São Paulo ends wait for main shirt sponsor with Prevent Senior deal

Healthcare provider Prevent Senior has agreed a deal to become the main shirt sponsor of Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A football club São Paulo.

The season-long deal will expire in December but includes an automatic renewal clause. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Prevent Senior’s branding will appear on the front and back of São Paulo’s playing jerseys, starting with Sunday’s Serie A game against Palmeiras.

The company will also receive brand exposure at the club’s Morumbi stadium and training ground, as well as in the backdrops during player and staff interviews.

In addition, Prevent Senior will receive promotion via São Paulo’s social media channels and through fan and player activations.

São Paulo has been without a permanent front-of-shirt sponsor since 2014, when its partnership with Japanese conglomerate Toshiba came to an end.

Earlier this month the club expanded its deal with Copa Airlines. Under that agreement, the Panamanian airline’s branding will appear on the club’s playing jerseys 15 times over the course of the season. The airline had been provisionally named the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor until Sao Paulo secured a new major partner and its brand will now be moved to another area of the jersey.

José Francisco Manssur, the club’s vice-president of communications and marketing, said: “The board has always been aware of the anxiety of our fans regarding the issue of main sponsorship that the club has had since mid-2014 … the credibility of São Paulo has been recovered and the relevant work of the excellent team led by (marketing director) Vinicius Pinotti is responsible for this achievement.”