Nissan and Melbourne City Football Club have entered into an exciting new partnership that will see the car-maker become the official automotive partner of the club.
The partnership is the first of its kind in Australia’s A-League and W-League, following Football Federation Australia’s regulations allowing clubs to sign automotive partners for the upcoming 2016/17 season.
The landmark deal will see the Nissan logo feature on the sleeve of the men’s team’s home and away jersey and the sleeve of the women’s away jersey.
The partnership will deliver a variety of benefits for Nissan in Australia, including strong brand presence at Melbourne City’s home at AAMI Park on match days, complemented by unique fan engagement opportunities throughout the season, in line with Nissan’s commitment to offering ‘unexpected access’ for fans of the sports it sponsors.
To mark the start of this new partnership, the #23 Nissan NISMO Altima Supercar, driven by Nissan Motorsport’s Michael Caruso, will bear Melbourne City FC branding at this weekend’s Townsville 400 round of the V8 Supercars Championship.
And to celebrate the new partnership and this A-League first, two Melbourne City FC competition winners were recently flown from Melbourne to Milan for the UEFA Champions League Final for a once-in-a lifetime footballing experience, courtesy of Nissan.
“Nissan has a global partnership with City Football Group, which includes teams in the UK, Japan and the USA, and today’s announcement is a natural progression of our strong association with, and support of, the world game,” said Richard Emery, Managing Director and CEO of Nissan Australia. “Nissan Australia is excited to work with Melbourne City Football Club to further strengthen both our brands and commitment to Australian sport.”
Melbourne City FC CEO Scott Munn said: “We are delighted to announce Nissan as the first ever Club Automotive Partner in the A-League. Nissan are, like us, committed to sustainability and innovation and that translates in a very real way to benefits for Melbourne City fans.
“This partnership will see a range of promotions and activities that bring fans closer to Melbourne City and to Nissan. By support for both the men’s and the women’s team, Nissan is demonstrating a real and deep commitment to, and passion for, football.”
The association follows Nissan’s five-year partnership with City Football Group, announced in July 2014. Nissan extended its connections in world football by agreeing a global partnership to become the Official Automotive Partner of City Football Group (CFG). The five-year deal represents a first for CFG, with Nissan becoming the first global partner of the football network, an organisation including Nissan majority owned Yokohama F. Marinos alongside Barclays Premier League Champions, Manchester City FC, Manchester City Women’s FC, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC.
Nissan is the official global automotive sponsor of the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Champions League, with a four season deal that will cover the period 2014/2015 to 2017/2018. Nissan is also the official global automotive supplier to the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015, covering the qualifiers and the finals.
About Melbourne City FC
Melbourne City Football Club is a professional football club that competes in the major Australian domestic competition, the Hyundai A-League, the top tier of women’s football, the Westfield W-League, and the Foxtel National Youth League. The Club was formerly known as Melbourne Heart FC. Melbourne City FC is owned by a consortium involving the City Football Group, which also owns English Premier League club Manchester City FC and Major League Soccer club New York City FC. Based at La Trobe University, Melbourne City FC’s home ground is AAMI Park in Melbourne, Australia. Inspired by a vision for a broad based community team, celebrating cultural diversity and sporting passion through football, Melbourne Heart FC was established in 2009.
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan’s second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.
