Sweets brand is the English Premier League's newest sponsor

pulse

January 25, 2017 2:10 PM

The sponsorship of the sport by a sweets brand angered obesity campaigners.

2015/16 winner of the Golden Boot award Harry Kane will be among the events Cadburys has access to as part of its sponsorship.

Sweets brand Cadbury has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the English Premier League, starting with the 2017/18 season.

"If the sponsorship meant that a host of kids would be encouraged to exercise and kick footballs to kingdom come, but didn't come near a bar of chocolate, the forum might regard it as money well spent," National Obesity Forum spokesperson Tam Fry told the BBC.

It's not the first time Cadbury has sponsored a sport. It was one of the sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics, which also drew criticism from anti-obesity campaigns.

The Mondelez-owned brand will join the Premier League's portfolio of sponsors, which includes Tag Heuer and Carling.

As part of the partnership, Cadbury and the Premier League will create a tailored version of the existing Mondelez community project Health for Life, which promotes healthy lifestyles in primary schools around the UK.

"For over a hundred years Cadbury has been about bringing little moments of joy to people’s lives, something that fits well with the joy created by Premier League football every day," Cadbury brand director Francesco Vitrano described the partnership.

The deal includes giving Cadbury access to key player events such as the Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards, which the brand hopes to leverage in-stores, on packaging and in the community, according to the statement released by Mondelez.

It's not clear what kind of sponsor Cadbury will be. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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