Carlsberg's association with Danish football is a long and well-known one, but under the terms of its next deal, its focus is switching to a new relationship: the one with the national team's fans.

Today, Carlsberg has officially signed a deal with the Danish football association, the DBU, to become the first new official partner of the national football team.

And this agreement – which is valued at 4.5 million kroner, begins on 1 January 2015 and lasts until the end of the 2016 European Championships – will include a much increased focus on fan involvement and activities.

“At DBU we are working hard on strengthening relations with our many passionate fans and including them in our new strategy of being part of something bigger,” explained Katja Moesgaard, the commercial head of DBU, in a press release.

“Carlsberg works in a goal-orientated and innovative fashion with exactly that target audience in mind, so I see the co-operation as being a perfect match. Together we can create loads of unique experiences and value for our fans in connection with our national team games.”

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Over three decades of co-operation
The fan co-operation may be new, but DBU’s relationship with the Danish brewery giant extends back to 1978. In total, five new official partners will sign up as part of DBU’s new sponsorship strategy, which largely concerns fan activities.

One of these activities will be presented at a DBU press conference tomorrow when the national coach Morten Olsen reveals his squad for the upcoming 2016 Euro qualification group games against Portugal and Albania in October.