Soccer-Barca, Gatorade agree three-year sponsorship deal

MADRID, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Barcelona have agreed a three-year global sponsorship deal with PepsiCo Inc's sports nutrition unit Gatorade, the Spanish champions said on Thursday. Partnership benefits for Barca will include the use of Gatorade's products at their Nou Camp stadium and news conferences, the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). They will also have access to the company's laboratory and testing facilities, which will provide support and advice for the Barca players, they added. "This agreement strengthens our sponsorship programme with one of the most important global brands in the sporting field and is a further step into America, one of the most important strategic territories for the club," Javier Faus, a club vice president, said. Gatorade's other partners in sport include Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt and women's tennis world number one Serena Williams. (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Justin Palmer)