The second-tier league of football in England, the English Football League (EFL) has prolonged its partnership with the German multinational sports equipment entity, Puma and the football management video game, Football Manager.
The dual collaboration extensions reflect the EFL’s commitment to partners in its portfolio, with both brands continuing long associations with the league, its clubs, and competitions such as the Sky Bet Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup, and EFL Trophy.
The EFL is delighted to confirm partnership extensions with both @pumafootball and @FootballManager.#EFL
— EFL (@EFL) September 26, 2023
As per the extension with Puma, the global entity will be manufacturing official match balls for all the EFL competitions, until the end of the 2026-27 session. The German company will design the Orbita ball which has an eight-panel ball configuration, which will give great connection with the ball, improving players’ touch and control.
On the other hand, the one-year contract extension between the EFL and Sports Interactive, the producers of the Football Manager game, assures that all EFL clubs and competitions will continue to appear as fully licensed entities in Sports Interactive’s next version, Football Manager 2024.
Before this progress, the league had added companies such as Kellogg’s and Jameson to its sponsorship portfolio.
EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright, said, “We have sought to partner with brands where we can develop and cultivate our partnerships and create deeper, more impactful connections with fans, customers, and communities. PUMA are one of the world’s leading brands and have a distinct visibility not only on competition match days, but also support some of our EFL and EFL Club’s programs and initiatives through apparel and footballs”.
He further expressed, “Our partnership with Football Manager has also exemplifies our commercial portfolio objectives. The numbers of people playing Football Manager and engaging with EFL clubs is testament to the ever-growing popularity of the EFL. We thank both PUMA and Sports Interactive for the ongoing relationship and helping to continue engaging fans for this season and beyond.”
Bas van den Bemt, General Manager of UK&I at PUMA, said, “Continuing our partnership with the EFL symbolizes PUMA’s dedication to the heart and spirit of football in the UK. Since 2021, we’ve been honoured to be the Official Match Ball partner for the EFL, and this extension is a testament to the strong bond we’ve cultivated with the League, its clubs, and most importantly, the fans. Here’s to more shared moments, goals, and memories in the seasons to come.”
Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive, said, “We are delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership with the EFL. The League’s clubs are among the most popular with our players; in FM23, more than 40 million games were played with EFL clubs across 1.5 million unique careers. After three terrific Play-Off finals back in May, we’re looking forward to the start of the season and continuing our partnership with the EFL.”
Puma SE is a German multinational firm located in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany that creates and manufactures sports and casual footwear, clothes, and accessories. Puma is the world’s third-largest sportswear producer. Rudolf Dassler started the company in 1948.
Football Manager is a computer game series about football management that was created by British developer, Sports Interactive and released by Sega. The game debuted in 1992 as Championship Manager.