Aston Villa FC have signed a record-breaking £15 million kit deal with Italian sportswear manufacturer Macron to replace current supplier Nike.

Macron will produce Villa’s playing strip, generic replica kit, cough training wear and other clothing merchandise for the next four years.

It is the most lucrative kit agreement in the football club’s history with the new suppliers replacing American sportswear giants Nike at the end of this season.

Villa chose Macron from a field of more than 10 other manufacturers across the world after deciding the Bologna-based firm were the perfect fit.

The new home kit will go on sale in June, with the away strip on sale in July from the Villa Park and New Street outlets and Villa’s online store.

Villa’s merchandising manager John Greenfield said: “We have negotiated with more than 10 sports brands across Europe, America and China over the past six months looking for the best partner for both Aston Villa and our supporters. Macron ticked all the boxes for the club and we were very impressed with the overall set-up and experience they have in the manufacturing of football kits.

“The design team and range of products on offer to the club was second to none and suited our requirements.

“The style and quality of the replica shirts and the enthusiasm to work with the club in the overall design and production of our shirts was a key part of the decision to sign with Macron.”

Villa have enjoyed a close relationship with Nike during their five-year £10 million deal despite some teething troubles with the quality of kits.

Macron also produce the kits of clubs including Napoli, Bologna, Leeds, West Ham, Real Mallorca and Braga and Mr Greenfield explained why Villa chose the respected Italian company.

“Our objective was to sign up with a technical sportswear manufacture who could offer, not only match kit and training wear for the players and management, but a full range of product for both our supporters and customers,” he added.

“A brief was given by the Aston Villa merchandise team based at Villa Park to ensure that the range of official products suits the needs of all. We have worked closely with the Italian design team in Bologna, Italy, looking at the latest technical fabric to develop an exciting range of goods.”

After a tubulent year for English rugby on the field, they have received some good news off it after Mobile phone operator O2 has renewed its sponsorship of English rugby union for a further four years.

O2, owned by Spain’s Telefonica, has been sponsoring the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) since the game went professional in 1995.

This latest partnership will extend beyond the 2015 World Cup which England will host.

“We are delighted to be extending our partnership with O2. They have been a long-term supporter of rugby at both the grassroots and elite level,” RFU chief commercial officer Sophie Goldschmidt said in a statement.

Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2, said the deal was bigger than previous agreements which have been worth a reported £4 million ($6.3 million) per year to the RFU.

He played down the indiscipline that marred England’s World Cup campaign last year when they went out of the competition in the quarter-finals amid a blaze of bad publicity.

“Our focus was very much looking forward rather than looking back. We’re confident of adding value for O2,” he told reporters on a telephone conference call, describing the World Cup in 2015 as “the icing on the cake”.

O2 are also the telecoms partner for Premier League soccer club Arsenal in an agreement that ends this season. Dunne declined to comment on the status of talks on a renewal.

The RFU signed a sponsorship deal last month with GlaxoSmithKline, makers of Lucozade sports drinks.

As the Lotus F1 Team rolled out its new 2012 Formula 1, the E20, earlier today, they also announced they had acquired two new sponsors for the 2012 season.

The Renault-powered team has announced a joint sponsorship deal with CLEAR and Rexona, two of the world’s biggest personal care brands. 

Rexona, originally created in Australia by a pharmacist and his wife in 1908, is the world’s largest deodorant brand, marketing in more than 60 countries. CLEAR is an anti-dandruff shampoo for men and women.

“We are very proud to have been selected by CLEAR and Rexona and are very much looking forward to working with our two newest partners through 2012 and beyond,” said Eric Boullier, team principal for Lotus F1 Team. “The passion for business and desire to win is shared both at our factory here and in the offices of CLEAR and Rexona–this will ensure a very beneficial partnership in the years to come.”

Toleman Motorsport entered F1 in 1981 and started 57 races; in 1986 the team was renamed Benetton and conducted 260 races. In 2002 the team became Renault F1 team and contested 159 Grands Prix until becoming Lotus Renault for 2011 and in its current guise, starts the season with 495 races under its belt.

Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton has extended its deal with the 17th edition of Cycling’s Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL).

To celebrate its 17th successful year, the national car manufacturer presented a mock key and the symbolic Blue Jersey to the organisers of the event at a brief ceremony at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Subang Jaya.

Proton has been a sponsor of the race for the last 16 years ever since it was first held in 1996.

This year’s sponsorship will be in the form of a fleet of vehicles, as well as technical support, maintenance, manpower and merchandise giveaways during the race cavalcade.

The Proton cavalcade is a procession of vehicles that will precede the main race convoy in promoting the tour. Proton vehicles to be used throughout the tour include variants of the Inspira and Saga, the Exora, Persona, Perdana and Satria Neo.

This is also the third consecutive year Proton will be sponsoring the Blue Jersey which will be worn by the tour’s overall sprint (points classification) leaders and eventual champion.

Proton group marketing, branding and motorsports director John D. Chacko, said: “Le Tour de Langkawi provides Proton with a fantastic opportunity to showcase our range of vehicles not only to the local audience, but also the international riders, teams, officials and television viewers who will be following the race.

“In line with our ‘Commitment to be Better’ brand promise, we hope that our continued support of major international events being organised in the country will contribute not only towards promoting tourism but in elevating Malaysia’s status internationally.”

LTdL 2012 has attracted a total of 120 cyclists representing 22 local and top international professional teams who will compete in a grueling 1414.8km over 10 days.

This year’s race will also see the teams being flagged at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam for the sixth stage which is a challenging 108km charge to the peak of Genting Highlands.

Laut einer Erhebung des Magazin „Sponsors“ und des Marktforschungsinstituts Promit ist die Schokoladenmarke Milka der bekannteste Sponsor im Umfeld der Vierschanzentournee.

Sowohl bei den ungestützten als auch bei den gestützten Nennungen lag Milka deutlich in Führung. Das Ergebnis überrascht, da der ehemalige Hauptsponsor der Tournee bei der jüngsten Auflage nur noch als Helmsponsor des deutschen Springers Martin Schmitt fungierte und dieser zudem nur bei der Hälfte der Springen werblich in Erscheinung trat. 

Beim Blick auf die ungestützte Bekanntheit muss konstatiert werden, dass mit Ausnahme von Milka (15,5 Prozent) kein Werber zu überzeugen weiß. Jack Wolfskin, neben Bet-at-home und Vattenfall Hauptsponsor der Tournee 2011/12, erzielte mit einem spontanen Erinnerungswert von 6,3 Prozent noch das beste Ergebnis. In der Teilgruppe bis 29 Jahre nannten ungestützt immerhin 9,4 Prozent das Outdoor-Unternehmen. 

Jack Wolfskin war dank zweier gebuchter Sponsoringpakete werblich allerdings auch stärker vertreten als jeder andere Partner bei der Tournee. So war der im Wintersport seit Jahren präsente Sponsor unter anderem bei zwei Springen auf den Startnummern der Athleten zu sehen und umfangreich mit Werbung im Auslauf aller vier Events vertreten. Für Jack Wolfskin war es indes vorerst die letzte „Tournee“. Der ausgelaufene Vertrag wird nicht verlängert.

Bei der gestützten Bekanntheit sind deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den Werbern zu erkennen. Während Milka mit 78,1 Prozent auch hier den Spitzenwert erzielte und Jack Wolfskin auf Rang zwei verwies (62,4 Prozent), ist allen voran der Wert des neu eingestiegenen Presenting-Sponsors Actavis als unbefriedigend zu bezeichnen. Gestützt nannten nur 9,6 Prozent der Sportinteressierten, die mindestens ein Springen gesehen hatten, das Schweizer Pharmazieunternehmen als Sponsor. 

Actavis hatte im Dezember 2011 einen Dreijahresvertrag als Presenter unterzeichnet und zahlt pro Jahr knapp 1,5 Millionen Euro für das Sponsorship. Es bleibt abzuwarten, ob der Generika-Hersteller, der auch im Biathlon-Weltcup ein Hauptsponsoringpaket gebucht hat, im kommenden Winter stärker von seinem Engagement profitieren kann. 

