OREANDA-NEWS. On 07 July 2009 was announced, that starting from July the 1st, UniCredit becomes an official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for the next three seasons (2009—2012), initiating an exciting journey to position its brand at the top — in Europe and the world — in terms of visibility and awareness.

The UEFA Champions League is the most popular international football competition at club level and is followed with passion by one out of two European citizens.

As the sole banking sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, UniCredit will enhance, thanks to the partnership, its visibility as a European banking group, with a strong franchise and deep local roots in 22 countries.

“UniCredit’s sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League represents a major step in developing our brand all across Europe”, said Paolo Fiorentino, Deputy CEO of UniCredit. “The Group has already a good track record in sponsoring major sporting events, but the UEFA Champions League, with its global impact, provides us with a  premium platform for a sustainable and long term growth of our brand awareness”. 

“I am delighted that UniCredit is becoming an official partner of the UEFA Champions League for 2009 to 2012,” said UEFA general secretary David Taylor. “UniCredit is a leading bank in Europe and their presence and strength in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, will help further establish the UEFA Champions League brand in these markets. We are confident that the UEFA Champions League, as a premier sporting event, will assist UniCredit in building and enhancing their brand awareness and identity.”

Moreover, through the UEFA Champions League sponsorship, UniCredit will develop, in partnership with local communities in the countries where it is present, a series of social initiatives that will strengthen the sense of belonging of all its employees.

The program will focus, as a start, on two initiatives: a launch campaign in most of the countries where the Group has core activities, and the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by UniCredit, that will enable football fans and citizens alike to get close to the Trophy and to participate in big events.

Starting in Milan from 16th to 20th September 2009, the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour will visit: Zagreb (Croatia) on September 25th-26th, Bucharest (Romania) on October 3rd-4th, Budapest (Hungary) on October 10th-11th and Sofia (Bulgaria) on October 17th-18th. A second group of countries will be visited in 2010 and a third one in 2011.

The sponsorship will be accompanied by a dedicated UniCredit micro website, which will be launched at the end of July, featuring all the relevant information as well as coverage of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour.