Ligue 1 football champion Paris Saint-Germain has agreed a partnership with Aurel BGC, the French affiliate of US financial services firm BGC Partners, and confirmed a deal with French energy company GDF Suez.
The agreement with Aurel BGC will run for two seasons, from 2014-15 to 2015-16, while the deal with GDF Suez will run for three seasons, from 2014-15 to 2016-17.
Aurel BGC will become the club’s official broker, with its benefits including the right to use players’ images in France and the US as well as usage of a private lodge in the Avenue du Parc, the new hospitality section of the Parc des Princes.
Aurel BGC will also be actively involved in the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation.
Meanwhile, following initial reports earlier this month, GDF Suez has agreed to become an official supplier of PSG in a partnership that covers the club’s men’s and women’s teams. GDF Suez was said to be hesitant about agreeing to a deal at first as the firm reportedly did not want to sponsor the women’s team.
Valérie Bernis, executive vice-president of GDF Suez, said: “This means of course that we are partnering with a very fine international brand, but through this partnership we are also promoting important values for us – community involvement, gender equality, and corporate social responsibility.”
GDF Suez has been a major sports sponsor in France for over 20 years and had backed the French Football Federation (FFF) as a major partner. However, this year it elected not to extend this relationship beyond the 2014 Fifa World Cup and in June the company was replaced by rival firm EDF, which signed a four-year deal, from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
GDF Suez has also sponsored the women’s team of Olympique Lyonnais since 2011. Lyon is one of the leading forces in the European women’s game.