TCS renews Amsterdam marathon sponsorship till 2020

Indian IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has renewed the title sponsorship of the Amsterdam Marathon till 2020.

The global software major signed an agreement extending the sponsorship Wednesday in the presence of the Dutch capital's vice-mayor Eric Van der Burg in Amsterdam.

"Since we began supporting the event in 2011, it has become one of the largest and popular marathons in Europe, hosting 2,500 runners from 80 countries in 2014 and received the IAAF gold label for road races, the highest accreditation in the field," the company said in a statement here.

Besides the company's techies, its leading clients have been participating in the event over the last four years and collectively raised 500,000 euros ($578,692) for the VUmc Amsterdam cancer centre.

"Our association with the marathon went beyond participation when our digital enterprise unit developed an official application to track runners real-time by their families and supporters," TCS director Amit Kapur said on the occasion.

The IT outsourcing major also initiated a social media campaign for the 2014 event to strengthen the marathon's brand and its engagement with the international audience.

"We are inspired by the personal achievement of every runner, money they raise for charity and stories that have motivated them to participate in one of the world's leading sporting events and support a vital charity effort at the same time," Kapur pointed out.

Lauding TCS support for the marathon over the last five years, Burg said the event had made an immense contribution to sport in Amsterdam and its people.