BRITISH-BASED ticketing company viagogo has agreed a new partnership with English Premier League champions Manchester City.
The deal will see viagogo enable a ticket exchange system between club fans, allowing season ticket holders the opportunity to re-sell tickets to individual matches they are unable to attend.
Frontloaded estimates viagogo will pay Manchester City a significant six-figure sum to become an official sponsor of the club.
The deal follows news that Sunderland and Everton have agreed similar deals with US-based secondary ticketing brand StubHub in recent weeks.
StubHub was co-founded in 2000 by Eric Baker who, following a fall out with his business partner, brought the business model to Europe when he founded viagogo.
With StubHub launching in the UK this year, viagogo should have the edge over its main rival in the secondary ticketing market place in regards to brand awareness.
Viagogo currently has Premier League partnerships with Aston Villa and Chelsea, and was a sponsor of Manchester United between 2006 and 2011.
StubHub, however, is owned by internet auction giant eBay and has a large marketing budget and workforce to call upon in its bid to consolidate tremendous profits in the US with UK and European results.
By Luke Harman
Follow Luke on Twitter: @lukeharmanSBG