Rabobank is to increase its involvement in sponsoring sports and cultural associations by actively helping them to better manage their money.

Each organisation which receives Rabobank sponsorship will also have an expert assigned to them, to help the board ensure its finances remain healthy, the cooperative bank said on Tuesday.

The bank is shifting its sponsoring strategy away from professional groups, such as cycling, towards amateur sport and community groups. In total, Rabobank is injecting €30m into 2,500 clubs and associations, broadcaster NOS said.

‘We believe in the power of clubs, associations and foundations, and that is why we are putting them at the centre of our focus for the next four years,’ spokesman Rien Nagel told the broadcaster.

‘But all clubs and foundations are having to deal with lower contributions from local government. They find it hard to attract good managers and have too few volunteers. We want to make them stronger and more future.’