LONDON: The English Premier League has sealed a three-and-a-half-year partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain.

The deal, which kicks off in January 2019, marks the first sponsorship deal where Coca-Cola will activate across multiple brands within its portfolio, with a particularly strong focus on promoting its low and no-sugar options.

As part of the tie-up, the Premier League and Coca-Cola will collaborate on a range of physical and digital activations, including a trophy tour across the UK. In addition, the two parties have already started working together to promote sustainability and recycling, and say they will continue to do so for the duration of the deal.

The partnership cements Coca-Cola’s commitment to soccer, building on its previous association with the English Football League (EFL), as well as its existing long-term deal to sponsor the Fifa World Cup.

“The Premier League is one of the most diverse leagues in the world and unites people with a shared passion for football and we’re looking forward to working together to help bring fans to closer to the action,” said Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“The partnership gives us an opportunity to showcase the range of drinks we offer which we are proud to make here in Great Britain and will help us to raise awareness of our no sugar drinks.”

The deal also means that the Premier League has now filled the seventh and final slot in its sponsor portfolio after it ditched title sponsorship in favour of a multi-partner model back in 2015.

Coca-Cola joins Barclays, Tag Heuer, Nike, EA Sports, Cadbury and Carling among the league’s official partners.

“We are excited that this is Coca-Cola Great Britain’s first portfolio-wide partnership and they will be bringing it to life across a range of brands,” added Premier League managing director Richard Masters.

“We know from their previous campaigns in sport they are excellent at communicating to fans across the globe and they have some exciting ideas – including a nationwide trophy tour – that will see the league benefit from their huge reach in the UK and across the world.”

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