After Australia, Vodafone assesses global sport sponsorship properties

Vodafone is reviewing its global sports and events sponsorships, including its major partnership with the McLaren Formula One team, according to a report in London's Financial Times.

The review comes less than a month after Vodafone announced that it would end its backing of the Australian cricket team, the summer Test series and its V8 Supercar team in a bid to save funds to invest in improving its network and customer service.

The telecommunications giant renewed its title sponsorship of McLaren in 2010, but the current agreement is due to expire at the end of the 2013 season.

The respected UK newspaper reported that Vodafone's sponsorship were worth "tens of millions of pounds" every year, and that such costs needed to be evaluated owing to the difficult financial climate for mobile phone companies in the European market.

The Financial Times added that recent negative news stories about Formula One, including the events around the Bahrain Grand Prix and the corruption trial of a bank official in Germany, were "less important" to Vodafone's decision.

Image: Vodafone has been a major backer of Australia's V8 Supercars.

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