The news coincides with the announcement that Galicia, Spain will host the start of the 2005 event.
Telefonica has used sponsorship extensively to support its brand and its portfolio of events have included sailing, Formula 1, World Rally Championship, Moto GP, European basketball and the Tennis Masters Series.
Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race commented: "Telefonica’s commitment to the Volvo Ocean Race demonstrates the attractiveness that the event offers – it is clearly positioned in the top 20 international sporting events in the world."
Awareness and interest research in the Volvo Ocean Race and individual yacht teams shows the event delivers a strong return on investment.
Four teams from the previous race conducted media evaluation, which showed an average global media value of $50million, equating to a 200-300 percent return on their sponsorship investment.
