July 18 – City Football Group (CFG) – the company that owns Manchester City FC, Manchester City Women’s FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, and a stake in Yokohama F·Marinos – has unveiled its first sponsor partner across all its football holdings.
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor Co. will be the Official Automotive Partner of City Football Group, the first global partner.
Nissan already partners CFG in it is the majority shareholder in Yokohama F·Marinos where CFG became a minority shareholder in May. This partnership with the J-League club also sees CFG provide services through its wholly owned City Football Services and City Football Marketing companies.
The jewel in the crown of the CFG group, and the main global sponsorship value for the deal (no figure has been announced though it said to be worth “tens of millions”) is Manchester City FC where Nissan becomes the Official Automotive Sponsor of Manchester City Football Club. Across town at Manchester Untied they are driving a new £365 million seven-year deal with Chevolet (with shirt sponsorship as the main component) that starts this coming season.
The value of the deal at Manchester City will not be anything like that at United as it doesn’t include shirt sponsorship – and it doesn’t appear that Nissan will pay any hard cash across to CFG. But Nissan will have strong brand presence at the Etihad Stadium, as well as a package of fan engagement opportunities targeting City supporters worldwide.
Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosen described the deal with CFG as “value in kind” (VIK), essentially implying that no money will change hands (though goods – cars – and services will be provided).
“This innovative partnership enhances Nissan’s investment in the game of soccer which is a key platform to further strengthen our brand globally. Additionally, the value in kind deal will see Nissan introduce the world’s best-selling electric vehicle to the world’s fastest growing football team, an example of how the collaboration will pair innovation with innovation to bring the excitement of Nissan and soccer to customers around the world,” said Ghosen.
Khaldoon al Mubarak, Chairman of City Football Group, said: “Through our investment in, and support of, the Yokohama F·Marinos it has become very clear that Nissan and CFG also share a common passion and ambition for further growth and development. As a result, this new partnership presents us both with incredibly exciting opportunities to collaborate through football both in Japan and across the world.”
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