BBVA - Press Room

BBVA has reinforced its commitment to soccer, earmarking €60mn for investment over three seasons to lend its name to Spain’s first division, which starting next season will be known as the Liga BBVA. The second division will become known as the Liga Adelante

•   This sponsorship gives the LFP (the Spanish professional soccer league) enormous economic potential, putting it on a par with the world’s leading leagues, and implies significant support to the teams, booster clubs and fan
• This agreement reinforces BBVA’s reputation as the “soccer bank,” and “opens up a new and ambitious type of collaboration between the league and the bank,” according to statements by BBVA Chairman and CEO Francisco González at the presentation of the contract with the LFP
• “Soccer represents universal values such as effort, teamwork, commitment and fair play, which are fully aligned with the values that define our bank” he stated
• “We are here today to present this contract and to give you some great news: the Liga BBVA has been promoted to the first division” said González
• “Professional soccer is a unique and exclusive product. It is a Spanish product, but has an international dimension and a global vision, and this is what BBVA has understood” said LPF President José Luis Astiazarán

BBVA and the LFP (the Spanish professional soccer league) have announced today a strategic agreement to sponsor Spanish soccer worldwide. According to the agreement, starting next season the first division will be known as the Liga BBVA, while the second division will be known as the Liga Adelante. The agreement was presented today by BBVA Chairman and CEO Francisco González and LFP President José Luís Astiazarán. It runs for three seasons (2008-2011) and entails an investment of €60mn by the bank. It underscores BBVA’s commitment to soccer, the most universal sport in the world. Its values of effort, teamwork, commitment and fair play are values with which the bank identifies completely. At the same time, the sponsorship provides the LFP with enormous potential for development and brings it up to the level of the other major international leagues, while at the same time giving clear support to teams, booster clubs and fans.

“This agreement highlights BBVA’s reputation as the “soccer bank”, and opens up a new and ambitious type of collaboration between the league and our company” said Francisco González at the presentation of the new sponsorship agreement.

He recalled that two years ago the bank became the official sponsor of the LFP and gave its name (as title sponsor) to the second division. “I said at the time that the agreement would enable us to make progress on four fronts - institutional, commercial, promotional and social - and that is what has happened” Mr González said.

“Now, two years later, we are very happy with the way the project has unfolded and we have decided, in agreement with the LFP, to step up our commitment to soccer significantly. As a result, we are here today to present a new contract, which we have signed a year before the current contract expires to show our clear commitment to forging a long-lasting relationship.”

As a result of this agreement, starting next season the first division will be called the Liga BBVA, while the second division will be called the Liga Adelante. The word Adelante can loosely be translated as “Go for it” in English, which represents BBVA's corporate vision.

LFP President José Luis Astiazarán said “we are here today to present this contract and to give you some excellent news: the Liga BBVA has been promoted to the first division. Professional soccer is a unique and exclusive product. It is a Spanish product like no other in our country, with an international dimension and a global vision. And this is what BBVA and its managers have once more clearly understood by signing an agreement that marks a milestone in both sports marketing and professional soccer.”

He also highlighted the commitment of both institutions to teams and cities in the second division. “BBVA, in its support for both big and small teams, is also supporting the future, as the future of professional soccer is often symbolized by the teams that play in the second division; this is an intelligent way of sharing in the values of growth, excelling and competitiveness. These values have always been part of our sport. BBVA will also be responsible for the new name for the second division, which will be called the Liga Adelante.”

“In 2006 we were the first bank to make a decisive commitment to the most universal sport. This new agreement will enable us to make a quantitative and qualitative leap forward by supporting both divisions. By doing so, we are supporting both the global ‘Liga de las Estrellas’ (the league of stars) and the local second division. We are doing this through our innovative vision of sports sponsorship” the Chairman and CEO of BBVA stated.

BBVA, pioneers in soccer

“BBVA is making a commitment to all the teams in the LFP – both big and small – because we want to support sport and the values it represents, and to be involved in all the activities revolving around soccer,” he continued.

This new sponsorship agreement is one of the most important ever for international sports marketing. It covers a three-year period (2008-2011), with BBVA investing a total of €60mn (€20mn per season) in the sponsorship.

Mr González explained how this sponsorship fit into the Bank's strategic positioning, explaining that “for a group like BBVA, which has a presence in 30 countries on four continents, this sponsorship will enable us to reach hundreds of millions of people who follow soccer all over the world.”

“Soccer” he stated “has the largest following in the world, and is supported by people of all age, sex and social class. For this reason, it really is a universal sport.” As a result, “a universal bank like BBVA, with 48 million customers worldwide, is doubling its support for this clearly global competition. We are a leading bank and we have to be involved in the world’s leading sport: soccer.”

He then gave some statistics which showed why the LFP is “the best platform for reaching every corner of the world”:

• The LFP is the most international of all the leagues in the world. Matches are broadcast in over 180 countries on all five continents, with a potential reach of 4 billion viewers
• The LFP is particularly important in Latin America, one of the bank’s key target markets
• The new Liga BBVA will have an average TV audience in Spain of 4.3 million viewers per game day in the season
• The second division, which from now on will be known as the Liga Adelante, attracts over 650,000 television viewers each game day
• Around 10 million TV viewers in Spain alone and hundreds of millions around the world watch the Real Madrid-Barcelona matches
• At least a third of all Spaniards follow the LFP, and it is the most widely followed foreign sports competition in Latin America
• It lasts for nine out of the 12 months of the year
  

Two leading brands

“We are therefore talking about a long-term strategic agreement between two leading brands: BBVA, which is more than a bank, and the LFP, which is more than just a sports competition” added Mr González, who also stated that soccer “represents universal values such as effort, teamwork, commitment and fair play, which are fully aligned with the values that define our bank. These values can be summarized in our vision: ‘BBVA, working for a better future for everybody.’

He also highlighted that the agreement represents “an innovative and open sponsorship model which provides myriad opportunities for communication, promotion, marketing and CSR activities.”

“In short, we are talking about a major alliance which will benefit the whole world of soccer the teams, booster clubs and fans- and will also benefit BBVA, reinforcing the attractiveness of our brand and creating opportunities to offer our customers advantages and differentiated services,” Mr González explained, before concluding that “we are committed to this sport because we are the ‘soccer bank’.”