WIRRAL Council last night renewed its sponsorship agreement with Tranmere Rovers FC.

The new Labour-led cabinet voted to continue the council’s financial support for the forthcoming year.

The authority sponsored Tranmere to the tune of £120,000 last season, but this will need to increase inline with inflation to between £123,000 and £126,000 from July.

Councillor Steve Foulkes, leader of the council, said their relationship with Tranmere was “significant” and an important part of community engagement.

He said: “If Wirral didn’t have a professional football club, people would be calling on us to have one, and for us to get behind them.

"It is a brand name that we always want to be associated with and it helps people recognise where Wirral is in the world.

“However, there are concerns about the amount of money involved in the sponsorship but it is a good vehicle for a number of our initiatives, especially within the community – I certainly did not want my first decision as new council leader to be severing links with the club.”

Rovers chief executive Mick Horton said: "We are delighted to continue our partnership with Wirral Council.

"We are ambassadors for the borough all over the country and are happy to be supported by the council.

"Our relationship with them has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we look forward to continuing to work with them."

The sponsorship deal comes into effect on July 1.

Sponsorship cash is performance based and will rise or fall in line with Rovers' fortunes.

A clause in the contract says there will be increased or reduced payments in the event of promotion or relegation.

If the club is relegated to League Two, sponsorship will fall to £101,300, while promotion to the Championship would see the figure rise to £135,000.

The document says sponsorship means the authority is entitled to a presence at key matches throughout the season, which "can be used to help further develop the relationship between the council and local businesses and promote Wirral to potential investors."

The council has sponsored Rovers since the 1989/90 season.

Sponsorship was originally agreed to recover a loan given to the club in 1983, which was repaid in full in 1998.