Virgin chasing AFL sponsorship?

Is Virgin Blue tackling the AFL's travel sponsorship? (Seth Jaworski)

Virgin Blue has reportedly put a big offer to the Australian Football League to unseat Qantas as the official carrier of the League from next year.

According to the Herald Sun, the AFL’s agreement with Qantas, which started in 2002, is due to expire at the end of this year. In response, Virgin is understood to have put forward a proposal which could be worth up to $5 million annually. Neither Virgin Blue nor the AFL have commented on the report, but it is expected that a decision will be made by Christmas time.

The report noted that while the offer is understood to be more than Qantas’s previous sponsorship fee that Virgin Blue may yet fail due to its less flexible schedule, particularly on services to Perth. However, that situation may change with the addition of A330 services during next year on its transcontinental services from Perth.

If it is able to secure the sponsorship, it would be a major step for the Virgin Blue Group, which currently only has major sponsorship agreement currently is with the National Basketball League, while V Australia has established a relationships with Tennis Australia. By comparison, Qantas has secured major sponsorships of the AFL and the A-League soccer and also has naming rights sponsorships of the Wallabies and Socceroos national teams.