Sunrise UPC, the Swiss telecoms firm, is taking over from Swisscom as the main sponsor of Swiss-Ski, the country’s skiing federation, in 2022.
The federation’s current agreement in Swisscom is set to expire in April, bringing to an end an association of more than 20 years.
Go deeper with GlobalData
UPC has now been confirmed as the replacement, in a deal that will come into effect ahead of the 2022-23 season. The new partnership is for 10 years, according to reports.
Swisscom had said it would not be renewing its contract because it did not wish to engage in winter sport sponsorship at this time nor commit itself to long-term partnerships again.
The company intends to strike sponsorship deals across a broader range of sports in future.
Urs Lehmann, president of Swiss-Ski, paid tribute to Swisscom, saying: “We look back on extremely successful years. The agreed and expected services have always been provided by both sides since the beginning of the cooperation in 2002.”
Urs Schappi, Swisscom’s chief executive, added: "Swisscom is keeping its fingers crossed for all Swiss-Ski athletes for the 2021/22 season and beyond. I would like to thank the athletes, the entire snow sports family, the association and all Swiss-Ski employees for the consistently excellent partnership and mutual support.”
UPC’s sponsorship activities from next year onwards will extend across all skiing disciplines, World Cup events in Switzerland and specific Swiss athletes.
Andre Krause, chief executive of Sunrise UPC, said: "This partnership enables us to further expand our success. Snow sports are part of the Swiss tradition, [and] the combination with world-class competitive sports fits perfectly for us.”
