Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the commercial arm of Major League Soccer (MLS), has signed a comprehensive deal with insurance company Allstate.

The new deal includes four year deals between Allstate and the US Soccer Federation, the US men’s and women’s national soccer teams, the MLS, as well as a four year extension to the original four-year deal that Allstate had with the Mexican national soccer team, an agreement that covered all Mexican friendly games on US soil.

The deal is believed to be worth an eight-figure sum over the four year period, which, of course, includes the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

Allstate will receive category exclusivity for the next four years as the Official Insurance Sponsor of Major League Soccer and the league’s marquee assets, the AT&T MLS All-Star Game, and MLS Cup.

Additionally, the insurance company will continue its Hispanic focused community programmes. In 2010, more than 2,000 individuals from 39 states and 36 countries participated in Sueño MLS, a free tryout programme in search of the best undiscovered Hispanic soccer talent.

“Allstate has a track record of helping fans get closer to the sports they love through our college football and Olympic sponsorships, and we look forward to joining with millions of passionate soccer fans out there by supporting the continued growth of the sport in the United States,” said Lisa Cochrane, vice president of marketing for Allstate. “Our message of ‘protection’ aligns very well with the sport and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to grow our involvement and support within the various soccer properties.”

“We look forward to expanding upon our successful partnership with Allstate, a company that believes in the future of soccer in North America,” said Kathy Carter, president of Soccer United Marketing. “By expanding its relationship to include Major League Soccer and the U.S. National Teams, Allstate will be able to connect with the millions of passionate soccer fans who eat, sleep and breathe the Beautiful Game.”

Meanwhile, MLS will be televised on TSN in Canada after a six-year exclusive broadcast deal was signed.

The agreement will give Canadian cable sports channel TSN and its secondary TSN2 channel a national package of 24 MLS games in its first season and is likely to be worth considerably more than the previous deal with TSN’s rivals CBC and Rogers Sportsnet.

Toronto already has an established MLS franchise, but this year will see the participation of the Vancouver Whitecaps expansion team.

In TSN’s second season its package will increase to 30 games per season to allow for coverage of the Montreal franchise, due to join the league in 2012.

TSN recently secured the Canadian broadcast rights to the Tour de France and to the Euro 2012 and 2016 soccer tournaments.

Source: sportspromedia.com

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