Rochdale Hornets are delighted to announce a new major club sponsorship - the biggest in their history.

The name of Nardi - the Italian domestic appliances manufacturer - will appear on the front of Hornets’ jerseys in 2005, replacing the long-standing British Millerain.

Nardi comes to Rochdale Hornets in a deal brokered by existing club sponsor Arien Distribution Ltd. Arien have taken shirt sleeve and shirt-back sponsorships for the last two years and Arien’s Managing Director Rafiq Arien said: “We’ve been delighted with our relationship with Rochdale Hornets and we were only too happy to introduce them to Nardi as their route into British sports sponsorship and the profile-raising potential that it offers.”

According Hornets’ chairman Ray Taylor, the deal amounts to “... a significant vote of confidence in the future of Hornets...”
He went on: “This is an exciting step in the club’s regeneration. We’re sure that our performances on the field, the coverage they will generate and the profile of our coach Bobbie Goulding will give Arien Distribution ( Rochdale ) and Nardi Domestic Appliances ( Italy ) full value for their investment.“ “ Raf has become a good friend of the club and we are looking forward to working closely with him and with Nardi throughout the next 12 months and hopefully beyond “

Ray also paid tribute to former player and ex director Tony Pratt who played a leading part in securing the sponsorship deal

Business development director Ann Manock said: “Association with a major international brand underlines the ambitions that we have here at Spotland. The arrival of Bobbie Goulding sparked something of a renaissance here at Hornets and we are constantly looking for ways to grow and broaden our horizons. The relationship with Nardi gives us the chance to benefit from working with a company with a European focus.”

As we seek to maximise every revenue-raising opportunity, this new sponsorship deal provides a huge boost to Hornets’ ambitions for the coming season. Indeed Nardi becomes Rochdale Hornets’ biggest ever shirt sponsor by quite some significant distance.”

Arien Distribution Ltd. was established in 1979 by the 4 Arien brothers and the Company has served the people of Rochdale for 25 years

Nardi Elettrodomestici S.p.A. are based in Milan and Venice and are major manufacturers of domestic appliances