Legacy

The Champions Hockey League, the European continental club ice hockey competition, has surpassed its €2.5m ($3.4m) sponsorship revenue target for its inaugural 2014-15 season, with five spaces to sell.

Professional services group KPMG has agreed a five-year deal, from 2015 to 2019, to title sponsor the Women’s PGA Championship, the first women’s golf major to be organised as a joint venture between the LPGA and the PGA of America.

Kit manufacturers spent $396m (€289m) on deals with the 32 national teams competing at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in the year covering the tournament, Sports Sponsorship Insider can exclusively reveal.

Indian Premier League teams, including last year’s champions the Mumbai Indians, accepted last minute, cut price deals to sell out inventory in the run up to the seventh edition of the Twenty20 cricket competition, IPL 7, currently underway.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the organising body for the Wimbledon tennis championships, did not approach the market before signing beer brand Stella Artois as a top-level sponsor in a deal signed this month.

General Motors-owned car brand Chevrolet will pay around R21m (€6.9m/$9.5m) per year for the title sponsorship rights to Brazilian football’s first and second division leagues, for five years, from 2014 to 2018, in a deal agreed in April.

Motor oil company Castrol is paying a higher fee per year for its renewed deal with the National Football League (NFL) after rights to activate the partnership in Mexico and run a fantasy football competition were added to the new contract.

Singapore Airlines has replaced telecommunications company SingTel as title sponsor of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. Singapore Airlines will pay S$10m (€5.8m/$8m) to $15m per year under a deal signed in April.

Financial services company UniCredit is in talks to renew its partnership with the Uefa Champions League for the 2015-16 to 2017-18 cycle, after a strong return on investment from its current deal.

The International Triathlon Union, triathlon’s world governing body, has seen a moderate rise in sponsorship revenue associated with its flagship ITU World Triathlon Series, despite a decline in revenue from its global partnership deals.

Sports marketing agency IMG is the frontrunner to become the media and sponsorship rights sales agent for European club rugby union’s new continental competitions from the 2014-15 season onwards.

The value of the Uefa Champions League’s automotive partner position will increase by at least 33 per cent in the 2015-16 to 2017-18 cycle following its deal this month with carmaker Nissan.

Korean car brand Hyundai beat rival carmaker BMW and consumer electronics company Toshiba to the title sponsorship of the Beijing Marathon last month thanks to strong local connections.

Carmaker Škoda will enjoy greater global exposure under its new five-year deal with Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) to continue as a top-tier Major Sponsor of the Vuelta a España cycle race until 2018.

Online betting company Unibet will be the Official Betting Partner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organisation under a two-year deal, from March 2014 to March 2016.