THE Football Association today announces a three-and-a-half-year agreement with Vauxhall Motors which will see the leading British vehicle manufacturer become Lead Partner to the England teams.

The agreement runs from 1 January 2011 to 31 July 2014, encompassing UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland-Ukraine and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

In addition to becoming Lead Partner to the men's senior national team, the partnership includes sponsorship of all other 23 representative England sides - including the women's teams, men's youth teams and all the England disability sides.

It will also see Vauxhall become the Official Vehicle Supplier to The FA and the governing body's Official Youth Partner, covering activities undertaken to promote football in the 12-18-year-old age group.

"This announcement represents a major landmark for The FA and the England teams," said FA General Secretary Alex Horne. "I am looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Vauxhall in the coming years.

"Through a difficult economic climate we have concluded a deal of considerable value to the FA and we can now look forward with optimism. Everyone is aware of the difficulties of last year, but we have an opportunity to move forward and there is much in 2011 to be excited about.

"It is also significant news that Vauxhall are also our Official Youth Partner for 12-18 year olds, a key area of attention at the moment. Adrian Bevington, Sir Trevor Brooking and I have been investing a lot of time on our plans for Youth Development and this partnership will be key to those plans.

"Vauxhall is a company with a great history and through our initial conversations it became clear they share our goals and vision for how this relationship can prove mutually beneficial. I'm very much looking forward to getting started."

Announcing the partnership at Wembley Stadium today, Vauxhall Managing Director Duncan Aldred said: "This is an historic day for Vauxhall. To become the lead partner of the England team is a great honour for us.

"We are delighted to be partnering The FA and hope to be a driving force behind the further development and activation of an expansive grass roots football strategy encompassing the whole of the country.

"We have a strong heritage in supporting football including official sponsorship of the highly successful UEFA Euro '96 Championship in England.

"Football and cars are two of our nation's biggest passions and this partnership is a clear and unequivocal sign that Vauxhall is firmly behind not only a successful England senior team but is also committed to supporting grass roots initiatives covering youth and junior football as well as women's football and disability football."

England Manager Fabio Capello said: "I'm very happy that Vauxhall are the new team sponsor.

"Vauxhall is a strong company and it is good for everyone at The FA and all the England teams that we have such a strong commercial partner.

"To achieve your goals in football you need as much support as possible and it is very important for us all that Vauxhall have provided this strong commitment.

"We will do all we can to reward Vauxhall for their support and this begins with our first objective of this new year; to qualify for Euro 2012."

The agreement was negotiated by The FA's sponsorship team, led by Peter Daire who commented: "I'm delighted that we are announcing the England Lead Partner for the next two major tournaments, sitting alongside our existing Official Supporter and Official Supplier agreements.

"Everyone at The FA was determined to link up with a brand which has national relevance and matches our aspirations. Vauxhall's 108-year British heritage, including many years supporting football, perfectly echoes these objectives."