Norilsk Nickel will become the general partner of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR), as well as the men’s and women’s national hockey teams. A representative of the federation told Vedomosti about this. The representative of the mining and metallurgical company confirmed the information on the conclusion of the sponsorship contract. The partners did not disclose its commercial terms. We are talking about 1 billion rubles. a year, said a person close to one of the parties.
Norilsk Nickel will develop a training program for the Russian national team for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, said a spokesman for the FHR. The company will also support sports schools, training and professional development of coaches, holding tournaments and master classes.
The mining and metallurgical company has already invested in hockey: for several years, Norilsk Nickel has been a partner of the Night Hockey League, where Russian President Vladimir Putin plays, as well as the League of World Hockey Legends. The president and main owner of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin, is fond of hockey himself: he regularly plays in the main roster of the CSKA veteran team.
Norilsk Nickel also sponsors other sports competitions and federations, including the Russian Curling Federation and the Winter Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk. In addition, the company owns the CSKA basketball club and the Norilsk Nickel mini-football club.
Norilsk Nickel is the second general partner of FHR; in December 2017, the pharmaceutical company R-Pharm became the general partner. The representative of the latter did not disclose the cost of the contract.
FHR’s revenue in 2017 almost halved to RUB 1.2 billion, according to SPARK. Hockey is one of the most expensive sports in terms of equipment. According to the website of the Russian Olympic team, the maintenance of one player per season costs about $ 50,000. One stick costs $ 185, but a hockey player needs at least 60 for one season, and some more than 100. Bibs cost from $ 1000, goalkeeper’s – almost twice as expensive. The cost of helmets is from $ 2000 to $ 14,000.
The FHR, according to its data, has more than 10 sponsors: the title partner is the diamond mining company Alrosa, the official partner is the oil and gas company Total, the betting company League of Bets, Rostec’s subsidiary Rosoboronexport, the car manufacturer Skoda, the retailer Ashan, Henderson menswear brand, CCM outfitter, Aktipan, a manufacturer of ingredients for bakers and confectioners.
The cost of the contract between Rosoboronexport and FHR is 50 million rubles. a year, says a representative of the state-owned company: it has sponsored the federation for more than 10 years. In return, according to him, Rosoboronexport receives advertisements in arenas, in videos, press volunteers, on banners, the FHR website, posters, etc.
Representatives of Alrosa, Ashan, Henderson, Skoda and Total did not disclose the amount of contracts, the rest of the partners did not respond to inquiries. According to SPARK-Interfax, the amount of the contract with Alrosa in 2017 amounted to 400 million rubles, the other sponsors are not mentioned there. Alrosa has been cooperating with FHR since 2015, the company representative confirms: the previous contract ended at the end of June 2018, the new contract is planned to be concluded by the end of November. Now “Alrosa” is negotiating on its amount and conditions, added a company representative.
With Total Vostok, Total’s subsidiary, the contract was signed in February 2017 for three years, says its representative: Total receives branding at the rink, VIP boxes, tickets to the stands, marketing rights. Auchan and FHR will continue their cooperation in 2019, confirmed Maria Kurnosova, communications director of the retailer. According to her, “Auchan” receives branding of hockey rinks and tickets for matches for clients and employees of the company. Henderson has been cooperating with FHR since 2010, the last contract was signed in September 2018 for two years, a company representative said. Henderson dresses FHR management, coaching staff and players for official events.
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