Sharp sponsors Champs League

Electronics giant Sharp is to sign up as a sponsor and supplier for the UEFA Champions League in a multi-million pound, three-year deal.

The deal, which has been brokered by TEAM Marketing, will include advertising for Sharp on perimeter boards at all Champions League games. Sharp will also be able to use UEFA Champions League imagery in its advertising.

TEAM chief operating officer Richard Worth says the boards will initially carry only the Sharp logo, but may be used later in the competition to advertise specific products.

Sharp replaces previous sponsor Motorola, after the mobile phone company declined to renew its deal at the end of last season. As part of the deal, Sharp will supply LCD TV screens to UEFA for various uses during the games, such as in hospitality suites.

Motorola was the only sponsor not to renew its contract at the end of last season. Ford, Mastercard, Sony PlayStation and Amstel all signed contracts for another three years (MW October 10, 2002).

UEFA is understood to have raised the price of its sponsorship for these four companies to &£15m per year – up from &£11m a year under the previous contract – although Sharp is unlikely to have paid more than &£10m, owing to its role as a supplier.