The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has announced that Chinese oil company Sinopec has become one of its official sponsors.

Sinopec, an official partner of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were recently approved a twelve-month extension to their oil exploration ventures in the country. Sinopec’s US$150,000 investment comes just one day after previous sponsor Mobil Nigeria withdrew their commitment to the ruling body. For this reason, AFN president Solomon Ogba said the timing of the deal was welcome.

Ogba urged other companies to follow suit, adding that the Sinopec deal was “a huge blessing to the AFN which paints a bright future for athletics in Nigeria.”

 

Ogba said: “I am happy with what has happened. It is said nature abhors a vacuum and that is what has practically played out with the coming of Sinopec.”

The deal is the second contract the AFN have signed in the last two weeks after the federation recently signed a US$300,000 five-year agreement with the Cross River State government.

The Indian Open golf tournament will return to the Asian Tour in October after Sports marketing agency Nimbus Sport announced a deal which includes a record prize purse of US$1.5..

Nimbus Sport COO Yannick Colaco said a three-year deal for the event has been completed with the Asian Tour, sales after securing the rights for the Indian Golf Union (IGU)’s three international events in March. The others are Indian Classic and Indian Masters.

Colaco stated: “Golf is the fastest growing sport in the country. The prize money being offered is the highest on the Asian Tour. These are exciting times for professional golf in India and for us to get into partnerships with the Indian Golf Union (IGU) and the Asian Tour reaffirms our commitment to building the commercial value of the sport.

“We will be announcing a title sponsor next week. What Golf needs is a sustained financial and marketing investment. We are committed towards promoting this sport. We will organise the other two events from next year most likely in February and August 2012,.”

Marketing efforts for the Indian Open will start in August, with Colaco adding: “We will be using various media including television, radio and digital.”

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han is confident that the Indian Open will continue to grow from strength to strength, saying: “We are extremely pleased to enter into a long-term exclusive partnership with Nimbus Sport for the Indian Open. With an increased prize fund up for grabs this year, it promises to be an exciting week of golf. We will work closely with Nimbus Sport in putting together a grand event this year and building up to the Golden Jubilee in 2013.”

German Bundesliga soccer club 1. FC Köln have agreed a two-year extension to their premium sponsorship deal with Solar World AG.

The manufacturer of photovoltaic panels will continue as a second-tier partner of the club, obtaining TV-visible hoarding’s at the team’s home Rhein Energie Stadion and access to star player Lukas Podolski as a brand ambassador. According to Sponsors.de, the deal is worth a mid six-figure euro sum.

As well as tier one partnerships with kit sponsor Rewe and supplier Reebok, 1. FC Köln also have premium sponsorship deals with Ford, Jack Wolfskin, Credit Suisse and Gaffel.

The Bank of America has extended its sponsorship of the Special Olympics for a further 3 years, health having provided donations for the past three decades and, in 2007, become official partner of the games.

The agreement sees The Bank of America commit to a donation of US$1m over the next three years, helping to fund this summer’s Games which are being held in Athens.

Anne Finucane, global strategy and marketing officer and chair of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, stated: “Bank of America is proud to provide Special Olympics Team USA athletes with the opportunity to demonstrate their outstanding accomplishments while learning from competitors from across the globe.”

The $1m donation is just a small part of the company’s plan to donate $2bn to non-profit organisations over a ten-year period.

The PGA TOUR announced yesterday, June 16, that golfing tournament, the Heritage would be title sponsored by RBC on a five-year agreement, renaming the event the RBC Heritage through until 2016.

It was also confirmed that in addition to RBC’s title sponsorship, The Boeing Company, which has a significant presence in Charleston, S.C., will serve as local presenting sponsor for the tournament.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley stated: “This is a great day in South Carolina, and we’re going to celebrate. We said from day one that finding a private sponsor for The Heritage was one of this administration’s top priorities because the tournament is an opportunity for us to showcase our state as one of this country’s premier destinations for business and tourists and that we shouldn’t rely on taxpayers to foot the bill.”

The tournament generates more than US$1m for the Heritage Classic Foundation each year and brings worldwide exposure to Hilton Head Island and the state of South Carolina through telecasts and media coverage.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem stated: “We are delighted that RBC, already a great partner of the PGA TOUR as title sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open, has made this significant commitment to secure The Heritage’s future. I know today’s announcement is welcome news to everyone who has been involved with and supported the tournament. We are also very appreciative of Boeing’s significant support as the event’s presenting sponsor.

