The European arm of the electronics giant will continue to use the tournament to showcase its PlayStation brand – using it to promote consoles and games titles.
With the eagerly anticipated PlayStation 3 expected to hit European shelves by the end of this year, it is likely to prove a key platform in its strategy to remain the video games market leader.
Lars-Christer Olsson, CEO of UEFA, said: “The UEFA Champions League continues to go from strength to strength and we are sure that it will provide PlayStation with an excellent platform to further increase their prestigious and well known brand identity, and that it will also foster the link between the UEFA Champions League and the fan base of the PlayStation products.”
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s vice-president of brand and consumer marketing, Darren Carter, said: "PlayStation's involvement with the UEFA Champions League has served us well over the past nine years and has significantly assisted in promoting the PlayStation brand and boosting its awareness across the whole of Europe and beyond. The UEFA Champions League is an extremely powerful communications tool and has been an important part of PlayStation's communication strategy since 1997, during which time the stature of the competition has increased along with the number of PlayStation fans.”
The agreement with PlayStation means that the current four official sponsors have extended their partnership – joining Heineken, MasterCard and Ford – with UEFA for the period 2006 to 2009 of the Champions League.
The latest deal was brokered by UEFA’s marketing partner TEAM.
