French supermarket chain Carrefour has opted to end its sponsorship of the French Football Federation and the Tour de France cycling event from next year.
Carrefour is a long-term supporter of both properties, having sponsored the FFF since 1998 and the Tour de France since 1993.
The company will continue to support the French national team during this summer’s Fifa World Cup in Russia, while it will also sponsor this year’s Tour de France, which gets underway in July.
A Carrefour spokesman said, according to the Reuters news agency: “The group wishes to refocus its sponsoring policy on events linked to food and retail. We will make some announcements along these lines soon.”
Carrefour serves as an official sponsor of the FFF. Its partnership with the Tour de France sees it sponsor the race’s polka dot jersey, which is awarded to the best climber, who is designated ‘King of the Mountains’.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported that supermarket chain Intermarché would replace Carrefour as an FFF sponsor in a deal that will commence after the World Cup, which runs from June 14 to July 15.