Sunderland AFC Announces New Sponsorship Deal With Non-Profit

Premier League Sunderland AFC has unveiled Invest in Africa as the club's principal partner and shirt sponsor for the '12-13 season, marking the first time a non-profit initiative has sponsored a Premier League team. The Invest in Africa brand will be displayed on the team's kit for a minimum of two seasons. Invest in Africa is a non-profit business initiative that will promote Africa as an investment destination. Africa's largest independent oil company, Tullow Oil, is the initial founding partner of Invest in Africa (Invest In Africa). The SUNDERLAND ECHO reported that it was "the biggest shirt sponsorship deal" in club history. Tullow Oil and  Sunderland did not reveal how much the deal is worth. However, it "marks a major investment" in Sunderland. The money invested in the club is not expected to go into Manager Martin O'Neill's "transfer kitty", but it does mark the "transition of Sunderland towards matching the size of sponsorship deals" of established Premier League clubs (SUNDERLAND ECHO, 6/25).

NEW AWAY KIT: Meanwhile, Sunderland also announced that it has teamed with adidas to create a new away kit. The new away kit features the adidas signature three stripes along with the latest performance technology including ClimaCool and Formotion (Sunderland).