Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer has agreed a deal to become the first ever Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of the Premier League.
The company held simultaneous events in London and Hong Kong yesterday to announce the tie-up, which will see its brand broadcast into 730 million homes around the world.
The agreement with the Premier League ensures that TAG Heuer will be visible on all of the fourth official’s boards, which will be shaped like a TAG Heuer Carrera chronograph with a tachometer scale. The brand name will also appear in full on the lower section of the board.
Additionally, the referees will sport the new TAG Heuer Connected smartwatch, developed in conjunction with Intel and Google Android Wear.
TAG’s logo, meanwhile, will appear during Premier League match broadcast in 185 countries, while its branding and corporate motto, #DontCrackUnderPressure, will feature across all of the Premier League’s digital platforms, including its website and social media.
In London yesterday, Richard Masters, managing director of the Premier League and Rob Diver, managing director of TAG Heuer, confirmed the partnership at Café Royal in the heart of the capital, joined by guests including Claudio Ranieri, boss of current league leaders Leicester City.
In Hong Long, meanwhile, TAG CEO Jean-Claude Biver symbolically sealed the deal with Tom Greenwood from the Premier League. They were joined by former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel around a wheel of the Alpine cheese that Mr Biver produces on his pasture in Switzerland.
Biver stated: “Our partnership with the Premier League seals the important and strong involvement in football of TAG Heuer. We are particularly proud and pleased about this partnership, as it will be key in the promotion of our brand and its football activities in Asia and in the whole world.”
Premier League managing director, Richard Masters, said: “We are very excited about this new partnership with TAG Heuer who will become the Premier League’s first official Time Keeper and Watch. TAG Heuer has a fantastic track record of investing in sport which makes it an excellent fit for the Premier League.”
The sponsorship builds on similar agreements that TAG already has in place with other football associations around the world. It is already the Official Timekeeper for the German Bundesliga, MLS in the USA, the 2016 Copa America, the Chinese Football Association Super League, and the Australian National Football team.
