De Lotto signed the agreement late last month in advance of the second round of the competition and its Toto.nl sportsbetting site will now serve as the official sponsor of the KNVB Cup until 2012.
De Lotto already had a deal in place with the Dutch soccer authority that saw Toto.nl sponsor amateur football throughout the nation. The agreement sees amateur soccer clubs receive a 10 % commission on all bets made by their fans at Toto.nl while the supporters get a discount worth 4.50 euros.
“I am proud that, with this sponsorship agreement, we again prove that Toto.nl and football are inextricably linked,” said Frank Bijman, Commercial Director for De Lotto. “Toto.nl is emotion and emotion is football. With our presence in the Cup we hope to contribute more.”
The format of the KNVB Cup competition is based on England’s FA Cup and sees teams from the top two tiers of Dutch league football, the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie, compete in a single ellimination knockout competition. These sides are joined by the top four teams from each of the six third-tiers of Dutch football, the Hoofdklasse, as well as sides from the fourth level, the Eerste Klasse.
“It is a great compliment to KNVB that the KNVB Cup now has a sponsor,” said Jean-Paul Decossaux, Commercial Director for KNVB. “This sponsorship agreement with Toto.nl again shows its commitment to promote and further develop football in The Netherlands.”