Length of contract: 3 years | Annualised value: US$2.4 million | Overall value: US$7.2m

Kappa has splashed more than US$7 million to secure a kit manufacture deal with cash-strapped Spanish club Valencia, the most popular soccer team in Spain other than Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

The agreement brings Valencia's partnership with Nike, which has run for nearly a decade, to an end.

It will represent a lucrative partnership for both sides, with Kappa keen to capitalise on the popularity of star players such as Spain striker David Villa.

That will be a welcome boost to the club, which despite its popularity has struggled financially in recent years.

Valencia's debt has been estimated as being as high as US$700m, and the club president, Vicente Soriano, admitted in January that the club "are working 24 hours a day" to find a solution to their economic woes.

valencia currently sit fourth in the Primera division of La Liga, the top tier of Spanish soccer, a position that will secure entry to the Uefa Champions League, European club soccer's premier competition if the club maintains it until the end of the season.

The club reached two Champions League finals in a row in 2000 and 2001, and has won six La Liga titles. More than 50,000 season-ticket holders are registered, and will be joined by 20,000 more when the club moves to a new 75,000-seater stadium later in the year.

They will, though, be far from the only ones to buy the new Kappa kits. Under the terms of the contract, Valencia merchandise will be sold in 2,000 new shops in China.

Italian company Kappa manufacture kits for more than 70 professional soccer clubs and national teams, including German giant Borussia Dortmund and Roma and Sampdoria in Italy's Serie A.