Europe

Italian Lega Basket Serie A top-tier basketball team Pallacanestro Varese has agreed a deal for national employment agency Openjobmetis to become its new main sponsor.

Formula One motor-racing team Lotus has agreed its latest short-term sponsorship deal by signing a three-race contract with Chinese television and refrigeration manufacturer Hisense.

English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has signed a five-season extension to its long-standing sponsorship deal with credit card company MBNA.

Irish rugby union club Leinster has renewed an agreement with main sponsor Bank of Ireland for five years, from 2014-15 to 2018-19.

Speciality glass company Schott has entered into a partnership with German Bundesliga football team Mainz 05 for the 2014-15 season.

English Premier League football club Crystal Palace has agreed a new partnership with the Sportlobster social network platform.

Turkish Airlines has expanded its football sponsorship portfolio by signing up as a new partner of German Bundesliga top-tier football club Koln.

English Premier League football club Sunderland has strengthened its established links with Africa by making the Tanzania Tourism Board its official tourism partner and extending its partnership with South African Airways into the 2014-15 season.

Rugby equipment and sportswear supplier Rhino Technology has agreed a partnership with rugby union team London Welsh after the club gained promotion back to the English Premiership top division.

Italian Serie A football club Empoli has entered into a sponsorship deal with Bancadinamica, the online division of national savings bank Risparmio di San Miniato.

Dutch Eredivisie football club AZ Alkmaar has agreed a three-year extension to its partnership with banking and financial services group Rabobank.

Specialist golf travel company Your Golf Travel has reached a sponsorship agreement for the forthcoming Portugal Masters European Tour event.

English Premier League champion Manchester City has announced a two-year partnership with the Cameroonian branch of South African-based telecommunications provider MTN.

English Premier League team Liverpool has announced a two-year partnership, from 2014-15 to 2015-16, with the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA).

German Ice Hockey League (DEL) team Hamburg Freezers has signed an extension to its sponsorship agreement with public transport company S-Bahn Hamburg.

German Bundesliga football champion Bayern Munich has agreed an enhanced six-year partnership, from 2014-15 to 2019-20, with global logistics company DHL.