“In addition to being a favorite among our players, the RBC Heritage has had a tremendous economic and charitable impact, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Heritage Classic Foundation. On behalf of the PGA TOUR, I’d also like to extend our deepest appreciation for the leadership and incredible support provided by Gov. Haley, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. James Clyburn and other state officials throughout this process to help secure the future of this great tournament.”

Jim Little, Chief Brand and Communications Officer, RBC, stated: “RBC is excited to become title sponsor of this classic tournament that will provide a unique opportunity to associate our brand with one of the PGA TOUR’s most liked and well attended tournaments in North America. We are very committed to building our brand and serving our growing client base in the U.S. and the RBC Heritage provides very attractive opportunities for our U.S. businesses to reach target markets and foster new business development.”

RBC will leverage the U.S. network television opportunities to promote its wealth management, private banking and capital markets businesses to a coveted client demographic. Through this new agreement, RBC and the Heritage Classic Foundation will inject millions of dollars into the economy and to charitable organizations within South Carolina, starting in 2012.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was boosted by two new agreements yesterday, June 16, including the renewal of its partnership with financial services provider Allianz.

Allianz has extended its commitment to the body having been a ‘gold patron’ of the IPC for five years, but the latest agreement will see the company become the IPC’s first ever ‘international partner’.

The terms of the two-year renewal also includes six further partnerships with National Paralympic Committees. In addition to its support of the German and Portuguese National Paralympic Committees, Allianz has become a “national supporter” of Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ireland, Switzerland and Turkey.

Sir Philip Craven, the IPC’s President, said: “For the past five years, the IPC and Allianz have grown together through a mutually beneficial partnership.

“They are an extremely active and loyal partner who continues to contribute towards the aims of the Paralympic Movement. We are delighted that they are extending their involvement with the IPC.”

As part of its Paralympic partnership, Allianz actively promotes the Paralympic Movement and aims to reduce social stigmas around disability and sports.

Joseph K. Gross, head of group market management at Allianz SE, stated: “Allianz sees Paralympic athletes as role models for true motivation and as the most credible personalities to give advice on managing personal crisis. Athletes help us understand our customers’ needs even better by seeing how sport helps people master their personal challenges.”

In other news, the IPC appointed leading digital media company Perform as the host broadcaster for July’s 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Under the terms of the agreement, Perform will produce a high quality HD television signal for international distribution using up to eight HD cameras, including a 50m track camera, three underwater cameras and a slow motion camera. They will also provide a live stream of the event for the IPC’s official online TV channel ParalympicSport.TV.

The broadcaster will also produce a daily 26 minutes long highlights programme of the Championships, which will be distributed to interested broadcasters via BT Tower in London.

IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez said: “We are very pleased that with Perform’s support we are in the position to offer to broadcasters a high level broadcast quality coverage of these Championships .Perform have a track record of broadcasting global sports events to huge audiences and we believe by working with them we will take our coverage to a new level.

“In fact the coverage from Berlin will be to the same standards as during the Paralympic Games and will further support our goal of raising the awareness of Paralympic Sport and our athletes ahead of London 2012.”

Perform Joint-CEO Oliver Slipper added: ”We’re delighted to be working with the IPC. In the run up to the 2012 Paralympics there is a tremendous amount of interest in these games and the athletes and we’re proud to be broadcasting them to the world.”

Watchmaker Rolex has extended its commitment to tennis by agreeing to become the official timekeeper of the year-end TEB BNP Paribas Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Championships for the next six years.

Under the terms of the deal, diagnosis Rolex will receive global exposure across all WTA marketing platforms including broadcast, apoplectic digital and on-court branding, and the watchmaker will also sponsor the Hawkeye electronic line-calling system at the tournament.

Rolex will sponsor the next three tournaments in Istanbul Turkey, having served as an official partner of the year-ending Championships in Qatar from 2008-10. The company has been a key name in tennis since signing up as the official watch of Wimbledon back in 1978 and over the past three decades has sponsored leading events such the Australian Open, the Rogers Cup and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters Series events in Dubai, Monte Carlo and Shanghai.

Stacey Allaster, chairman and CEO of the WTA, stated: “Rolex is a world-class global partner of professional tennis, and will make a terrific addition to our year-end finale in Istanbul. Rolex’s brand values include prestige, accuracy and the pursuit of excellence and I can’t think of a better brand for the WTA to align with based on our shared values. Having one of the world’s most prestigious brands as the official timekeeper shows the business alignment of women’s tennis as a global marketing platform.”

