Dutch first division side PSV Eindhoven secured Energiedirect.nl as its "new shirt sponsor," according to SOCCEREX. The deal, which will see the energy supplier pay €6M ($6.8M) per year, "will run for three years," beginning at the start of the '16-17 season. Energiedirect.nl is the budget subsidiary of global firm Essent, "which currently acts as the shirt sponsor of PSV’s Eredivisie rivals FC Groningen." PSV currently sit "second in the Eredivisie" (SOCCEREX, 4/25). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's Samindra Kunti reported one of the "longest running shirt sponsorships in European football comes to an end this summer" when for the first time in 33 years Philips will not be the brand on PSV Eindhoven's shirt. PSV has been "searching for 12 months for a replacement for Philips as shirt sponsor." Philips explained that the decision to "step back as main sponsor of PSV was not for financial reasons, but because it fits with the organisational changes Philips is undergoing away from consumer electronics and more towards medical equipment" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/25).
