Sailing is said to be the third largest recipient of sports sponsorship expenditure in Europe, according to a recent study from the UK’s International Marketing Reports.

The company, which analysed the top 2,000 sponsorship deals in Europe, published its findings in a report entitled Driving Business Through Sport 2007. The report found that although sailing receives an estimated 267 million Euros per year, the sport accounts for just 4 per cent of total European sports sponsorship expenditure.

“We found that football and motorsport took 70 per cent of sponsorship spend, which left just 30 per cent for all other European sports,” says Simon Rines, author of the report. “This is because of the enormous popularity of football and the ability of Formula One to deliver a global business platform.

“Sailing, however, has clearly followed the business model created by Formula One and has attracted technology companies keen to showcase their wares on a global platform,” he adds. “As a result, the telecommunications sector now accounts for 12 per cent of all sailing sponsorship by value. These companies are using sailing to demonstrate their systems through web and mobile services which make following international sailing events much more exciting.”