The German Football Association has appointed IMG as its exclusive sponsorship agency for APAC, with the aim of driving new opportunities for the organisation across the region.

The deal will see IMG advise the governing body and help identify new partnerships that are fit for their brand.

To kick-off the partnership, IMG already secured a partnership with kitchen and bathroom appliance specialist, Vanward, to become the official regional partner of the German national football team in China.

Commenting on the partnership, senior head sales and partner management at DFB GmbH & Co.KG, Henning Wegter, said: “We manage almost all of our commercial sales inhouse but are excited to handle sales in Asia and especially in China with the expertise and excellence of renowned partners such as IMG to secure a vast portfolio of DFB partners worldwide.”

“Having a committed partner helping us to identify opportunities regionally overseas will secure great visibility of the DFB brand also outside our natural habitat,” Wegter said.

IMG SVP and managing director of football events, Adolfo Bara, added: “German football has a history of excellence and international success, and we’re delighted to be working with DFB to develop new commercial opportunities for the national team.”

“IMG has a wealth of regional and global expertise and resources within the world of football.

“We look forward to leveraging our extensive global sales network to develop more strategic sponsorship opportunities for the next generation of German national football,” he said.

The partnership comes after IMG struck a deal with the International Cricket Council, which sees their 24/7 live sport channel, Sport 24, provide coverage of the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup.