Barcelona and Nichiban entered a sponsorship deal by which the adhesive tape company has become one of the club's regional partners. Nichiban becomes Barcelona's eighth partner in the Asian region, which it manages from its offices in Hong Kong (Barcelona). ... Indian Premier League club Kings XI Punjab "announced its partnership" with image recognition and augmented reality platform Blippar. The deal "will provide fans an opportunity to book tickets and buy merchandise online via their smart phones" (THE HINDU, 4/1). ... The Australian Football League and Sherrin signed a new five-year partnership, ensuring Sherrin will remain the official match ball of the AFL until at least the end of the '19 season. The new agreement will see Sherrin footballs used across every official AFL match, in addition to the continued supply of footballs throughout community football leagues. The AFL also announced 13CABS as the official private transport service partner of the AFL. The AFL and 13CABS celebrated the upcoming AFL Premiership Season by branding 18 Toyota Camry Hybrid 13CABS in AFL club colors in Melbourne on Monday (AFL). ... Sunderland’s Bridges shopping center has come on board as the first corporate supporter of Women's Super League side Sunderland. Bridges enjoys a range of rights and benefits including its logo placed on Sunderland Ladies media channels and backdrops, signed merchandise and player sponsorship (BDAILY, 4/1). ... The Australian Rugby Union announced BMW Australia will be the official vehicle partner of the Wallabies. The two-year deal, which runs until the end of '16, will see the BMW logo on the Gilbert test match rugby balls in all matches involving the Wallabies in Australia. The BMW logo will also appear on Wallabies team shorts. In addition, BMW Australia will have the opportunity to offer its dealer network a range of owner experiences and hospitality options (ARU). ... Singapore's national dragon boat team and Under Armour's Southeast Asian exclusive distributor Triple Pte Ltd. "signed a one-year sponsorship deal" worth more than S$70,000 ($51,000) on Wednesday at the Singapore Sports Institute. The deal "will see the Republic's dragon boaters don the brand's apparel for June's SEA Games hosted in Singapore" (STRAITS TIMES, 4/1).
