Premier League Splits With Sponsor Lucozade After 21 Years

The Premier League will lose its longest-running sponsor at the end of the season even though "the profile of top-flight football has never been higher," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Energy drink Lucozade, which has been a sponsor since the league started in '92, has "decided to end" its 21-year association. The company said that the move follows a change of strategy that "will see them invest more on research into the nutritional impact on athletes' performance" (DAILY MAIL, 10/22). MARKETING MAGAZINE's John Reynolds wrote that Lucozade is looking "to move funds into research and development of sports-nutrition products to keep ahead of competitors such as PepsiCo's Gatorade and Coca-Cola-owned Powerade." A three-year deal between the EPL and Lucozade was "due to end next summer." The brand "continues to be a partner" of the FA, having signed a four-year extension to the deal last year (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 10/23).