League Championship side Derby County announced Avon Tyres as the club's back of shirt and shorts sponsor for the upcoming season. The sponsorship agreement will see the Avon Tyres logo appear on the back of Derby's first-team shirts and shorts for the entire campaign (Derby County).
CLEAN LOOK: Barcelona played its friendly against Scottish Premiership side Celtic on Saturday wearing "their classic home colours, and without the Qatar Airways sponsor on the chest." Barcelona's extension of its deal with Qatar Airways "was only sealed recently," so for now the team is playing in "clean" kits (SPORT, 7/30).
BREW PARTNER: German 3. Liga side VFL Osnabrück announced the promotion of Herforder Brewery "from exclusive partner to the club's front-of-shirt sponsor." The club looked set to compete without a shirt sponsor, "until Herforder decided to step up its commitment." The deal was negotiated by Infront Sports & Media and is reportedly worth up to €350,000 ($390,000) "over its single-season duration" (SOCCEREX, 8/1).
SHOPPING WITH MOTO GP: Shopping community and multi-level marketing company Lyoness and Dorna Sports announced their partnership within the course of the MotoGP series. In '16, Lyoness will act as a sponsor for the MotoGP races in Spielberg, Austria; Brno, Czech Republic and Aragon, Spain. The Lyoness logo will be displayed at one turn in each racing track (MotoGP).
MARKETPLACE BRIEFS ...
Australia's National Basketball League announced that major partner Chemist Warehouse has extended its partnership with the league until '18. Chemist Warehouse is the official health and beauty retailer of the NBL and will be the naming rights partner of the league's new Wellness Round to be held during Round 1 in the upcoming '16-17 season (NBL).
German sports marketing agency UFA Sports has changed its name to U! Sports, effective Aug. 1. The reason for the name change of the agency, which was acquired by Lagardère Sports last year, is the expiring copyrights for the UFA Sports brand (U! Sports).
