Looking at 2020

After an eventful 2019, SPONSOR.ONLINE is ready to start the new year with high expectations to bring football sponsorship to the next level.

“2019 was a great year. We got the chance to prove our concept and show teams and brands a fair, easy and transparent way of getting deals”, our managing partner Ludo Cernak said. “Bringing the FIFA World Cup Champion and UEFA Champions League winner Christian Karembeu as an investor and advisor to SPONSOR.ONLINE made our voice stronger and has made us the leading digital marketplace for professional football.”.

Maximilian von Portatius, managing partner, highlighted our event presence last year. “We got invited to major football business events, and that gave us an opportunity to explain how a digital marketplace changes the game”. Presenting “A New digital era of Sports Sponsorship” was “a rewarding task”, according to Max. “Even though some clubs feel uncomfortable embracing the new, most are aware of the necessity to adapt to the digital sales world. How do you reach the global markets and manage the increasing number of sponsorship rights if not using the internet? Increasing the human sales force is impossible for most and unprofitable for many”.

He further points out “what logic is there to take the digital data of social media, for example, offline into a PowerPoint presentation instead of making it ad hoc available and transparent to brands? Brands are requesting this more and more.” Last but not least he sees an immense market still “untouched, as so far global football was only accessible to global brands”. This will be changed by SPONSOR.ONLINE “as it is now possible for Asian or Middle East brand managers interested in the Premier League or LaLiga (for example) to buy straight into sponsorship opportunities available”.

Based on interaction and feedback from clubs and brands, SPONSOR.ONLINE keeps evolving the platform. “We have heard what global brands expect from us and we put it in the marketplace. They can get to their target audiences (or discover new ones) with just a few clicks”, Ludo commented.

For 2020, both managing partners see many opportunities coming for clubs. “We are opening new markets and adding language options. Further we will increase our women’s football and eSports inventory. Eventually the barrier of 500 professional teams on SPONSOR.ONLINE will be broken and more than €500 million of available sponsorship opportunities can be expected.”