Nissan "has signed up to become a sponsor" of the UEFA Champions League, according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. The value of the four-year deal has not been revealed, but current sponsor packages are reported to be worth more than £45M ($74.6M) a season. The agreement "is its largest ever sponsorship deal and will establish Nissan as an official partner" worldwide from the '14-15 season up to and including the '17-18 season (BBC, 4/7). MARKETING MAGAZINE's Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith wrote Nissan "will receive extensive rights and branding opportunities around Champions League matches." Nissan will also sponsor the UEFA Super Cup, "which is played each year between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 4/7). REUTERS' Keith Weir wrote car companies "have been faced with a shrinking market in Europe in recent years because of the impact of the financial crisis." Ford, which signs off from the Champions League after this year's final in Lisbon in May, said that "it planned to focus more on digital communications as it launches 25 new vehicles over the next five years." Nissan "is also a sponsor of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" (REUTERS, 4/7).
