Bundesliga top draw in shirt sponsorship

Germany's Bundesliga has widened the gap over the English Premier League as Europe's top division for shirt sponsorship revenue despite the economic downturn, a report said yesterday.

The report by sports consulting group StageUp, released exclusively to Reuters outside Italy, showed that total shirt sponsorship revenue across the five biggest European leagues has dropped by 2.6 per cent to €365 million (Dh1.8 billion) this season.

However, the revenue drop was less than the double-digit decline reported in overall corporate communication spending.

This is partly because of the larger media exposure of top football teams and the longer duration of shirt sponsorships, which are the backbone of clubs' commercial revenues. "Despite the global financial crisis, shirt sponsorships in Europe's five top soccer divisions retain a great appeal for investors," StageUp said.

Bundesliga clubs have generated an average of €6.3m each from shirt sponsorship this term, up five per cent on the previous season.

"Bundesliga remains at the top... mainly thanks to the lucrative contracts signed by Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund," StageUp said.

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