READING FC have struck a new three-year deal with Carabao energy drink.

The South-East Asia energy product's brand will appear on Royals' home and away shirts for the next three seasons.

Reading Academy Under 21s and Reading FC Women will also display the Carabao's name on their shirts from now on, as well as featuring on all club training kit.

The deals means Carabao is now the principal partner of Reading FC until 2019, and club chief executive, Nigel Howe, said: “We enjoyed an excellent relationship with Carabao in their first season as sponsors and it is fantastic news to hear they have actively sought to strengthen their relationship with the club and commit to Reading’s ambitions for the future by signing a three-year deal at Madejski Stadium.

“I am very much looking forward to working alongside Carabao once more. On behalf of everyone at Reading FC, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Thai Airways for their sponsorship of our away shirt last season and welcome Carabao on board as our Principal Partner until 2019.”

Royals' Thai owners believe the partnership will also help raise the club's profile in Asia, where football remains a huge industry.

Carabao was recently launched in the UK by partner company Intercarabao and will soon be rolled out across the world.

Peter Gutierrez, CEO of Intercarabao, stated: “Building on our first year partnership with Reading FC as the home shirt sponsor, we are excited to embark on a principle partnership deal with the club over the next three years.

“Reading FC and Carabao share the same values, a fighting spirit and a desire to ‘bring it on’.

“Jaap embodied those qualities as a player, and his appointment as manager demonstrates the club’s ambition to get back to where it belongs – the Premier League.”

He added: “Carabao's launch will be supported by a wider multi-million pound integrated marketing campaign. Football is just one of several marketing platforms that will be used during our launch campaign, which will officially kick off from August 2016, with a heavy focus on London and the Reading area."

Cans of the energy drink are priced £1.19 and the company says they take inspiration from the carabao which it describes as a 'revered Asian water buffalo admired for it's strength, extraordinary stamina and unbreakable spirit.'

New Reading boss Jaap Stam will no doubt be hoping his players can show the same fighting qualities in the Championship next season.