The governing body of football in South America, CONMEBOL has announced a renewal of its partnership with IMG, a global leader in sports, events, and media.
The agreement was signed to help drive long-term growth in the region’s club competitions. Under the new arrangement, IMG will continue to handle CONMEBOL’s commercial, sponsorship, and media rights through its FC Diez Media team until 2030.
CONMEBOL and IMG have increased revenue by 43% during the previous cycle (2019-22 to 2023-26) while also expanding worldwide reach and fanbases for all South American club championships.
Collectively, the two parties have worked out major media rights deals that will bring live action and highlights to fans in over 190 nations; obtained partnerships with international companies such as Amstel, Coca-Cola, Hyundai, TCL, Mastercard, and Puma; and boosted exposure for women’s football, with CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina debuting on television in 2024. They also established a digital strategy that resulted in over 60 million followers across Portuguese, Spanish, and English social media platforms.
Alejandro Domínguez W-S, CONMEBOL President, commented, “We are pleased to renew our agreement with IMG, an agency that understands and has applied our motto of Dreaming Big. We have the conviction that South American football is the best in the world thanks to the talent of its players and the passion of its supporters, and that there is still plenty of potential to develop our tournaments. Everything generated by football returns to football, and we work focused on spreading the value of our sport, caring for and increasing the prestige of our competitions, and achieving new and greater sporting glories.”
Juan Emilio Roa, CONMEBOL Commercial Director, said, “The association with IMG has been a success for the growth of South American football. The results are visible, with alliances with world-renowned brands and record numbers in reach and audience. At CONMEBOL, we are ready to take it to the next level and bet on a greater expansion of our competitions, offering unique experiences to our supporters around the world.”
Adam Kelly, President, IMG, said, “We are incredibly proud of our partnership with CONMEBOL and all we have achieved together to help grow South American football and its best-in-class club competitions. This renewal is reflective of our joint success and ambitions, and the strength of our combined local and international expertise, knowledge and capabilities. The coming years will bring significant opportunities for football in the Americas and globally, and CONMEBOL and IMG are perfectly positioned to capitalise on this.”
Diego Alfieri, General Manager, FC Diez Media, commented, “Momentum for CONMEBOL’s club competitions has never been stronger, following another record-breaking year across distribution, sponsorship and digital, and going into this year’s CONMEBOL Libertadores 65th anniversary celebrations. We will continue working hand-in-hand with our partners at CONMEBOL to build upon this success and drive even more growth for South America’s iconic competitions.”