State-run bank PKO BP is expected to pump money into supporting young football talent in Poland as a new main partner of the country's top league.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks as Poland's Ekstraklasa premier football league launches its 2018/2019 season at a press conference in Warsaw on Friday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

The three-year team-up was launched as the country’s Ekstraklasa premier league kicked off its 2018/2019 season on Friday.

Under the contract, PKO BP will help develop the league and support talented young footballers, officials said.

PKO BP CEO Zbigniew Jagiełło told reporters that football was more than just a business and that he was not expecting profits for his bank during the first two years of the team-up.

Jagiełło said he hoped the partnership would help the Ekstraklasa develop to become “one of the 10 most important leagues in Europe five to 10 years from now.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who also attended the event, told reporters he was happy that leading Polish companies such as PKO BP were deciding to support the country’s top-flight football with “significant amounts” of funds.

He said such team-ups could “help the young boys out there grow to become some of the world’s biggest football stars in the future.”

Officials said Totalizator Sportowy with its Lotto brand remained the "title sponsor" of the Ekstraklasa league.

Marcin Animucki, CEO of Ekstraklasa SA, the company which runs the league, said a large part of the funds provided by sponsors would be channeled to support talented players under 23.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP