Japanese non-profit organisation ISPS Handa has agreed a deal with the New Zealand Football national governing body to become the new title sponsor of the country’s top-tier Premiership club competition.
The agreement will run for three seasons, from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
The league will be known as the ISPS Handa Premiership, while the organisation will also serve as title sponsor of the Chatham Cup domestic knockout tournament.
Andy Martin, chief executive of New Zealand Football, said: “We have two key strategic aims; to have more New Zealanders playing and loving football and secondly to have our elite teams winning at global pinnacle events. The ISPS Handa Premiership is important because it brings those two strategic objectives together.”
ISPS Handa has established a strong presence within the county’s sports market, having recently taken on sole title sponsorship of the men’s New Zealand Open golf tournament, in a deal that covers the 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions. The firm was also previously title sponsor of the New Zealand Women’s Open.
In addition, ISPS Handa has made a series of donations to both the New Zealand Olympic Committee and Paralympics New Zealand.