US video game giant Electronic Arts will replace Spanish bank Santander as the title sponsor of La Liga from summer 2023, the league announced on Tuesday.
The sponsorship is on behalf of the company’s EA Sports Division.
La Liga said in a statement that the deal would bring more than just increased revenue.
“From the 23/24 season, the new agreement lays the groundwork to revolutionize the football experience, aims to integrate the physical and virtual worlds, includes improvements in broadcasting and the commitment of both companies to grassroots football,” La Liga continues on its website .
Spanish media reported that the deal will last for five years and will bring La Liga between €30m and €40m ($30.6m – $40.8m) annually.
The contract with Santander that started in 2016 ends after this season. It’s worth 17 million euros a year.
For six years, the official name of the Spanish first division team has been “LaLiga Santander”, the second division team “LaLiga Smartbank”, after a subsidiary of the bank.
“EA SPORTS represents the pinnacle of interactive football experiences as La Liga leads football competitions around the world with unparalleled fan experiences on the field, on TV and digitally,” said League President Javier Tebas.
La Liga sponsorship revenues have grown from €50m in 2016-17 to €155m last season.
In the same period, TV rights revenues almost doubled from €825 million in 2016-2017 to €1,625 million in 2021-2022.
California-based Electronic Arts and its EA Sports franchise are the publishers of the popular video game FIFA, although the company will end its long association with the governing body of world soccer in 2023 and rebrand the game as EA Sports FC.
La Liga giants Barcelona recently announced two deals with tech companies that say they will enhance the football experience.
On Monday, Barcelona announced the sale of 24.5 percent of its media arm Barca Studios to internet company Socios.com “to accelerate the club’s audiovisual, blockchain, NFT and Web.3 strategy”.
In July, Barcelona welcomed Swedish music streaming company Spotify as shirt sponsors, tweeting: “We’re partnering with Spotify to bring football and music together like you’ve never seen before.”
#league #sponsors #Sports #revolutionize #Spanish #football
