SABMiller brand to sponsor British & Irish Lions tour

SAB, the South African subsidiary of global brewer SABMiller, is to sponsor the forthcoming British & Irish Lions rugby union tour of South Africa.

SAB brand Castle Lager will take title sponsorship of the tour in a deal worth R25m (£1.7m).

The ten-match tour starts May 30 and will include three test matches between the British & Irish Lions and the Springboks.

The deal follows Castle’s previous sponsorship of the South African team and its title sponsorship of the last British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1997.

Castle is an active sponsor of South African sport and will back the forthcoming cricket test series between Australia and South Africa.

SABMiller brand Pilsner Urquell recently signed a deal to be the official beer of golf’s The Open Championship while the brewer’s Miller Lite was announced as beer sponsor of football’s CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament last November.

The British & Irish Lions has a shirt sponsorship deal with HSBC.