The Chinese smartphone manufacturer, OPPO has announced a two-year deal to become a global partner of the UEFA Champions League.
The corporation will support the elite club championship during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, following which UEFA‘s existing three-year commercial cycle for club competitions will end.
OPPO has become the first Chinese firm to financially support the Champions League. The company has replaced Expedia as one of eight global sponsors. During the 2021-22 season, the travel company had a one-year contract.
The division of a Champions League global sponsor vacant spot throughout the commercial period was an unusual move by UEFA and its marketing agency, as each global partner position has customarily been held by a single brand over a three-year period. This was the original plan for OPPO, which had its offer accepted to be among the listed firms to procure global rights to sponsor UEFA’s premier competition from 2021-24.
OPPO was unable to initiate its sponsorship in 2021-22 due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since both the company and UEFA were eager to see the sponsorship kick start in 2022-23, it was finally agreed that a one-year agreement would be approved with Expedia, and OPPO would take over for the remaining two years of the cycle.
Expedia was indeed a global sponsor of the Champions League for the 2018-21 season, and it is believed that the organisation bid to continue its sponsorship for the 2021-24 season but was outbid by OPPO. As a result, the brand jumped at the chance to sponsor the tournament for another season, agreeing to a one-year deal worth just over €20 million ($20.2 million). In terms of average payments made by global Champions League sponsors, this was fairly low.
OPPO is expected to pay substantially more per season over the next two seasons. According to industry sources, the remunerative nature of the OPPO accord intended that it makes economic sense for UEFA to accept the relatively low-cost deal for 2021-22 if it meant securing OPPO’s sponsorship for the next two editions.
With the sponsorship now in place, OPPO can concentrate on the activation of a partnership that also contains the UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Futsal Champions League, and UEFA Youth League finals.
The OPPO branding will be displayed on broadcast backdrops and in stadiums, as well as on LED perimeter product placement. It will also be featured on the UEFA Champions League website and social media, as is customary. OPPO’s activation will also include running outreach to give fans the OPPOrtunity to go pitchside during games and seize important scenes with OPPO smartphones.