Flybe, one of Europe's leading low fares airlines, today announced a new two-year sponsorship deal with Coca Cola Championship team Norwich City Football Club.

The deal will see Flybe become main club and official shirt sponsor for the next two years, with an option for Flybe to extend beyond the initial term. It also underlines its long-term commitment to the club and to the East Anglia region.

The agreement will see the airline use its Flybe.com brand exclusively on all first and reserve team strips, which it is anticipated will be available to supporters from July 2006. In addition, Flybe will reward fans with flight ticket giveaways at every home game and assist fans and the team where possible with their travel to away games.

The deal also sees Flybe making significant investment in the local community, with the establishment of initiatives such as its 'Flybe Community Cup' project. The annual scheme is devoted to the development of grass roots football and will offer schools in the local area the chance to compete in a football tournament with the final played at the Carrow Road Stadium.

Today's sponsorship agreement is further consolidation of the regional low fares airline's support for football across the UK, following Flybe's shirt sponsorship of Premiership side Birmingham City FC, Conference side Exeter City FC and a further announcement this week that has seen the airline sign a main club sponsorship with Southampton FC. The South-West based airline is keen to establish an ongoing relationship with Norwich City FC and to reinforce its commitment to its Norwich base.

Flybe has made significant investments at Norwich Airport since it began operations from the base in December 2004, and now serves 16 domestic and European routes out of Norwich airport. In addition to making low fares travel available for the first time from a convenient, local airport for travellers across the East Anglia region, Flybe is also committed to supporting the local community as the airline expands its Norwich base.

Simon Lilley, Director of Marketing, Flybe, commented: "This is such an exciting deal for us and we're proud to be behind a club with such huge potential. The people in Norwich have been extremely supportive of Flybe so we're pleased we can give something back to the community.

"At Flybe we are passionate about the communities we serve and passionate about supporting football as a cornerstone of the region. As two of the largest brands in Norwich we look forward to the next few seasons and hope to see the Canaries fly up the league table!"

Norwich City's Director of Sales and Marketing, Andrew Cullen, said: "We are delighted to announce today that Flybe will be our main club and official shirt sponsor for the next two years.

"Flybe have established a strong positive profile in football and have plenty of experience in making football relationships work. They are clearly committed to supporting the local communities that they serve, something which matters dearly to Norwich City Football Club.

"The fact that we have been able to complete a significant deal with a major national brand is in no small part due to our supporters who this year have contributed towards making Norwich City FC the best supported club in the Football League and renewing season tickets for 2006-07 in such big numbers.

"This makes Norwich City Football Club a compelling proposition for business investment and was a major factor in Flybe's decision to become Norwich City's shirt sponsor for the next two years."