Zug, Switzerland – The 2016/17 Champions Hockey League (CHL) season drew to a close on Tuesday night with Frolunda Gothenburg defeating Sparta Prague with a thrilling 4-3 win in overtime. It was a strong end to a successful season and the excitement and anticipation for the next season is already high. As such, Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, has announced that Warrior Sports is to extend its sponsorship as the Official Kit Supplier. The new agreement between the premium sporting goods manufacturer and Infront as exclusive media and marketing partner of the CHL covers the next three seasons 2017/18 to 2019/20.
Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warrior Sports manufactures high performance sports equipment, footwear and apparel for ice hockey, lacrosse and football. Warrior Sports was founded in 1993 and has secured a strong foothold in the ice hockey market since it began manufacturing ice hockey equipment in 2005.
The package of commercial rights under the agreement provides product category exclusivity in camera view - which will deliver increased exposure to the brand over the coming seasons as the CHL platform continues to go from strength to strength.
The contractual rights involve all participating teams and referees wearing branded Warrior Sports apparel including: jerseys, pant shells, socks and gloves. Additional advertising across rink boards as well as on the penalty benches, video walls and interview backdrops is also included. Furthermore, Warrior Sports benefits from product placement and activation opportunities inside the arenas together with a ticket and hospitality contingent.
Matthias Wolf, Managing Director International at Warrior Sports: “Supporting the CHL since the start, we have witnessed first-hand the excitement build around the platform as it has developed over the past three seasons. The decision to extend our sponsorship as Official Kit Supplier allows us to continue to benefit from the close contact we have had with the clubs and the pro players. As the CHL becomes more and more competitive - showcasing our innovative products in such a dynamic environment really is the perfect channel to obtain maximum exposure in the important European markets.”
Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports at Infront: “We are delighted that Warrior Sports is to continue as Official Kit Supplier of the CHL. Ice hockey is an authentic fit for the brand and it is placed very appropriately within the CHL family. Due to the new entry criteria, we are expecting the sportive level of the competition to increase even further which will inject additional interest, TV exposure and even greater sponsorship appeal over the coming seasons. It is fantastic to see that sponsors are already placing a high value on these developments - showing a committed dedication to the CHL for the long-term future.”
For the upcoming season, played between August 2017 and February 2018, the Champions Hockey League will feature an adapted qualification system - based purely on sporting merit to grant entry to 32 professionally ranked teams. Within the new criteria, 24 of the best teams from the founding national leagues and eight from the Challenge Leagues (with a maximum of five teams per country) will be accepted into the competition. The previous season’s CHL Champion and the Continental Cup Winner will be granted automatic qualification.
The league is fully owned and operated by the Champions Hockey League AG/Ltd which includes, as its shareholders, 26 Founding Clubs, six national Founding Leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Founding National Leagues are: Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The best teams from the Challenge Leagues (Belarus, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Norway, Poland and Slovakia) are extended Wild Cards (C-Licenses). The 2016-17 season opened 16 August 2016 with 48 teams. Poland is the new and 13th league in the competition. The teams which participate in the 2016-17 season represent a total of 267 national championships between them.
Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with close to 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.