How does sponsorship work in sports?

If you follow sports, you can’t have failed to notice that your favorite team or a specific event is sponsored by a company, or often more than one. For example, the 2018 FIFA World Cup was sponsored by several companies including Coca Cola, Adidas, Qatar Airways, and others. This usually means that those companies have provided financial support to the event (or another form of support). In the case of the World Cup, each of the seven sponsoring partners contributed with 32 million euros. In return they got publicity, advertisement and association with a very popular event.

What do sponsored teams get from their sponsors?

Sponsorship works in many ways. The main idea is that the receiving football team, for example, receives financial support or in-kind support (such as specific sports equipment or requirements). This support helps the receiving team improve its capabilities and increase its potential in the future. Players can focus more on training and evolving rather than meeting their financial needs.

Sponsorship is in effect a partnership where the sponsors take care of the teams they support. A main reason behind that support is that the sponsors believe in those teams, and when those teams succeed, the success is mutual.

Biggest sponsors in the world

Companies like Coca Cola, Samsung, Adidas, Nike, Barclays, and others are among the biggest sponsors in the world. They sponsor teams like Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, and events like the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League.

What do those companies get in return for their sponsorship

There are plenty of reasons why companies choose to sponsor football teams or events. The obvious reason is that the names of those companies get mentioned every time the team they sponsor plays a game. The names of those companies becomes advertised in stadiums, on televisions, and many other places.

Posts on social media that involve popular football clubs often get shared a lot and sometimes go viral. This means that companies get a viral advertisement when their brands are associated with those teams.

As the names of those companies become mentioned repeatedly every time the team is mentioned, their brands become associated with the teams that people love. Thus, people might transfer their enthusiasm to those brands as well. If you are passionate about Real Madrid, for example, you might develop an affinity with the many companies that sponsor it as well. They are helping your team succeed, after all. A sponsor can be in almost any sector. It can be a forex broker, a sportswear company, or anything else, as long as they care about sports.

Another reason why companies would want to support teams or events is their desire to contribute to society and the advancement of sports, which in turn helps an organization’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. Often companies choose to sponsor teams with whom they share the same values and principles. This way, companies become a force for good, as they help those teams progress.

Conclusion

Sponsorship is beneficial to all parties involved. To football teams, it helps players raise their performance and become more competitive. To companies, it helps them get brand exposure, publicity, and traction among football lovers. To the audience, it helps advance better sports. That is, it is a triple-win solution that offers gains to everyone.