Nike and CSL officially extend partnership for 10 years

The Chinese Football Association and Nike hosted an official signing ceremony in Beijing yesterday afternoon, announcing the two parties will extend the existing partnership by 10 years. The previous speculations and reports were partly confirmed to be true. 

However, there was no statement during the ceremony regarding the exact start and finish dates or the amount of sponsorship fees of the renewed partnership. 

According to some online media reports, the present partnership between Nike and CSL is due to end on December 31st 2019 with the new proposed renewal date lasting from June 1st 2019 to May 31st 2029. Some reports said it would be a 5+5 partnership. 

As to the sponsorship fees, some reports mention CNY3bn (USD471.44m) for 10 years consisting of CNY800m (USD125.72m) in cash and CNY2.2b (USD345.72m) in product sponsorship. Earlier speculation indicated that sponsorship fees would be no less than CNY100m (USD15.73m) each year. 

Zhang Jian, the Senior Vice President and General Secretary of the Chinese Football Association, Li Yuyi, President of the Chinese Football Association Super League Co., Ltd and senior management representative of Nike attended the ceremony. Nike unveiled the new edition of shirts for Chinese Super League clubs. 

Nike’s partnership with the Chinese Super League dates back to 2006 when Nike provided balls and referee equipment. In 2009, Nike reached an agreement with the CSL to provide equipment for all CSL clubs and the agreement is still effective now. 

Source: The Paper

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick