German Brewer Ends Sponsorship Deal With Eintracht Frankfurt

Private German brewer Licher has ended its 11-year long sponsorship deal with Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, according to Thorsten Winter of FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG. Licher, which is owned by the Bitburg-Group, said that its decision is "caused by the club's expectations." Licher CEO Rainer Noll said, "If we would fulfill the financial expectations of Eintracht Frankfurt, we would be unable to continue our broad support of sport and culture in Hessa." The withdrawal of Licher paved the way for rival brewery Krombacher to partner with the club. Over the past couple of weeks both breweries fought to be Eintracht Frankfurt's jersey sponsor as well as the official brewery for the team, which would allow it to sell beer at the stadium (FRANKURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG, 7/16).