Rabobank most generous sports sponsor of the Netherlands

Doubles amount of two runners-up

UTRECHT, the Netherlands - Rabobank, the huge Dutch cooperative financial institution, appears to be the most generous sports sponsor in the Netherlands with a budget of $52.2 million this year. The list was published by Sponsor magazine recently.

The bank’s sponsorship includes the Wielerunie, a race cycling team, the hockey federation and the sports umbrella organization NOC*NSF.

Heineken, the fourth largest brewery in the world with an annual beer production of 121.8 million hectoliters, is the second largest Dutch sports sponsor with a budget of $28.13 million this year.

The third-placed Dutch sponsor is food, beverage and cleaning agent producer Unilever, which spends $22.10 million on sponsoring.

In total, the top 25 companies in the Netherlands contributed $297.77 million to sports activities, $18.75 million more the previous year.