The annual value of A-League football club Western Sydney Wanderers’ sponsorship renewal with NRMA Insurance could top the A$1M ($851,500) mark, making it "one of the most lucrative major sponsor deals in the competition," according to John Stensholt of the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW. Only weeks after winning the Asian Champions League, the Wanderers "re-signed with NRMA Insurance, which backed the club for its first three years in the A-League, until the end of the 2017-18 season." According to the FFA’s 2014 financial year accounts, NRMA Insurance paid the Wanderers A$950,000 in sponsorship, "an annual sum that is likely to be exceeded under the terms of the new deal." In terms of value, "the deal would sit behind only that of airline Etihad with Melbourne City across the 10 A-League clubs" (AFR, 12/1). NEWS.COM's Scott Rochfort reported Wanderers Chair & Owner Paul Lederer declined to disclose how much the deal is worth. He said that "the renewed partnership with NRMA Insurance will extend to the sleeve and signage sponsorship of the Wanderers Women’s and National Youth League teams." NRMA Insurance CEO Andy Cornish said that "his company had little hesitation extending partnership with the Wanderers, given the club’s huge success in already reaching two A-League grand finals and recently becoming the first Australian team to win an Asian Champions League club championship." About his original decision to become the major sponsor of the club in its very early days, Cornish said, “I look like some sort of genius." On top of the sponsorship, NRMA plans to spend an extra A$3.7M "promoting grassroots football in Western Sydney" (NEWS.COM, 11/29).
