FFA fuels up with new naming rights partner

Football Federation Australia has signed a four-year deal with Caltex under which the fuel supplier will take on naming rights to the country's national team.

The agreement will run until the end of 2019 and will see Australia's men's team officially be titled the Caltex Socceroos.

Caltex will also partner with Australia’s men’s and women’s teams on grassroots initiatives to help develop the next generation of footballers.

“It’s a multimillion-dollar deal, and we’re very satisfied with the commercial return for the game,” FFA chief executive David Gallop said, according to the Australian Associated Press news agency. “Obviously we wanted to get the right fit, as well as the right money, and I believe we’ve achieved both.”

The Socceroos had been without a naming rights sponsor since 2013, when the FFA split from the Qantas airline, its long-time partner. Qantas remains the official airline of the team and also sponsors the A-League and W-League domestic competitions in Australia.

Caltex’s agreement with FFA will cover next year’s Confederations Cup and the 2018 Fifa World Cup, which will both be staged in Russia, as well the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.