Maybank Sign Lucrative Partnership Deal with Malaysian Badminton

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has signed a lucrative six-year deal which sees Maybank, the country’s leading financial institution, become the primary partner of the association.

The deal is said to be worth around US$13.6m. With Malaysian hopes of a first ever Olympic gold medal pinned firmly on the badminton team, a large portion of the initial payment will go towards helping the BAM to succeed at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Badminton is the national sport of Malaysia and is hugely popular in the country.

Maybank president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said: “We are attracted to badminton as it has tremendous popularity and is a sport where Asians excel in. It is a strong sports brand that puts Malaysia in the world arena.

“To kick-start our collaboration with BAM, Maybank will soon undertake a ‘Going for Gold’ campaign aimed at winning gold in the 2012 London Olympics. This will also set the stage to build champions beyond the Olympics where our players are able to achieve success in various events, including the Thomas Cup, All England and the World Championships.

“We are also committed to ensure that our funding will be able to churn out a new generation of champions once the current players retire. This will be done by putting the emphasis on grassroots development and focusing on schools.” 

Omar was also keen to emphasise that Maybank’s role will be strictly as a partner to the BAM. “I would also like to reiterate that we are not here to run BAM but work hand in hand with them to take badminton to a higher level and provide information to BAM on promotional activities to popularise the event.”

BAM president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh added: “We express our gratitude to Maybank for coming up with such a sponsorship, which was necessary as our programmes at national level have been growing as we work towards rewarding Malaysians with the country’s first Olympic gold in London. Maybank and Proton will be joint title sponsors for the Malaysia Open Super Series next year. After that, Maybank will become title sponsor while Proton will continue its support. We will also focus on development.”