By Samindra Kunti
November 11 – Brazilian league leaders Corinthians have announced a partnership with São Paulo-based sports advertising agency TZK.
Corinthians are one of Brazil’s biggest clubs, together with Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo, but have endured a turbulent season in 2015. The club have struggled recently with delayed payments of salaries, discontent in the boardroom and disappointing results in the Copa Libertadores despite being domestic league leaders.
The club’s new state-of-the-art stadium Arena Corinthians is presenting another headache with adequate financing proving a big obstacle.
Off the pitch, Corinthians are increasingly seeking to maximize their commercial opportunities. After recent partnerships with Twitter, Napster and Caixa, Corinthians have teamed up with TZK, a representative of Sockatyes, a Hong Kong-based company which holds the worldwide patent for adding advertising space to football team’s socks.
The deal opens up a new revenue stream for Corinthians. The club want the logo of a big brand on their socks from the 2016/17 season onwards for a value of €1.3 million a year, according to media reports in Brazil.
Sockatyes have worked with Spanish club Atletico Madrid in the past, but the model of sponsoring player’s socks still has to catch on Europe. The Brazilian market has always been more creative and innovative when it comes to opening up new sponsorship opportunities, in particular in regards to kit sponsors.
Corinthians currently top the Brazilian table with 76 points and have the league title in touching distance after 34 match days with second-placed Atletico Mineiro lagging behind on 65 points. In recent weeks the club’s star striker Alexandre Pato has been linked with a move to the Premier League.
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