RUSSIAN ENERGY giant Gazprom has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Chelsea.
The agreement will see Gazprom join a new look commercial line-up at Stamford Bridge as well as becoming the official supplier of gas and electricity to the west London-based club.
As one of six platinum partners, Frontloaded estimates that Gazprom will be paying between $2.5m and $5m per year for association to the 2011/12 Champions League winners.
The deal follows other new deals in the platinum partner category for Chelsea, with Audi, Delta Air Lines and the Sauber F1 team all being added as commercial supporters in recent weeks.
For Gazprom, joining forces with Chelsea consolidates the deal the company signed to become an official partner of Europe’s premier club football competition last week.
Replacing Japanese electronics manufacturer Sony as the sixth and final official partner of the Champions League will see Gazprom paying at least €30m per year for sponsorship rights.
As one of the largest energy companies in the world, Gazprom certainly has the cash to splash on sports marketing initiatives and deals with global properties such as Chelsea and the Champions League are part of a strategy to raise the profile and perception of the brand internationally.
Vitaly Vasiliev, chief executive officer of Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited, led negotiations for the partnership opposite Ron Gourlay, chief executive of Chelsea Football Club.
By Luke Harman
Follow Luke on Twitter: @lukeharmanSBG