The Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) has announced a three-year sponsorship agreement with Yakult Singapore. The deal, worth $350,000, runs from this year through to 2017.

The sponsorship will see Yakult named as the SSA's Official Healthy Family Drink. It also remains the presenting sponsor of the Fina World Cup Singapore to 2017. Besides the Fina World Cup Singapore, the brand was also a presenting partner of the 2014 TYR SEA Swim Championships.

Competitions aside, Yakult Singapore will also have its presence in local events organised by the SSA, as well as the Singapore Swimming Proficiency Award.

Jose Raymond, vice-president (finance), SSA, said: "We are ecstatic to have Yakult coming on board as a long-term partner. The sponsorship marks the commitment of Yakult to collaborate in grooming young athletes into champions of tomorrow. We look forward to working together with Yakult and all our partners in developing swimming in Singapore over the long term."

He added that the Yakult partnership is one of many sponsorship deals which will be announced in the next few months.

Shunichi Uekusa, Yakult Singapore managing director, said: "Yakult has always recognised the importance of sports excellence as part of our corporate social responsibility. We hope that this partnership will be fruitful and work well in its goal to develop swimming in Singapore."

The sponsorship will help the SSA cover the cost of the events which Yakult Singapore are associated with, and more importantly, help the SSA look for more opportunities for Singapore's athletes to gain regional and international exposure.

Said Raymond: "The SSA will continue to look for more creative opportunities to work with commercial partners, and we do hope that more businesses and companies find it commercially valuable with working with the SSA."