By Emily Goddard
June 30 – The Scottish Premier League (SPL) today announced a new four-year partnership that will see Mitre continue as official ball supplier until 2015.
The sports equipment brand has supplied the SPL with match balls since the start of the league in 1998 and its Tensile ball – often referred to as the world’s most advanced football – will continue to be used for the 2011/12 season, with each club having a personalised ball printed in club colours and displaying their club badge.
On the announcement, Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPL said: “Mitre has been a valued partner of the SPL since 1998 and I am delighted to announce their continued commitment to the SPL for the next four seasons.
“This year the SPL distributed over £17 million ($27 million) to Clydesdale Bank Premier League clubs and we remain focused on supporting SPL clubs financially as much as possible.
“The partnership with Mitre is an important piece in that jigsaw.
“Over the past 13 seasons of the SPL, 7,651 goals have been scored with Mitre balls and I hope to see many more over the coming seasons.”
As well as continuing as official ball supplier, Mitre’s partnership with sports retailer ACA Sports means that supporters can purchase each club’s Tensile ball, in addition to other ranges of replica balls, as Mitre’s Official Online Retail Partners for the SPL.
Gary Hibbert, Managing Director of Mitre, commented on the deal: “The SPL is as passionate and exciting a competition as any and we’re thrilled to extend the deal to be the official ball supplier, continuing our long standing involvement in the Scottish game.
“We’re looking forward to further successes with the SPL over the next four years and with the additional partnership with ACA Sports – meaning fans can buy replicas of their club’s footballs – this only enhances our offering to fans and clubs.”
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