Dazu wäre unter Umständen auch eine bessere Positionierung im Umfeld der Berichterstattung hilfreich. Die drei Hauptsponsoren, die mit 650?000 bis 800?000 Euro pro Paket deutlich weniger investieren als Actavis, erhielten nach SPONSORs-Einschätzung deutlich prominentere Werbeflächen.

Sahara India Parivar has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Indian team and ownership of the Pune Warriors IPL franchise following its decision to cut its ties with the BCCI, the controlling cricket body in India.

The decision was announced on Saturday morning, an hour before the IPL 2012 auction – which went ahead without any representation from Pune Warriors.

In its formal statement, Sahara referred to several points of dispute with the BCCI, dating back to its first sponsorship deal in 2001 but largely relating to the IPL. It said it would “continue paying the sponsorship money” to the BCCI for a period of “2-4 months” it would take to find a new sponsor. The group had won the bid for the Indian team sponsorship most recently in May 2010.

In its initial response, IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the BCCI had yet to receive anything in writing from Sahara about the withdrawal of sponsorship.

The group, which has sponsored the Indian team for 11 years, had cited several reasons for its sudden pull-out, its most recent differences with the BCCI concerning its involvement in the IPL.

The latest dispute arises around a request by Sahara to be allowed to add Yuvraj Singh’s price into its auction purse for the February 4 auction after it was learnt that Yuvraj could not take part in the IPL as he is undergoing medical treatment for a tumour in his lung. When the request was refused, Sahara said it was “yet again” a case of the BCCI denying them “natural justice.”

The differences between Sahara and the IPL began in 2008 when Sahara’s bid for one of the first eight IPL franchises was “thwarted” following disqualification on what it calls, “a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI.” In March 2010, the group had successfully bid $370m for the Pune franchise when the IPL had opened up the league to two new teams.

Sahara had asked for a refund of what it called its “extra bid money” stating that its bid price had been calculated on the basis of 94 matches to be played in the IPL’s fourth season. It said it had been denied, “on the basis of strict rules.” Other requests, like opening up the auction to all players once again in order to to achieve a “level playing field” or allowing one extra foreign player for the two new teams were also turned down.

“We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI,” the group stated. “However, we don’t want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then. All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play.”

The sudden turn of events took the Indian cricket fraternity by surprise. It appears even players of the franchise were not aware of the developments, with several tweets expressing surprise.

Spanish bank, Santander has extended its sponsorship of Ferrari for a further three years, team principal Stefano Domenicali has announced.

The Spanish banking group has been a partner of the team since 2010 when Fernando Alonso joined from Renault, having previously been a sponsor of McLaren. The original deal was for a five year period, but Domenicali revealed at the launch of the new Ferrari F2012 that the new agreement will run until 2017.

“Well I’m very pleased to announce that today Santander has extended the partnership with us for three more years,” Domenicali said. “That means that a very important group believes in what we’re doing. And it’s important in this environment where a lot of constructors have decided to get out of the sport to see that our company has very long-standing partners like Phillip Morris for example that always believe in us, and like Shell that has been with us for many years, and we’re looking forward to work together for the future.

“One thing that I always repeat in front of my collaborators is the fact that we need to think we are very lucky to work in this environment.”

Peanut Butter & Co. has become the title sponsor of the Philadelphia-based Human Zoom Cycling Team. 

A regional team comprised of 20 women and 7 men of varying abilities, racing road, mountain, and cyclocross, the team is recognized by USA Cycling and the Pennsylvania Cycling Association and will now be known as Peanut Butter & Co. Human Zoom.

In honor of the launch of the new sponsorship, Peanut Butter & Co. has donated 10 cases of its all natural peanut butter to Philabundance for their third annual Spread the Love Food Drive, which collects jars of peanut butter and jelly during the Valentine’s Day season (February 1 through February 14).  Philabundance, headquartered  in Philadelphia, is dedicated to reducing hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley.

Peanut Butter & Co. Human Zoom is planning a vigorous race calendar focused on competition in the Mid-Atlantic Region, including the Wilmington Grand Prix (Wilmington, DE), the Tour of Somerville (Somerville, NJ), the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium (West Chester, PA), and the Liberty Classic (Philadelphia, PA).

