Insurance giant Aviva has agreed a £20m four-year deal to become the new sponsor of Premiership Rugby. The deal, which begins in September, sees Aviva take up the reins from current sponsor Guinness, with the competition to be named Aviva Premiership Rugby.
Aviva UK chief executive Mark Hodges said: “Rugby is the fastest-growing participation sport in England with more than 100 000 active adult players – and another 150 000 under the age of 19. “We’ve invested a lot of time and effort looking for and researching the right sponsorship opportunity, and we know that rugby fits absolutely with Aviva. It appeals to many of our customers, intermediary partners and to the other businesses we work with in the UK, so this sponsorship will give us exciting opportunities to connect with them and deliver significant business benefit. “This is a fantastic chance for us to work with Premiership Rugby on a partnership with a sport that has values which closely mirror our own.”
Mark McCafferty, chief executive of Premiership Rugby said: “A title sponsorship deal with Aviva, which is such a strong international consumer brand, is another significant milestone in the growth of Premiership Rugby and provides us with a long term partnership commitment to our sport and to our work in the community.”
The sponsorship deal runs from September 2010 until May 2014 and will include more than 135 games each season, watched by 1.7 million people at the grounds and many more on Sky, ITV and ESPN.
It also allows Aviva to extend its Grassroots programme designed to encourage young people to get involved in sport. The 12 rugby clubs in Aviva Premiership Rugby will commit 15 000 man hours to work with 36 000 pupils at 600 primary schools in England, as well as providing them with equipment and teacher training. It complements Aviva’s existing sporting sponsorship with UK Athletics (UKA), giving the brand year-round visibility in the sporting arena with a major events through the summer and winter seasons.
