Huawei Extends Major-Sponsorship With Canberra Raiders
Chinese multinational technology company, Huawei, will continue its major sponsorship of the Canberra Raiders NRL team after signing an extension to the current deal.
It’s a sign of Huawei’s long-term commitment to the Australian market and the new two-year deal will mark a decade long partnership – making it easily one of the longest running commercial partnerships in professional Australian sports.
As part of the deal, Huawei will also take over the naming rights of the Canberra Districts Rugby League (CDRL) Centre in Braddon, which will become the future Headquarters of the Canberra Raiders.
“The Raiders are extremely proud to announce Huawei has signed on as our major sponsor for another two years – taking our partnership to ten seasons, our longest ever major sponsorship,” CEO of the Canberra Raiders, Don Furner, said.
“We have achieved a huge amount from our partnership with Huawei and this latest deal presents us with the opportunity to take our partnership to new levels over the next two seasons.
“This relationship is more than just a logo on a jersey, we continue to work with Huawei on a number of very important community initiatives and fundraising opportunities for very worthwhile causes.
“Additionally, their product inclusions in our new CDRL Centre allow us to be at the forefront of the newest and best technology.”
First signed in 2012 the Raiders sponsorship was Huawei’s first major sports sponsorship anywhere in the world and the long-running partnership has been extremely beneficial to both parties as well as to a number of high-profile good causes.
Working together the two parties have raised over $200,000 for charities including Tour de Cure, Soldier On, Bowel Cancer Australia and the Ricky Stuart Foundation.
John Lord, Chairman of Huawei Australia, said: “This year Huawei is celebrating our 15th year of operating in Australia and the extension of our major sponsorship deal with the Canberra Raiders is a sign of our deep commitment to long-term engagement in the Australian market.
“Although the last year has been a challenging one for us the Raiders have stuck by us as loyal friends and partners and we deeply appreciate their support.
“Our partnership with the Raiders has been hugely beneficial to both parties and we look forward to the next two years with great excitement at the opportunities that lie ahead for both of us.”
This deal comes at a time when the Australian government has banned Huawei equipment on national security grounds, which has infuriated the telecommunications giant and Chinese government and caused widespread disquiet among Australian telcos about the impact of excluding a leading equipment provider from the market.
This has heavily affected Huawei’s brand and reputation, whilst also impacting its global expansion plans into other, larger markets.
