Football
PA sport 9y

Premier League closes door on title sponsorship from 2016-17 season

The Premier League will not have a title sponsor from the 2016-17 season, it has confirmed.

The move reflects the organisation's desire to mirror major American sports leagues like the NBA and NFL in presenting a "clean" brand.

Having been sponsored by Barclays since 2004, in 2016 the competition will be known simply as "The Premier League."

Premier League sources have stressed their new sponsorship strategy will not impinge on their clubs' ability to pursue their own individual commercial models.

A Premier League spokesman said: "Barclays has been an excellent partner for the League throughout their sponsorship of the competition and we look forward to working with them in 2015-16, the final season of their title sponsorship."

The Premier League did not have a title sponsor in its inaugural season of 1992-93 before signing a four-year, £12 million deal with brewers Carling -- at the time the biggest in British sport.

Carling subsequently paid triple that initial amount to secure a four-year extention to their original deal, before Barclaycard paid £48m for a three-year contract beginning in 2001.

Barclays paid £57m for a three-year sponsorship deal in 2004 and subsequent extensions saw the value rise to the £120m paid for the existing three-year sponsorship in 2012.

However the bank indicated in March that they would not seek to renew the deal when it expires at the end of the 2015-16 season.

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