Barclays Sponsorship Continues!

Stability is what businesses crave, especially in these financially stringent times.

With E.on having stepped aside as sponsors of the FA Cup, it`s pleasing to hear that Barclays have stood by their sponsorship of the Premier League and are also willing to inject more cash into the game.

Now whilst much of what is reproduced below may seem like a glorified promotion for Barclays, I for one am satisfied that by continuing their sponsorship the Premier League will remain one of, if not the best, domestic league in the world.

Besides, a few extra quid in the kitty might well help settle the ongoing conundrum relating to Roy Hodgson`s next contract!

Barclays Renews Its Sponsorship Of The Premier League

The Premier League and Barclays have today agreed (October 23, 2009) to a new three year deal for Barclays to be the global title sponsor of the Barclays Premier League.

The deal, worth £82.25m over the course of the sponsorship, runs from season 2010/11 through to the end of the 2012/13 season.

Robert E. Diamond Jr, President of Barclays PLC, said: "Football is the world`s favourite sport bringing pleasure to hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and our sponsorship of the world's most popular league creates a positive emotional link between our brand and football fans everywhere.

"The Barclays Premier League sponsorship has been very successful for Barclays and the strategic fit is stronger than ever. The sponsorship is a very important element of our marketing mix and provides a cost effective method to market our organisation, helping us in our ambition to be one of a handful of banks leading the global financial services industry.'

Richard Scudamore, Premier League Chief Executive, said: "We are extremely pleased that our long established partnership with Barclays will continue for a further three seasons.

"The clubs unanimously accepted Barclays` proposal and are looking forward to further developing a successful relationship for what must be considered one of sports top sponsorship properties.

"The Premier League's strength is that it is an essentially English competition that has gained a huge international following. This clearly resonates with Barclays own business development and aspirations.

'Barclays commitment is critical to helping us continue to put on a top quality football competition that is watched and enjoyed by football fans at home as well as across the world."

The deal is for the global title sponsorship of the Premier League and includes exclusive world-wide marketing rights, UK and international TV programme accreditation, extensive advertising packages, match day tickets and hospitality. The deal will also continue to include the biennial pre-season tournament, the Barclays Asia Trophy, which most recently took place in Beijing in the summer of 2009.

The Barclays Premier League is currently broadcast across 211 territories to more than 500 million homes.

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services, with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. Barclays operates in over 50 countries, has over 49 million customers and employs over 145,000 people.

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A few facts:

Barclays has been sponsor of the Premier League since 2001. From 2001-2004 through its Barclaycard brand and since 2004 under the Barclays brand.
• Barclays is also heavily involved in grass roots sports in a programme called Barclays Spaces for Sports. Established in 2004 this has invested over £37 million in over 200 Barclays Spaces for Sports sites in deprived areas of the UK, and in the last year has seen the programme expand overseas into countries which Barclays operates.

• Running for 38 rounds across 33 weeks, the Barclays Premier League is the biggest continuous annual global sporting event in the world.

• The Premier League broadcasts in over 200 territories and in the 2008/09 season over half a billion homes across the globe received over 100,000 hours of coverage.

• Total attendance for the 2008/09 Barclays Premier League season was 13.5m, with stadia 92.4% full - the highest utilisation in Europe.

• A total of 43 clubs have competed in the Premier League.

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