E.ON, the company that runs Powergen, has strengthened its ties in domestic football today (Thursday 09 August) by announcing a major new sponsorship agreement with The Football League.

E.ON will become the Official Energy Partner to The Football League in a three year deal lasting until 2010, with fans and the environment set to benefit.

The sponsorship will also see E.ON supporting The Football League's 'Fans of the Future' initiative, which aims to encourage an additional 300,000 children to watch live football at their local League club and provides a range of innovative ticketing initiatives for families and young fans. 

In addition to securing a set of commercial rights across the Championship, League 1 and League 2 clubs, the partnership deal will see E.ON working closely with all the League clubs to promote environmental awareness, in particular energy efficiency, and help communicate some of the practical solutions that will move them to a more sustainable future.

The Football League agreement bolsters E.ON's involvement in football and follows a successful first season for E.ON as Sponsor of The FA Cup, The FA Women's Cup, The FA Youth Cup and as The FA's Schools Partner.

Speaking at the launch, Head of Sponsorship at E.ON UK, Mike Thompson said: "We are delighted to announce our sponsorship deal with The Football League.  Working more closely with clubs across the League will allow us to extend our reach to football fans, customers and E.ON colleagues in the communities in which we operate.

"By investing in exciting initiatives such as 'Fans of the Future', we hope to encourage the next generation of football fans to support their League club, and in turn build on the success of our existing programmes within The FA Women's Cup, The FA Youth Cup and our Schools campaign as part of our current FA Cup sponsorship.

"We look forward to building a successful relationship with The Football League over the next three seasons."  

Football League Chairman, Lord Mawhinney said, "I am delighted to welcome E.ON as the Official Energy Partner to The Football League. Their involvement represents a vote of confidence in our clubs and competition and I look forward to a successful relationship.

"Their support for The League's 'Fans of the Future' initiative, which has enabled more than 500,000 young fans to watch League matches for free over the last two seasons, is particularly encouraging. With E.ON's help, our clubs will be able to give even more youngsters the opportunity to experience the thrill of watching live football over the next three years