Press Release

Corporate

July 20, 2007

Middlesbrough FC announces sponsorship deal with GPS giant Garmin®

SOUTHAMPTON, England/July 20, 2007/PR Newswire —Garmin, a world leader in GPS navigation equipment, is proud to announce its principal sponsorship of Middlesbrough Football Club of the English Premier League.

Garmin designs and manufactures a range of navigation and communication equipment serving the automotive, outdoor, fitness, marine and aviation sectors with ground-breaking technologies that are sold throughout the world. Garmin has to date sold 19 million navigation devices worldwide.

As part of the association, Garmin will be providing Middlesbrough coaches and players with Garmin Forerunners to aid their fitness training and development. The wrist-mounted, GPS-enabled Forerunners will measure the players' heart rate, speed and the distance they cover during training, allowing the coaches to analyze each player's level of endurance and develop specific training programs accordingly. Fans will be able to view the data of their favorite players online and monitor their progress during the season.
 
Garmin in-car and portable GPS navigation, which has traffic avoidance and safety camera alerts, will be used by Middlesbrough FC to guide the team to away matches, ensuring the team reaches its destination efficiently.

Clive Taylor, Garmin’s European marketing director, expressed the company’s delight. “We are very excited to be sponsoring Middlesbrough FC this season both on and off the pitch. Garmin is looking to improve its brand awareness of its excellent sat-nav products and we are also dedicated to improving performance in sport and fitness with a range of purpose-designed products. The Club was looking for a high-tech company to support them, so this partnership makes the ideal union. Fans will also benefit by being able to follow their team’s training, as well as their accomplishments.”

As the prime sponsor, fans will see the Garmin name adorning the home and away uniforms of Middlesbrough FC in the near future. There are numerous activities where the Garmin brand will be visible, including advertising boards and online activity. Garmin will have a strong presence at the Riverside Stadium throughout the season and will also be working closely with Middlesbrough FC in community projects.

Graham Fordy, Head of Commercial, from Middlesbrough FC said, "We are absolutely delighted to have clinched a prestigious sponsorship deal with Garmin. The deal is initially for 12 months but we are already in discussions about extending the sponsorship into a second year. Their sponsorship will help Middlesbrough continue to compete at the very highest level of English football and build on an era that has made us the fifth most successful club in English football over the last 12 years. In return, Garmin will get the sort of coverage only sponsorship of a Barclays Premier League club can provide. It's a great partnership both on and off the pitch that we are confident will go from strength to strength."