THE longest-ever sponsorship deal for the sport of volleyball was announced yesterday.
FBC TV will sponsor the Fiji Volleyball Federation (FVF) Easter Championship for the next five years.
The local television broadcast company had been sponsoring the event for the past two years and have decided to take the relationship further.
FVF general secretary Rosa Dalituicama said past sponsorship deals were only for one event or for one year.
She said the new deal would assist in the running of the tournament and also help teams travelling from the western division.
"They (FBC TV) will give us $2500 for this year and they will increase that amount by $500 every year for the next five years," Dalituicama said.
"Part of the finances will go towards subsidising the transportation costs of the teams from the Western Division," she said.
"This is because the Western Division was recently affected by the floods and the volleyball teams taking part in the event were also victims of the floods and we understand the financial situation they are in right now."
FBC chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said FBC is proud to support volleyball in Fiji.
"It (volleyball) is considered a minor sport in Fiji but it is growing significantly," Sayed-Khaiyum said.
"They have come to us for a reason because they have confidence in us and we have confidence in them," he said.
He also said the important games of the tournament will be televised live on FBC TV.
The Easter Championship was to be held on Easter weekend but had to be postponed because of the rainy weather and flood in the Western Division.
The tournament starts tomorrow and will end on Saturday at the National Gymnasium.