Vauxhall Ends Home Nations Partnership

29 Mar 2017 | tshego

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Vauxhall Motors has announced that it will be stepping down from its role as lead sponsor of the home nations football teams, when its current deals expire.

The UK car manufacturer will not continue its sponsorship of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland beyond the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Vauxhall has been sponsor of the home nations since 2011, with the deal for the England team thought to be worth in the region of £5m to £6m per year.

A spokesperson for Vauxhall said that the company wanted to start running separate marketing campaigns for individual models.

Now, Vauxhall has said that its “business priorities have changed” and the sponsorship began when the car company wanted to keep its brand “front of mind”.

In a statement, Vauxhall said: “Since 2011, Vauxhall has been very proud to be the lead sponsor for each of the four Home Nations football associations, the first time this has ever been undertaken by a major organisation.

“During this time, Vauxhall has enjoyed excellent relations with all the associations and the partnerships have proved extremely successful in delivering its original targeted strategic objectives.

Vauxhall will now concentrate its marketing resources on communicating the wealth of new, innovative and technologically advanced models that will be launched over the coming months and years.”

Vauxhall has, however, agreed to “explore other opportunities to continue its relationship with the FAs beyond the conclusion of the existing contracts.”

The English Football Association (FA) said that active discussions were under way regarding a lower level partnership.

FA of Wales (FAW) chief executive, Jonathan Ford said: “The partnership between the FAW and Vauxhall has been hugely successful for both parties. We have enjoyed an excellent working relationship.

“We now look forward to enjoying similar success with our future lead sponsor.”

Bookmakers Ladbrokes, supermarket chain Lidl, Mars chocolate and Carlsberg are among the current sponsors of the England national team.