© EuroFootball.com
The leader of the English Premier League - Chelsea - on Monday signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with the South Korean electronics company "Samsung".
Under this agreement, Samsung becomes the official sponsor of the London club, and the "Samsung Mobile" logo will proudly feature on the players' jerseys from next season. This is the second largest sponsorship project for Samsung, only behind the Olympic Games.
"Samsung Electronics will play a key role in developing Chelsea, and we believe we can play the same role for this company in achieving our strategic goals," said Chelsea's chief executive Peter Kenyon at a press conference.
No financial details were disclosed. The press reports that the deal is worth 50 million pounds.
Chelsea has been looking for new sponsors for some time, to replace Emirates Airlines, with whom the contract expires after this season.
The London club, owned by a Russian billionaire, confidently moving towards its first championship title in 50 years, embarked on a worldwide search for a well-known company, which, according to Kenyon, should have interests in the growing Asian market.
Emirates will sponsor last year's champions - Arsenal - from next season. Their new stadium on Ashburton Grove will be called the "Emirates Stadium". Arsenal has agreed on a comprehensive eight-year deal with Emirates. Its potential value is 100 million pounds, which includes not only the name of the stadium opening in 2006 in North London, but also the logo on the club's jerseys.
Meanwhile, Manchester United has signed a four-year, 36 million pound deal with Vodafone.
