Sega finalises sponsorship football deal

Sega Europe, the computer games manufacturer, has finalised sponsorship deals with two European football teams.

Sampdoria, one of the great names of Italian football, and French football club Saint-Etienne, will display the Sega logo on team strips from July 1. The deals follow a &£12m agreement to sponsor UK Premiership football club Arsenal, announced in March. Although Sega is staying tight-lipped about the value of the new deals, it is expected to pay Arsenal &£4m a year over three years. Sega says the European deals are likely to be a similar amount.

The sponsorships are part of a &£50m European marketing campaign to support Sega’s new Dreamcast games console, which will be launched across Europe on September 23, priced &£199.

Jean Francois Cecillon, chief executive of Sega Europe, says: “We are delighted to have concluded our first French and Italian sponsorship deals for the new Dreamcast console. With the help of these teams, we will launch Dreamcast throughout Europe.”