December 6 – UEFA Women’s Football has signed a landmark seven-year sponsorship with Visa that will run until 2025.
UEFA split the sales of its men’s and women’s competitions taking the view that this would build the commercial proposition of the women’s game across the continent rather than as an add-on to the women’s game.
The partnership with the global payments technology is the first bluechip financial sponsor to come on board for the women’s game. MasterCard is payments technology sponsor of UEFA’s men’s Champions League in a deal that runs through to end 2021.
While TEAM Marketing sells three-year cycles for UEFA’s men’s club competitions, a seven-year deal with the women breaks new ground and demonstrates a long term commitment
“We are delighted to announce this exciting and forward-thinking partnership with Visa and look forward to working together in new and imaginative ways to accelerate the already impressive growth of women’s football,” said UEFA’s director of marketing, Guy-Laurent Epstein.
The Visa deal will cover all levels of the game in Europe from grassroots to the elite women’s game.
Visa will become a main partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the UEFA Women’s EURO, the UEFA Women’s Under-19 and Under-17 Championships and the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO until 2025, as well as UEFA’s football marketing platform Together #WePlayStrong, which is aimed at getting more girls and women to play football.
“This will not only help to inspire current fans of women’s football but also ensure future generations take an interest in the sport. We are pleased Visa shares our vision for a vibrant women’s game,” said Epstein.
As well as traditional branding and logo recognition, Visa will market via co-branded content designed to change the image of the women’s game. The Together #WePlayStrong has alread partnered with global popstar Rita Ora on her European tour and received nearly six million views on the Press Play vlogs – a series in which some of Europe’s best women’s professional players give an insight into their daily lives.
“It is an exciting time for women’s football. Twenty-one million women and girls participate in the beautiful game across Europe and at Visa we want to celebrate every single one of them,” said Charlotte Hogg, chief executive officer of Visa Europe.
“We are proud to announce Visa’s groundbreaking partnership with UEFA to support and accelerate the growth of women’s football throughout Europe. We want to inspire, enable and leave a legacy to girls and young women to follow their dreams. With UEFA, we plan to bring women’s football to the forefront because at Visa we believe in acceptance everywhere, from the pitch to the boardroom.”
No figure was given for the sponsorship value.
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