British Federation Hopes British Fan Interest Will Continue Sponsorship

Written by: Staff on 9th July 2012

British Federation Hopes British Fan Interest Will Continue Sponsorship

epa03300603 Andy Murray of Britain returns to Roger Federer of Switzerland during the men's final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 08 July 2012. EPA/JONATHAN BRADY |

Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association is hoping Andy Murray’s progression to becoming the nation’s first Wimbledon men’s singles finalist in 84 years and his emotional post-match speech that finally tugged at the heart strings of millions of doubters, will prompt an extension of the current five year sponsorship with finance services combine AEGON that expires next year.

The LTA is far from strapped for cash; each year they receive in excess of £28 million (about $40 million) from profits generated by Wimbledon but the AEGON deal is believed to be worth £125 million (about $200 million) over its five year span.

Included in the AEGON package is title sponsorship of the grass court events played in the build up to Wimbledon at London’s Queen’s Club, Eastbourne and Birmingham’s Edgbaston Priory.

“This whole Wimbledon tournament and grass-court season has been fantastic for us,” said Mark Locke, head of media relations at AEGON. “Although we have not been directly linked to Andy it is great that he was in the final; our brand exposure will go through the roof.”

Even if the AEGON deal is not extended with the LTA, Murray’s fine form widens the potential interest in British tennis, bringing competitive tension to the negotiations.

Roger Draper, the LTA chief executive, also insisted that the interest sparked by Murray’s determined bid to become the first British men’s champion since Fred Perry in 1936 would trigger a boost to tennis participation in the United Kingdom. Until an 11% year-on-year rise in weekly participation was reported this April, official statistics had shown a decline in British people actually playing tennis.

Draper said: “Everybody’s talking about British tennis at the moment, and our job is to get as many of them playing British tennis as well. We know this is a huge opportunity for us to get more people playing.”

Topics: 10salls.com, Aegon, All England Club, Andy Murray, BLTA, British tennis news, Sports, Tennis News

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