Bielsa’s bucket breaks the ice for Leeds United with US e-commerce giant Wish

August 13 – Ambitious Championship club Leeds United have secured US e-commerce platform Wish as the club’s Official Presenting Partner for the 2019/20 season.

It is the first time the US shopping site has sponsored football and follows on from the company’s shirt sponsorship of the NBA’s LA Lakers.

As part of Leeds’ centenary year Wish will be offering free gift giveaways for Leeds fans via the Wish shopping app throughout the season. Wish will also have signage on pitchside LED hoardings as well as its logo on manager Marcelo Bielsa’s bucket seat.

Paul Bell, executive director at Leeds United, said: “We have managed to secure this agreement ahead of many of the world’s biggest football teams and against strong competition from other major global sports organisations. As part of the deal, we have created an exclusive package of marketing rights for Wish to maximise their brand visibility at Elland Road.”

Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, Wish has created a digital shopping mall of affordable goods aimed at consumers worldwide.

Sam Jones, managing director of Wish said: “We believe aligning to iconic sport teams is a great way to build brand equity. This is a deliberate component of our global marketing strategy – we want to reach consumers during their favourite moments of a regular week, in this case, watching Leeds United.

“Since sponsoring the LA Lakers jersey in the US, we have looked at dozens of football clubs in Europe and Leeds United appealed to us for so many reasons. Leeds is the third biggest and fastest growing city in the UK. It is a one club city, with a highly passionate football community and a very rich history.

“…whilst this partnership has significant inventory, we loved the idea of sponsoring the Bielsa bucket. The only such asset in global football. We like to follow the eyeballs!”

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