OREANDA-NEWS. March 28, 2016.  Chelsea might have taken home the first ever SSE Women’s FA Cup, but SSE got to take home its very own prize this week for its sponsorship of The SSE Women’s FA Cup.

Earlier this week SSE was nominated in four categories at the UK Sponsorship Awards; Entertainment and Event Sponsorship for Sponsorship of The SSE Hydro and The SSE Arena, Wembley; TV Sponsorship for the Sounds of Victory – Rugby World Cup; and Grassroots Sport Sponsorship for the SSE Next Generation programme.

Although we lost out in those three categories to very deserving winners, we were delighted when SSE’s name was read out as the winner of the Empowering Women through Sport category for our sponsorship of The SSE Women’s FA Cup.

Colin Banks, Head of Sponsorship and Reward said: “Winning this award is testament to the bold decision SSE made to undertake the sponsorship of The Women’s FA Cup. We felt it was the right thing to do and we are certainly being rewarded for taking a positive action.

“In the first year of the sponsorship we are already demonstrating the impact we have made, and to be recognised at ‘The Oscars’ of the sponsorship industry is wonderful. The SSE Women’s FA Cup sponsorship truly embodies SSE making a difference and everyone across the business can be proud of this achievement.

“To be nominated in four categories demonstrates how far SSE has come in sponsorship and highlights the strength and depth of our portfolio, with each of our key pillars nominated for an award. Regularly sitting alongside established sponsor brands like Samsung, O2 and Volvo shows our progression and underlines the current impact and future potential for our sponsorships.”

Last summer SSE and The FA today announced a new four year title sponsorship deal for the largest cup competition in women’s football, the Women’s FA Cup.

The seven-figure deal includes a commitment to invest in the women’s game with significant funding ring-fenced to create a country-wide programme of girls-only football activity. It also represents a landmark moment in the history of women's football with the first ever major sponsorship of the Women’s FA Cup competition. It signals the growth and stature of the women’s game.