Gazprom Could Sponsor Champions League

Russia’s state-run gas company Gazprom could become an official sponsor of the Champions League European football competition as of next season, CEO Alexei Miller said Monday.

The company, the largest natural gas extractor in the world, would replace an existing sponsor if a deal were agreed, Miller said.

“We can sign a contract and then we will take the place of one of the Champions League sponsors,” Miller said.

There were no details on the deal.

The competition’s current sponsors are Ford, Heineken, MasterCard, Sony and UniCredit.

Gazprom is heavily invested in sports, sponsoring Russian Premier League champions Zenit St. Petersburg, German Bundesliga side FC Schalke, Serbian SuperLiga team Red Star Belgrade, hockey team Avangard Omsk, and cycling Team Katusha, among others.

Last month’s Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich had a reported global television reach of 300 million viewers.

 

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