British Athletics announced that supermarket chain Sainsbury's has signed a new four-year deal. Sainsbury's remains the major event series partner, and previously sponsored the 2013 Sainsbury's Anniversary Games in London's Olympic Park. The major event series includes both indoor and outdoor Grand Prix meetings and British Championship events, starting with the Sainsbury's Glasgow Int'l Match on Jan. 25. The match kicks off a home Commonwealth Games year. The partnership will also include a sponsorship of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Para-athletic team, which includes Jonnie Peacock and Hannah Cockcroft (British Athletics). In London, John Wragg reported the four-year deal is "part of a record sponsorship package" that will bring in more than £50M ($82M). British Athletics CEO Niels de Vos is "also negotiating a futher individual deal for the team" that will net more than £10M ($16M) a year (EXPRESS, 1/2). In London, Simon Hart reported UK Athletics, which lost its long-term principal backer, Aviva, at the end of '12, "signalled a change to its sponsorship strategy last year when it announced it was looking to team up with a family of commercial partners rather than with a single over-arching brand." It has since signed a seven-year kit deal with Nike, believed to be worth in excess of £15M ($24.6M), and is "in advanced negotiations with another company to sponsor the GB able-bodied squad" (TELEGRAPH, 1/1).
