The Aviva Stadium is to be rebranded for the hosting of the Europa League final next year – despite the insurance company spending €40 million to secure naming rights for the stadium.

It means the company will not get any exposure when the European football final is played at the Dublin stadium in one of the biggest club games ever to take place in Ireland.

The government body of European football, Uefa, is insisting that the stadium be rebranded. It will be called the Dublin Arena for the event.

This is because Uefa refuses to recognise secondary sponsorship, and all branding at its events is linked to companies which are official sponsors of the federation.

Uefa is already referring to the stadium as Dublin Arena, Lansdowne Road in its literature, and this will be the name on tickets for the event and the match programme.

The decision by Uefa is embarrassing for Aviva and the FAI, which received a cut of the €40 million naming rights deal.

However, a spokesman for Aviva said the company was aware of all protocols when it signed its ten-year deal, and was delighted with its decision to sponsor the stadium. ‘‘It is Uefa policy to refer to the city,” the spokesman said.

The match, to take place next May, will be watched by more than 100 million people around the world. However, Aviva will gain little sponsorship traction from the event, and will not be able to take sponsorship in the stadium, as all space goes to affiliated Uefa sponsors.

This article first appeared on sbpost.ie

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