Inter Milan Signs Suning Sponsorship Deal

The owners of Inter Milan give name to training facilities and sponsor training apparel. Suning Holdings Group – the Chinese conglomerate that acquired a 69 per cent stake in Inter Milan in June – has entered into a wide-ranging sponsorship agreement with the Serie A soccer side.

Inter Milan Sign Suning Training Centre and Training Kit Sponsorship Deal

Suning have been granted naming rights to both the club's training ground and the club's youth training centre. The club's main training facility will henceforth be known as 'The Suning Training Centre in memory of Angelo Moratti', and the youth centre will be renamed 'The Suning Training Centre in memory of Giacinto Facchetti', honoring two former Inter Milan owners.

Suning also becomes the official training apparel partner for the senior and junior teams. This pre-season, interestingly, Inter already hide the Pirelli logos that were normally visible on the front of Inter's training gear under tape covering, while it was also rumored that Pirelli, who has been Inter's sponsor since 1995, could soon be replaced as kit sponsor despite the fact that they extended the deal one year ago for three further seasons until 2019.

"As one of the most popular foreign clubs in China, our partnership with Inter will allow us to boost our brand awareness and brand recognition in China and other strategic markets in Asia," Sun Weimin, vice-chairman for Suning Commerce Group, said. "It will also help to establish the Suning.com brand in Europe and we look forward to activating this activity together with Inter in the future."

Michael Gandler, Inter's chief revenue officer, added: "This partnership is an important step for Inter as we continue to more effectively monetise the value of our assets. Through this partnership Suning can expect major branding opportunities, increased global media coverage and direct fan engagement on Inter's digital and media platforms. We also expect to further develop other core areas of our business through Suning including, e-commerce, retail and media."