Japanese tyre manufacturer Toyo Tires and Rubber has agreed to become a premium sponsor of Italian Serie A football club AC Milan.
The deal will begin immediately and run through the 2015-16 season.
Toyo Tires becomes the first Japanese company to join Milan’s commercial portfolio at the premium level.
The company said in a statement: “This partnership can be expected to bring significant advantages to the Toyo Tires brand in the medium term in each market where there is impassioned potential for football such as the Middle East and Russia, where we are contemplating market expansion, China, which is positioned as a key market, Southeast Asia, and Japan in addition to the EU, with a focus on Italy, home to the Serie A league.”
Fellow Japanese firm, IT equipment and services company Fujitsu, agreed a three-year deal to become an official partner in February. The two deals come after Japanese international forward Keisuke Honda joined Milan from Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow in the January transfer window.
AC Milan is currently eighth in Serie A, 19 points behind Napoli in the final Uefa Champions League qualification place.