Banco Santander will become an official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League. The agreement begins next season (2018/19) and runs for three years to 2020/21.

The UEFA Champions League is the world’s most prestigious football club competition, with mass audiences in Santander’s main markets in Europe and the Americas. The UEFA Champions League final is also the most viewed annual sporting event, watched live by more than 160 million people. The competition has more than 100 million followers in social media.

Santander will have the rights to pitch-side and television advertising spots, as well as tickets, client hospitality events and other rights.

Banco Santander Executive Chairman, Ana Botín, and the country heads of Santander’s ten main markets, signed the agreement in Brazil today alongside a UEFA representative. Two legends of football also participated in the event: Brazil’s Ronaldo who was there in person and Pelé who appeared via video.

Ana Botín said: “Santander’s partnership with the UEFA Champions League, the world’s most global and aspirational sporting competition, builds on our support of Libertadores and, more recently, Racing Santander, the local football team of the Cantabrian city where our bank was founded 160 years ago. We love sport. Our free-time exercise, which we do to challenge ourselves to be better, the weekend match we watch with family and friends, our loyalty to a club and the excitement of the spectacle. Ferrari and F1, to whom we are very grateful, have played an important role at Santander over the past 10 years. We will continue our support of sport because it is a valuable way to contribute to the prosperity of the communities where we work.”

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events Marketing Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Santander into the UEFA Champions League sponsor family and are excited to partner with one of the most distinguished and forward-thinking banks globally. There is natural fit between the UEFA Champions League and Santander, with the Bank being consistently recognised within the best global brands and, of course, with the UEFA Champions League Final remaining the most watched annual sporting event on the planet. The bank has a great heritage in sport and this partnership will allow the UEFA Champions League to further engage with football fans in Latin America and around the world.”

The sponsorship strengthens the Bank’s association with professional football, having supported several of the main football competitions for the past ten years in Latin America, including CONMEBOL Libertadores, and LaLiga Santander in Spain.

At the end of this year, Santander will conclude its successful sponsorship of the Formula 1 racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, which it has supported for the last eight seasons. The bank will also conclude its corporate sponsorship agreements with F1 which have helped increase Santander’s brand recognition around the world over the last 11 years.

(Banco Santander)