The new partnership marks the sixth major deal signed by the WTA since the beginning of 2010 having retained Sony Ericsson as a lead global sponsor. The Association has also signed up leading European cosmetics brand Oriflame, Chinese apparel giant Peak and Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas airlines. The WTA has also recruited BNP Paribas and TEB as joint title sponsors of the year-end Championships for 2011-13 and upgraded its partnership with USANA, a global vitamin and health supplement manufacturer.

Npower has used its title sponsorship of the English Football League (EFL) to launch Football 45 – a new first-year discount offer for fans switching their gas and electricity to the company and paying by direct debit, to coincide with the launch of the fixtures for the 2011/12 season.

By switching to npower under the new deal, fans will get £45 (US$72.5) off their energy bill when they’ve been on the Football 45 tariff for a year, with new customers also benefitting from a £45 ($72.5) voucher that can be used at any EFL club shops and ticket offices to put towards anything from team shirts, merchandise or match tickets. 

The marketing campaign is supported by adverts in the national weekend press, and new Football 45 point of sale, branding will also be on display at EFL 72 member clubs for the new season.
 


Npower head of sponsorship Emma Collins said: “We are delighted to be able to reward loyal fans in a way that will directly benefit the Football League clubs they support.
 

“During last season, our first as title sponsor of the Football League, npower brought in the Football Saver offer which proved very successful in generating money for the clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two.
 

“We hope Football 45 will go on to again help clubs by boosting their funds, particularly in the light of last week’s agreement to adopt UEFA’s fair play agreement.” 
 

Tennis’ Malaysian Open has secured the extended sponsorship of sports equipment supplier Wilson until 2013.

The tournament is set to take place in Kuala Lumpur from September 24 and Wilson, a supporter of the tournament since its inception in 2009, will be the official tennis equipment supplier for ‘ball, apparel and stringer’.

Wilson country manager KL Choong stated: “The brand Wilson is synonymous with quality tennis equipment and apparel.

“Wilson is the official ball sponsor for two out of the four Grand Slams and we are extremely pleased to reprise our role as official sponsors for what I believe is a very high quality event organised by IMG.”

Brewer Carlsberg has signed a sponsorship renewal with The Football Association (FA), extending the lager brand’s long-standing relationship as the official beer of the England national soccer team until 2014.

The deal is an improvement of the company’s existing sponsorship rights, and comes ahead of the FA’s official unveiling of rival company Budweiser as its new FA Cup sponsor today, June 16, replacing outgoing partner E.ON.

It had been thought that Carlsberg was angered by the FA’s decision to bring in Budweiser as the sponsor of the iconic domestic soccer cup, arguing it would breach some of its sponsorships rights.

The new agreement between Carlsberg and The FA gives the lager brand increased rights around pitch-side signage during international matches and is valued at around £2m (US$3.2m) by industry figures. In addition, Carlsberg will also gain greater rights around the use of player imagery and an entitlement to use the England team rights worldwide.

Peter Daire, head of sponsorship at the FA, said: “Carlsberg has been a long-standing and much-valued partner of the FA over the past 16 years. This new deal on rights around the England senior men’s team will be a platform to continue this long association well into the future.”

The issue of pouring rights at England’s home, Wembley stadium, will see Carlsberg available at international games and Budweiser at FA Cup matches.

Carlsberg’s secondary sponsorship deal with the FA Cup is understood to have been downgraded to a supplier agreement in the past year, and Carlsberg UK CEO Isaac Sheps added: “We know that when we activate around our England sponsorship, we see a great boost to sales and brand awareness. It is a great partnership and one that we hope will extend beyond the 2014 World Cup.”

The announcement that Budweiser will become the new sponsor of the FA Cup is expected today and comes after an extensive search by English soccer’s governing body after E.ON announced its decision to cut ties with the tournament after this years final, in 2009.

The FA is believed to be hoping to utilize the new deal with Anheuser–Busch InBev’s Budweiser, thought to be worth around £8m ($12.9m), to promote the FA Cup globally, specifically to push the brand in the US, China and the Middle East.

An FA source said: “It’s a great coup to get Budweiser as our sponsor. Many doubted we could attract a big name but this shows how attractive the competition still is. Regardless of what people say about the Champions League and Premier League, the FA Cup remains the world’s greatest club competition.”