MUMBAI: The South Asian Football Federation (Saff) has announced the renewal of its agreement with World Sport Group (WSG).

The deal will run through 2017. Sports marketing agency WSG has been the commercial partner of Saff since 1996.

The new agreement commences this year and covers four Saff Championships - 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 - the regional governing body?s flagship competition, which is held biennially. Together, SAFF and WSG have delivered six Saff Championships since the event was first launched in 1997.

SAFF president Kazi Salahuddin has been quoted in media reports saying that the partnership with WSG was key in its financial stability. He noted that the standard of competition among its member nations has been increasing.

IMG senior VP, football, Asean, Australia and South Asia Ian Mathie noted that in just over a decade and a half, football in South Asia had grown both on and off the field. The Saff Championship he added is widely watched and is growing in popularity across the region.