Madrid (EFE) sports in Europe during the year 2022.
They are followed on this list, reflected in a Nielsen report in collaboration with the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), three agreements related to football and that are between 70 and 80 million euros; the renewal of the Standard Chartered bank with Liverpool, that of the sportswear firm Adidas as Arsenal’s technical sponsor and that of the Emirates airline with Real Madrid.
In fifth and sixth place, in a range between 60 and 70 million euros, are the signing of Paris Saint-Germain with another airline such as Qatar Airways and that of the hardware company OPPO with the Champions League.
The top-10 is completed by the renewal of the energetic Petronas with the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team, the “naming” of Alfa Romeo in the same discipline, the association of the digital music service Spotify with Barcelona and the renewal of Bayern de Munich with the telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom. All of them are valued between 50 and 60 million euros.
Regarding other points of the study, the industries that invest the most money in sports sponsorship are also analyzed. Here sports clothing and equipment continues to dominate with 8%, down compared to 2020 (10%) but rebounding from one year to this part (7%). The second position is occupied by software (6%) and the third by betting (5%).
The entry in the list, not having been in the previous ones, of Blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFTs (4%) is striking; who have filled some gaps since the withdrawal of betting companies in many markets. Even so, it is considered a highly volatile world and many companies have not fulfilled their financial obligations with the right holders, rescinding contracts before the natural expiration. That is why sports clubs and organizations are significantly more cautious now with these sponsorships.
By sports, soccer absorbs 47% of the market, with an increase of 4% compared to a year ago. Behind them continue to be eSports, a strong and stable sector whose percentage decreases, from 11% to 9%, because it does not keep pace with the increase in global figures. Rugby, in a World Cup year, rises to 5%; and handball experiences a decrease (3%) compared to 5% in 2020 and 2021.
When talking about countries, Spain, with 14%, is the market that has grown the most, surpassing the 10% of the United Kingdom. Among the reasons that explain this, Nielsen highlights the stabilization of the market after the ban on betting sponsorship in 2021, the commercial growth of the main La Liga clubs and the important boost of women’s sports and athletes as ambassadors.
Germany continues to be the country where the most money is spent on sports sponsorship with 4,060 million euros, with the United Kingdom one step below thanks to its 3,340 million euros. Spain with 1,100, Italy with 1,090 and France with 1,020 complete the top-5.