(REUTERS) – British bank Barclays has extended its global sponsorship of English Premier League soccer until 2016 in a new three-year deal worth £40M annually, the Premier League said yesterday. Barclays is looking for a new boss after it admitted errors in an interest rate-rigging scandal that led to the resignation of chief executive Bob Diamond, who supports Premier League club Chelsea.
The new deal will run from 2013 to 2016. The current arrangement that expires at the end of the 2012/13 season has seen Barclays pay £27.5M per year.
The mew terms were another sign of the appeal of the Premier League, which recently secured a 70 percent increase in the value of its domestic TV rights and the deal gives Barclays global title sponsorship of the League and exclusive worldwide marketing rights, extending a partnership that dates back to 2001.
The Premier League, which was won last season by Manchester City, is broadcast to 650 million homes worldwide.