Featured image credit: Allianz
German Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich has extended its sponsorship deal with shareholder and stadium naming rights partner Allianz.
The Munich-headquartered financial services company first partnered with Bayern in 2000 and has held naming rights to the Allianz Arena since it opened in April 2005.
The pact between the two organisations has now been extended for a further 10 years, through to 2033. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but German media reports state that it has significantly increased in value to around €130m (£114.1m/$140.3m) over the contract term.
Allianz will continue as one of Bayern’s top-tier main partners alongside Deutsche Telekom, Adidas and Audi. In February 2014, the partnership expanded with Allianz paying €110m for a 8.33% stake in Bayern – the same shareholding as that held by Adidas and Audi. Bayern used the proceeds to pay off the remaining debts from the construction of the Arena and invest in its youth training centre.
By becoming a shareholder in 2014, Allianz also secured the naming rights to the stadium until 2041. Allianz also serves as the main shirt sponsor of Bayern’s women’s team, an agreement that took effect from the 2013-14 season.
Under the new deal, Allianz is launching a new financial service called ‘Ready Coach’, designed to give young professional female athletes aged 18 to 22 greater financial literacy and confidence in financial dealings.
Bayern’s women’s team will be among the many football outfits to benefit from the financial coaching and will receive permanent access to a personal financial coach. Later, there are also plans to extend the service to other sports and professions.
Andreas Jung, head of marketing at Bayern Munich, said: “Allianz is an international Munich company that is linked to the FC Bayern stadium by people around the world. In the future, together we will, among other things, advance the expansion of the partnership with our women’s team and implement projects to promote young talent.”
Christian Deuringer, head of global brand and marketing at Allianz, added: “FC Bayern and Allianz are linked by a successful and trusting partnership that goes back more than 20 years, ranging from the naming of the Allianz Arena to the men’s, women’s and youth teams, as well as increasingly expanding into the digital and social media area. Thanks to the wide reach and the inspiring content of FC Bayern, we can reach many millions of fans all over the world.”
The Allianz Arena represented the company’s first move into stadium naming rights, but its portfolio has since significantly expanded. It also holds deals with venues in Nice (Allianz Riviera), Sao Paulo (Allianz Parque), Sydney (Allianz Stadium), St. Paul/Minnesota (Allianz Field), Vienna (Allianz Stadium) and Turin (Allianz Stadium).
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