AUTOMOTIVE GIANT Ford has become the third of six current Champions League sponsors to renew with Europe’s elite club football competition for the 2012-2015 seasons.
Valued by Frontloaded at around €35m-€40m per season, Ford joins Heineken and Unicredit as the latest brand to extend its sponsorship through the next three-year cycle while MasterCard, Sony and Playstation have yet to commit beyond the end of the current season.
As well as the cash valuation, which is likely to take Ford’s financial involvement across the next three years to over €100m, there is also likely to be value in kind contributions from the car brand including supplying transportation vehicles to competition organisers.
Despite the six Champions League sponsors being presented on an equal footing, each contract is brokered on an individual basis with each brand paying different amounts depending on its negotiated rights package away from in-stadia signage.
Heineken’s partnership renewal in May this year for example, is thought to be worth around €20m-€25m and includes increased digital rights such as becoming the presenting sponsor of UEFA’s online highlights package.
The renewal will see Ford’s relationship with the Champions League extend beyond 20 years, having first joined forces with the competition as a founding partner in 1992. Management of all six brands’ sponsorship continues to be handled by UEFA’s exclusive Champions League marketing partner, TEAM Marketing.