Nike To Remain Juventus Sponsor Despite Club’s Relegation

Nike To Continue Sponsoring Juventus Despite Demotion

Nike will continue to sponsor Italian soccer team Juventus “despite the club being demoted” to Serie B, according to REUTERS. The team’s two main sponsors, Nike and Libyan oil company Tamoil, “have been expected to renegotiate their contracts with the club after it was relegated for seeking an unfair advantage in the appointment of referees.” Nike has a 12-year sponsorship deal with Juventus worth US$15.36M annually, which began in ’03. A Nike spokesperson “declined comment on whether the terms would be renegotiated.” Tamoil has not commented on its deal with the club. Juventus was stripped of its back-to-back Italian league championships for its role in the Serie A match-fixing scandal, and several top players have left the team, including Italy World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro, MFs Emerson and Patrick Vieira, and D Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta (REUTERS, 8/3).