From 2010 through 2011 Peanut Butter & Co. was the title sponsor of the Team TWENTY12 women’s pro team, owned by Nicola Cranmer and Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong.  That team is now sponsored by Exergy.

“Working with pro cyclists on a national level has been an incredible experience,” said Lee Zalben, Founder & President of Peanut Butter & Co., who is from Philadelphia.  “We’re equally excited to be working with a regional team.  In some ways, these athletes have to work even harder than the pros, since most of them are balancing careers, school, and families while pursuing their passion for sport and competition.”

Human Zoom Bikes & Boards, the two-store sporting goods chain that is the other primary sponsor, has been working with the team since 1992.

We really enjoy supporting this team with technical, operational, and organizational support,” says Mike Bufo, the owner of the Human Zoom stores.  “We’re excited at the visibility Peanut Butter & Co. will bring to the team.”

Other sponsors include JL Velo, Canondale, Oakley, Sram, Bontrager, and Philadelphia Business Services.

Barclays Bank have extended their sponsorship of the Kenya Open golf tournament to 2015.

The banks chief executive for East and West Africa, cough Adan Mohammed, therapy said they decided to extend the sponsorship that was initially to run up to 2013 so that the bank can make a meaningful contribution to the development of golf in Kenya

The two year extension will see the total sponsorship kitty by the bank rise from Sh44 million ($526, pilule 946) to Sh80 million ($958,083) with additional opportunities in the sponsorship of golf clinics and other activities at hand Mohammed said they were keen to see  Kenya golfers dominate the game the way Kenyan athletes have done across the globe. “By this sponsorship to the open we want to see Kenyan golfers excelling at the highest level in Europe, America and Asia and I know it can be done,” Mohammed added.

The tournament will be played from March 28- April 1 at Muthaiga Golf Club. Tournament director Patrick Obath said they were expecting a competitive field and increased participation in terms of numbers from all over the world. “We have Kenyan golfers who play in the United States and they have developed an interest to play in the Kenya Open and we are expecting them to play,” added Obath

Obath is expecting 26 entrants from the East African region with the bulk coming from Kenya. “Kenya will provide the lion’s share of the professional golfers but we are expecting good representation from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi for the event,” he added. Obath noted that with golf becoming an Olympic sport in 2016 Kenya Golf Union was looking at modalities of ensuring Kenya is well represented at the games in Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking during the launch of the event the chairman of the Kenya Open Golf Limited Peter Kanyago announced plans to host the Kenya Open are at an advanced stage. “The course at Muthaiga is in tip top condition and we are working hard to ensure all the logistics are in place as we draw nearer the tee off.”

The Coral Suites Hotel Fujairah has become the official silver sponsor hotel for the UAE and Oman Harley-Davidson Master Rally between February 12 and 21, vcialis 40mg organised in association with Grand Lyon Harley-Davidson of France and Dubai-based Seven Star Events.

The 50-strong contingent of riders will be visiting four of the seven emirates as well as Oman, starting out in Dubai and proceeding to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Oman, returning to the UAE to tour Fujairah, Dibba and Sharjah en route for Dubai.

The event will be filmed for a major French television channel and the wonders of the region are expected to be viewed by more than 1.5 million people.

For the Coral Suites Hotel Fujairah, it is an opportunity to promote the hotel name to an international audience through a novel sponsorship of water – around 2,500 bottles of mineral water will be labelled with the hotel name, part of the supplies transported by truck following the convoy of bikes throughout the UAE.

In addition, the Coral Suites Hotel will provide refreshments at the Fujairah Marine & Sports Club on February 19, when the procession of machines and riders returns to the UAE through the Kalba/Oman border.

According to Hotel Manager, Vikram Rai, the image of a convoy of Harley-Davidson motorbikes travelling through the deserts and mountains of the region will provide an unrivalled marketing opportunity.

“The UAE is known for its cities, and maybe the desert, but not so many people know about the stark mountains in Fujairah, for instance, and this event will help boost the profile of the emirate in overseas markets,” he said. “The Coral Suites is always looking to support community ventures and we are delighted to be able to participate in the rally in this small way.”

With a long coastline and mild winter climate, Fujairah is increasingly hosting major sports championships as well as appealing to tourists seeking beach and mountain attractions.