ambassador for parent company Precision and the Nottingham based company also have official partnerships with Aston Villa and are official suppliers of specialist training aids to the Football League.

Chelsea FC have announced a major partnership with Audi, with the German automobile manufacturer becoming the official car partner of the club in a new three-year deal.

Audi branding will feature on the Stamford Bridge LED boards at home matches, with racing-style Audi seats to be incorporated into the dugouts.

Audi joins an impressive list of global sponsors of Chelsea, headed by premium partners adidas and Samsung, and most recently complemented by the Sauber F1 team.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said today: “It is exciting for Chelsea Football Club to sign this deal with a premium company, renowned for its excellent track record in elite performance and manufacturing.

“Audi is a phenomenal global partner for us as one of the world’s most successful car brands, and we look forward to working closely with them.”

Audi UK director Martin Sander added: “Chelsea offers us the broadest scope for future opportunities, and our brands are very closely aligned in terms of innovation and progressiveness, or “Vorsprung durch Technik” as we call it.

“Their focus on high performance and sports science, where we are looking to share knowledge and best practice between their top performers and Audi elite racing drivers, demonstrates how perfectly Chelsea’s forward-looking philosophy matches ours.”

Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management for marketing and sales of AUDI AG, commented: “We cordially welcome Chelsea to the Audi football family.

“With its more than 100-year tradition, millions of supporters worldwide and numerous trophies, the club is one of the top teams in international football and we are looking forward to working together in the future. But for the moment, we are anticipating a thrilling finale in Munich together with all football fans.”

As one of the world’s most successful car brands, AUDI AG delivered a record 1.3 million premium vehicles worldwide in 2011 and generated a record 5.3 billion Euros of pre-tax profit last year alone. The company has a strong and rising brand image as a mature global premium manufacturer.

In the UK Audi delivered more than 113,000 new cars to its customers, an increase of 14 per cent over 2010 and an all-time record for the company which now offers an impressive 41 different model types in this country.

 

The English Cricket Board (ECB) today announced it had agreed a new two-year deal with Laithwaite’s Wine to become The Official Wine Partner of England Cricket.

The agreement will enable Laithwaite’s Wine to promote its range of wines at all England’s home international matches as well as undertake a range of wide commercial activities to maximise the sponsorship. The arrangement is scheduled to run until the end of the home and away Ashes Series that will be played in 2013.

ECB commercial director John Perera said: “Laithwaite’s Wine is an excellent addition to our family of official ECB sponsors and suppliers. We will be working closely with its commercial team over the next two years to help achieve increased exposure for its superb range of wines through its association with the world’s number one ranked Test side.”

Laithwaite’s Wine managing director Glenn Caton added: “The ECB sponsorship agreement gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase our diverse range of wines and our new branding to an audience that’s the ideal demographic fit for our business.”

The International Sailing Federation have announced that IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has become official hotel provider to ISAF.

IHG, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, becomes an ISAF official supplier until December 2013. The sponsorship provides IHG with extensive marketing and image rights to ISAF.

The partnership will allow ISAF members to book rooms at exclusive rates at IHG hotels including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne PlazaHotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn® Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. IHG’s loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards is the world’s largest with 63 million members worldwide.

ISAF Secretary General, Jerome Pels, said, “Working alongside one of the world’s leading hotel companies will be a huge benefit to the ISAF Family. We are pleased to offer ISAF members exclusive rates at some of the best hotels in the world.”

Matt Luscombe, IHG Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing Europe, said, “ISAF have ambitious global plans to develop their sport and get more people sailing. With over 4,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries worldwide, IHG is delighted to welcome the ISAF and their members whenever and wherever they need to travel.“

Holiday Inn, an IHG company, is Official Hotel Provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is Official Hotel Provider to British Gymnastic, British Swimming and British Cycling.