Zehnder Group "will end its sponsorship of Swiss Super League side FC Aarau at the end of the year." The group "has been a partner of the club for five years" and pays an estimated 400,000-500,000 Swiss francs ($415,000-$518,000) per season (BZ BASEL, 4/15). ... Germany's domestic beach volleyball series has extended and increased its title sponsorship with car brand Smart. The deal, which will run until '16, includes extensive marketing rights surrounding the series' event stops (Sky Media Network). ... Brasileiro side São Paulo closed a sponsorship deal with Panama's Copa Airlines. To announce the deal, the club agreed to "enter the field with the Copa Airlines brand" on its jerseys for one match during the Copa Libertadores. The contract "signed by both" parties runs until '16 (MAQUINA DO ESPORTE, 4/15). ... Chinese online entertainment company K8 has partnered with the 2015 Copa America. The partnership sees K8 become an int'l sponsor of the South American tournament. K8 will "provide online sports games and online betting during the tournament" (SOCCEREX, 4/14). ... The Mercedes F1 team has renewed its agreement with Spies Hecker for another two years. The global refinish brand will continue to provide the team with its paint solutions and paint mixing equipment as well as full product training and on-site technical support (Business Wire).
UNIBET TO SPONSOR EUROHOCKEY: England Hockey and the European Hockey Federation announced that online gambling operator Unibet has signed an agreement to become title sponsor of the EuroHockey Championships 2015, which will be staged in London. Unibet offers sports betting games, bingo and poker to more than 9.7 million registered customers in more than 100 countries (EuroHockey). ... DCB Bank has become an official partner of Indian Premier League club Kings XI Punjab for this season. As part of the partnership, DCB Bank's logo will be a part of the team's jersey. Kings XI Punjab now has 22 sponsors in the eighth season of the IPL (INDIAN TELEVISION, 4/14). ... Hampshire Cricket announced a three-year sponsorship deal that makes Airlynx Express the club's official travel partner. The Southampton-based travel operator will provide the player transport for Hampshire's away fixtures. As part of the deal, there will be a new and improved extensive bus service available for Hampshire fans on NatWest T20 Blast matchdays (Hampshire Cricket). ... The Malawi Super League's official sponsor Telecom Networks Malawi increased its sponsorship of the league from 65M kwacha ($140,000) to 90M kwacha ($200,000), a 40% increase. TNM CCO Daniel Makata said that the company has "responded to calls" from the football fraternity to increase the sponsorship package and that his company was committed to uplifting the development of the sport in the country (NYASA TIMES, 4/14).
