Sportswear company Adidas has secured a “mutual” agreement with Chelsea to curtail its partnership with the English Premier League football club six years early.
The partnership, which was due to end on June 30, 2023, will now end on the same date in 2017.
Adidas has been sponsor and sportswear supplier for Chelsea since 2006.
The sportswear company is keen to implement its sports sponsorship strategy as set out in its strategic business plan, 'Creating the New’, under which it will link up with fewer clubs. Adidas also wants to reduce the portion of its marketing budget for sports deals to below 45 per cent in 2020 from about half now as it increases spending on social media, in stores and at grassroots sporting events.
As compensation for the early termination of the contract, Adidas will receive a payment from Chelsea in 2017 that will “positively impact the group's net income this year.”
Chelsea has endured a poor season and has failed to qualify for European competitions next season.