Jarryd Hayne "was set to be a poster boy for ANZ Stadium" before deciding to leave National Rugby League side Parramatta "to pursue his NFL dream." The venue "has some of the biggest names in sport on its books, including Israel Folau, Kieran Jack, Greg Inglis, Brett Emerton, Luke Brooks and Josh Reynolds." ANZ Stadium officials "were keen to add an Eels star to the list of ambassadors, given the club plays two of its home games in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct." Officials from the Eels and the venue "had locked in Hayne for the plum gig on a deal understood to be worth six figures" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/15). ... Williams announced that its long-term official watch partner, Oris, renewed its sponsorship of the team ahead of the 2015 F1 World Championship. The new season will be Oris' 13th as a partner of Williams, making the luxury Swiss watch manufacturer the team's longest standing partner. The Oris logo will appear on the nose of the Williams Mercedes FW37 during the season, as well as the helmets, overalls and gloves worn by the team’s racing drivers and uniforms worn by team personnel (Williams F1). ... Telecom Italia "announced that its TIM brand will continue as the official sponsor" of Serie A until '18 after it signed a new three-season deal. TIM will remain the title sponsor of Serie A and all competitions organized by the league, "including the TIM Cup, TIM Super Cup and Primavera TIM youth team cup" (TELECOM PAPER, 3/11). ... CONCACAF announced that North American insurance provider Allstate Insurance Company "will sponsor this year's edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup." Allstate "becomes the official auto, life, home and retirement insurance sponsor of the competition." The sponsorship of this year's Gold Cup "was negotiated by CONCACAF commercial partnership agency Traffic Sports" (JAMAICA OBSERVER, 3/12). ... The Gambia Football Federation "signed a sponsorship deal with First Eco Partners for the country's domestic league" worth 1M dalasi ($23,000) (ALL AFRICA, 3/12).
FORCE INDIA PARTNERS: NEC Corp., NEC Mexico and F1 team Sahara Force India announced a new partnership for the '15 season. NEC will be the team’s premium ICT partner with the relationship focused on short- and long-term opportunities, including the installation of NEC technologies at Sahara Force India’s headquarters in the U.K. NEC's logos will also appear on the top of VJM08’s engine cover, on the drivers’ suits and helmets, and on the team clothing. Sahara Force India also announced Channel IT, a technology group that supplies Mobile Telecom products and services, as its partner for the '15 season. Channel IT branding will appear on the side pod wing of the VJM08 (Force India).
