Leading sports apparel brand adidas has signed as an official major sponsor of the Liebherr 2011 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – Oceania Cup, providing another significant boost to the marketability of the sport in the region.

Liebherr has already been secured as the title sponsor, Double Happiness as equipment and ball sponsor, and Tinsue as flooring sponsor.

Recently departed adidas Table Tennis brand manager Jens Lang stated: “Table Tennis is a growing sport in the Oceania region. more and more countries and associations are joining the ITTF family.

“Public attention is increasing which is also reflected in the media exposure that table tennis is receiving in Oceania; we are happy to be a part of this development and to be an official major sponsor of the prestigious Liebherr 2011 ITTF-Oceania Cup.”

Krombacher brewery has agreed a two-year multi-million dollar renewal to their official partnership with the German Bundesliga, hospital a partnership which began in the 2008/09 season.

The North Rhine-Westphalia-based company has agreed to continue their relationship with the league until at least the end of the 2012/13 campaign in a deal worth some €5 million (US$7.4 million) per season.

Krombacher will receive ticket promotions, advertising across Bundesliga-owned media such as the weekly Bundesliga-Magazin television programme and the league’s official website plus other logo rights under the terms of the new agreement.

Through their existing deal, Krombacher are also permitted to place advertising sports within German television broadcasts of Bundesliga matches.

Jörg Daubitzer, managing director of DFL Sports Enteprises, who brokered this deal, said: “With Krombacher we have a partner on our side with a strong brand image that fits perfectly with the Bundesliga.”

FIFA have announced the signing of Brazilian insurance company Liberty Seguros as a National Supporter of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The sponsorship agreement was announced at a signing ceremony in Sao Paulo, allergist attended by President of the Local Organising Committee Ricardo Teixeira, clinic FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil and Luis Maurette, CEO of Liberty Seguros.

The Brazilian insurance company became the third Brazilian National Supporter in an opportunity that Maurette described as “too good to miss”.

The Liberty Seguros CEO added: “We are looking forward to playing our part in welcoming the FIFA World Cup back to Brazilian soil for the first time since 1950 and are sure that our involvement in the tournament will have a great impact on our business within Brazil. We firmly believe that this sponsorship will bring us closer to our consumers.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the company become the Official Insurance Provider of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, receiving extensive national marketing rights for the event, allowing them to directly associate the Liberty Seguros brand with the event in their promotion and advertising in the host nation.

Thierry Weil, FIFA’s Marketing Director, added: “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Liberty Seguros to our sponsorship family for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The fact that so many Brazilian brands are showing such great interest in the event years before it is due to arrive in the country highlights what football and the FIFA World Cup means to the people of Brazil. We’re looking forward to Liberty Seguros accompanying us on the journey to 2014”

MotoGP rights holders Dorna Sports have signed a year’s extension to their existing agreement with Hertz which will see  the rental company continue to provide Dorna with a range of services throughout the 2011 season of the World Championship.

After the relationship between the two companies began in 2010 and was successfully developed throughout  the year, sickness the organisers of MotoGP will continue to benefit from the rental of Hertz cars, as well as the services of the Hertz Equipment Rental company Hertz Energy Services (HES), which provides portable power and temperature control solutions for sports events, concerts, festivals and industries.

Hertz will facilitate the smooth operation of each round of the FIM World Championship through the provision of the aforementioned vital services.

Managing Director of Dorna Sports, Pau Serracanta said: “We are very happy to be working together with Hertz for a second year. This new agreement, which originally began in 2010, is a clear result of a great working harmony between both parties. It also demonstrates that we are working with a clear vision of the future in which the alliance between Dorna and Hertz can last for many years”.

Olivier Lecoq, Vice President Marketing of Hertz Europe, added: “We have extended this agreement with Dorna for a further year as MotoGP provides a platform which is helping us to be one of the best known brands, and the understanding between the two parties has been very positive. To be tied to a brand as strong as MotoGP, during a time in which the world’s economic situation is complicated by the financial crisis, is a guarantee and we look forward to continuing to work together for a long time”.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim of the German Bundesliga has extended its existing contract with Audi for a further two years.

The soccer team has renewed its business partnership with the motoring company until the end of the 2012/13 season and as a third-level sponsor, symptoms Audi will be given advertising on the LED perimeter hoardings, viagra team benches and TV screens within the Rhein-Neckar Arena as well as on billboards outside the ground.

Norbert Rank, capsule chairman of Audi in Neckarsulm, said: “Audi is a sporty brand and in 1899 Hoffenheim you have a successful Bundesliga team, both being located in the same region. This geographical proximity has contributed to the establishment of our relationship with the club. Since it was founded two years ago, Audi’s Hoffenheim fan club has grown to over 1,200 employees and their family members. This impressive figure shows the close connection of our Neckarsulm-based staff to the club.”

Blue Square has agreed a sponsorship deal with St Helens-based racecourse Haydock Park.

