Thai beer brand Chang has opted to downgrade its commercial partnership with English Premier League football club Everton.
Chang, which currently serves as the main shirt sponsor and partner of the team, has signed a community partnership agreement.
The three-year deal will come into effect from June 1 after Chang’s existing main partnership agreement expires.
Chang, which has sponsored Everton since 2004, will continue its support of the team’s community programmes and initiatives in the UK and its native Thailand.
Activities will include football coaching trips to and from Thailand, as well as further development of the Chang Junior Cup national junior team competition and ongoing support of the Thaibev Academy youth initiative in Thailand.
The move comes amid reports that Everton is set to announce African online sports betting company SportPesa as its new main shirt sponsor.
According to the Liverpool Echo newspaper, SportPesa will take on the role when Chang’s deal expires at the end of the month.
The newspaper said that SportPesa will relocate its European headquarters to the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, a facility recently purchased by Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
SportPesa already serves as the main shirt sponsor of Premier League club Hull City.