Scottish Gas today (Monday, July 23rd), boosted its investment in Scottish football by becoming an Official Partner of the Scottish Premier League.
The contract, which kicks off on the opening day of the new season on Saturday 29th July, runs for an initial 12-month period. This new deal will complement Scottish Gas’ current sponsorship of the Scottish national football teams.
Jim Needham, Director of Scottish Gas said: ‘We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Premier League and Scotland’s top clubs.
‘The battle for top position in the energy league tables is every bit as competitive as in the football world. Our sponsorship of the SPL demonstrates that we will continue to be a major player in Scotland.’
Roger Mitchell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Premier League, said: ‘It’s great news for the Bank of Scotland SPL and we are delighted to welcome a partner with the pedigree of Scottish Gas to our family of Sponsors.’
Stewart Thomson, Director of Marketing at the SPL said: ‘Attracting one of Scotland’s leading energy suppliers is a major achievement for a League that is only three seasons old.
‘The deal shows just how much the marketability of the Scottish Premier League has developed during this short time.
‘Lucrative sponsorship deals such as this play a massive role in helping us to continue developing the game in Scotland and the clubs will undoubtedly reap the rewards as a result.’
In announcing the SPL sponorship, Scottish Gas aims to develop greater exposure and involvement at a local level throughout Scotland. As part of this approach, the company recently announced that it was one of the founder sponsors of Tomorrow’s Heroes, a football skills development programme aimed at children across Scotland.
Scottish Gas has enjoyed a highly successful four-year partnership with the Scottish Football Association, as the official and exclusive sponsor of the Scottish national football teams. This partnership continues until the end of 2001, through the critical final stages of the current World Cup qualifying campaign.
Jim Needham added: ‘Our sponsorship of the SFA was designed to meet very clear commercial objectives. The high profile sponsorship was the first time that the SFA had been supported in this way. It has been extremely successful, and an important contributor to Scottish Gas remaining one of Scotland’s leading energy suppliers.’
For more details contact:
Scottish Premier League
Tel: +44 141 649 6962
Fax: +44 141 649 6963
Big Partnership
Alex Barr
Tel: +44 141 333 9585
Fax: +44 141 333 9584
alex@bigpartnership.co.uk.