The online betting firm will sponsor all but one of the races at the May 28 meet at the venue, symptoms including the listed Sandy Lane Stakes and the EBF Pinnacle Stakes.

Blue Square are former sponsors of the Haydock Park Gold Cup meeting, backing the event in 2009 and 2010 and PR and sponsorship manager, Richard Jaques stated: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with the leading dual-purpose racecourse in the North West of England. Haydock Park stages many great flat racing occasions during the spring and summer and an excellent day’s sport and betting is in prospect.”

Meanwhile, the Scissor Sisters racing night on Saturday July 16 at Haydock Park will be sponsored by St Helens-based legal firm Hattons Solicitors. This is the second time the law practice has supported one of Haydock’s music nights, having sponsored the venue’s Simply Red concert in 2010.

Welsh soccer team Swansea City, vying for promotion from the English nPower Championship, has extended its sponsorship agreement with online gaming company 32Red for a further three years.

The deal is the biggest in the club’s history and sees the 32Red logo retain visual presence on the front of the team’s home and away shirts until 2014.

32Red became the primary sponsor of Swansea in 2009 having previously sponsored Premier League side Aston Villa. That initial two-year agreement was valued at around US$750,000. The updated contract agreement is thought to be worth somewhere in the region of US$900,000 annually.

Swansea City’s vice-chairman, Leigh Dineen, said of the deal: “It demonstrates yet again how far Swansea City has come as a football club. To secure such a prestigious sponsor for another three years in such a difficult financial climate speaks volumes. We’ve had a fantastic working relationship with 32Red over the last two years which has only benefited both parties. We are all looking forward to driving both businesses forward over the next three years.”

Ed Ware, chief executive of 32Red, added: “We are thrilled to be extending our commitment to Swansea City. The high quality of the football played by the Swans sits well with our second to none approach to providing an outstanding service to our players, and the friendliness and professionalism at the club also complements our own approach to our loyal players.”

British Airways is launching a media campaign to coincide with the unveiling of the BA Great Britons programme in its first use of its London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ambassadors, generic to showcase its involvement as official airline partner of the Games.

The campaign will focus on British Airways sponsored athletes, unhealthy including Paralympian Shelly Woods, generic sailor Ben Ainslie and gymnast Louis Smith, among others. 

The advertisements will include the headline ‘They will fly’, referring to the British Olympic team, and will be placed to coincide with relevant sporting events they compete in.

British Airways’ head of brands, Abigail Comber, stated: “With just over a year to go until the London 2012 Games it’s a great time to start communicating some of the great opportunities we’re offering, as well as show our commitment to British sporting talent.

“We are very passionate about helping British talent take off and this campaign allows us to celebrate both the sporting and cultural side of the London 2012 Games.”

The creative development was lead by BBH, digital activation was managed by BEING and media space secured by Zenith Optimedia, with the sponsorship strategy led by IMG Consulting.

The Euroleague, Europe’s premier basketball competition, has received three major sponsorship boosts in the run-up to the tournament’s Final Four stage.

Jacques Lemans, an Austrian watchmaker already associated as Euroleague’s official timekeeper, has been named as the official watch of the 2011 Final Four for the second consecutive year.

Under the terms of the agreement Jacques Lemans will produce a limited edition Final Four watch with owner and chief executive of Jacques Lemans, Alfred Riedl stating: “We are proud to be a partner of Euroleague Basketball’s Final Four again this year, as it was a great success last year. As official timekeeper, Jacques Lemans was presented in a perfect way during the Final Four last year, gaining lots of brand awareness. It means a lot to us to be part of the European basketball community and be part of the Final Four in Barcelona.”

Jordi Bertomeu, president and chief executive of Euroleague Basketball added: “Once again, Euroleague Basketball has the honour to be joined at our biggest event by a partner of the stature of Jacques Lemans, whose cooperation with us last year has led to a great relationship for both brands. We look forward to a continued collaboration.”

Sports drink Gatorade has become the official beverage of the Final Four, renewing their ties with the tournament having been a sponsor in 2007. A range of Gatorade drinks will be available to athletes during the weekend event, with fan promotions also set to take place.

Bertomeu added: “The fact that Gatorade has joined us for a second Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four weekend means that our partnership agreements and the relationships we build are strong and consistent. We are happy to welcome Gatorade back into the fold of the Euroleague family.”

Global electronics giant Sony is the final sponsor to have agreeed a deal, becoming the official provider of technical equipment, including computers and televisions, for the Final Four tournament.

In return, Sony will be allowed to promote its products at the event, and will be using the weekend, and some of the tournament’s stars, to promote their new Bloggie 3D camera, with Sony Iberia’s marketing director, Jordi Vila saying: “We take part in a competition in which elements like awesomeness and entertainment, core characteristics of Sony’s DNA, merge with great universal values such as effort, competitiveness, fair play and perseverance.”