How Did Slovenian Football Succeed in Becoming a Magnet for Brands?

Only a very few football fans will have failed to hear about the exploits of NŠ Mura just under a year ago. The team from Slovenia shook the football world with a historic victory against Antonio Conte's mighty Tottenham in the brand new UEFA Conference League.

This was the calling card left by the club from the town of Murska Sobota as it burst onto the international scene. And having acquired a taste for the bright lights, NŠ Mura will also be taking part in the preliminary stages of this competition in the forthcoming 2022-23 season. Now, the club can proudly say that it will be playing European football for the fourth year running. What's more, over the last four years NŠ Mura has won the Slovenian Cup and the National League.

But beyond this sporting success, why would it be of interest to any brand to consider a sponsorship proposal with NŠ Mura through Sponsor.Online?

The club will celebrate its 100th year anniversary in 2024 and was re-established in 2012 by new owners. They are also the third most popular in Slovenia behind the two best-known teams, Maribor and Olimpija Ljubljana, and have the second biggest attendance in the stadium in Slovenia. No mean achievement for a team that forms part of the select group of 10 in the Prva Liga, the top tier of Slovenian football, which continues to grow within the framework of a comprehensive project for football in this Balkan state, whose pride and joy is, of course, the Slovenian national team.

Slovenia has twice taken part in the FIFA World Cup in the 21st century (in 2002 and 2010). Consequently, a strong brand concept was created around the national team. These sporting achievements, together with other key factors, also served as a launchpad for the various clubs. And NŠ Mura was no exception.

What are these factors? One of the most important is financial stability. Others are linked with a range of opportunities offered by the country, notably tourism, which is boosted by a favourable geographical location.

Of course, improvements had to be made to the entire infrastructure of football in Slovenia. These were linked not only with strictly competitive aspects of the sport, but also with the professional management of the sports organisations. As a result, changes can be seen in the way that clubs are run, making them commercially attractive to brands all over the world. The higher the degree of professionalisation, the more scope there is for generating marketing operations.

This context favoured the system for selling and promoting the different products and services related with football, with the aim of developing local competition, while setting sights on the global arena. And this is where NŠ Mura seeks to play a pioneering role. There is still time to take advantage of all these opportunities through the mediation of Sponsor.Online.