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Amstel, the Dutch beer brand, is to back Sportinglife.com's

coverage of the UEFA Champions League over the next eight months, in a

deal worth close to £1m.

The sponsorship, which begins next week, will see Amstel co-brand all

the site's news, fixtures, results and reports on the tournament. The

deal also covers internet radio programme sportinglife.fm.

"We've been looking for an effective online vehicle to leverage our

status as an official sponsor of the Champions League," said Amstel

marketing controller Andrew Carter.

Sportinglife.com's commercial director Ben Warn said: "We need to get

its brand in front of our upmarket audience for long stretches of time

and ensure all our users recognise Tuesday and Wednesday nights as

Amstel nights."

Both parties will run promotions and competitions for match tickets.

Sportinglife.com's joint owners, the Press Association and Trinity

Mirror, have been seeking a buyer for the site since the start of the

year. The site was launched four-and-a- half years ago.