Cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit has announced a two-year deal with the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The sponsorship extends to AFA’s international side captained by Lionel Messi and ranks among FIFA’s top ten men’s football teams in the world.
Bybit was founded in 2018 and has over 3 million users scattered around the world. The sponsorship deal with the AFA is part of a broader strategy to enhance brand exposure in Latin America, as this region is a focus of growth for the cryptocurrency exchange. Bybit’s logo will be visible in all training apparel.
Given national football teams often only have major tournaments every four years, the two-year duration might usually not be long enough to build brand awareness.
However, Bybit’s greatest opportunity is that the biggest sporting event globally, the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup, is happening next year in Qatar. The cryptocurrency exchange has the time and the stage to build a promotional campaign centered around its relationship with the AFA that will enhance its presence in Latin Americana and global exposure as well.
For the AFA, another shirt sponsor is a new source of revenue, and as an additional advantage, Bybit has resources to enhance the organization’s digital strategy.
“Adding a brand in the clothing of our teams is very important. In these years we have carried out a strategy of commercial and brand growth around the world,” said AFA’s Commercial and Marketing manager Leandro Peterson. “Bybit is a global brand that bets on technology and seeks to continue growing throughout the world, in the same way that we are doing in our association.”
This is not Bybit’s first sports sponsorship. It also has a deal with the German football team Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, there seems to be a race for sports sponsorships among cryptocurrency exchanges. FTX signed MLB player Shohei Ohtani as a brand ambassador and has a 5-year sponsorship contract with the entire league. Crypto.com signed a $700 million deal for the naming rights of the LA Staples Center and sponsors PSG and the UFC.