New Balance, which does a small business in soccer (global football), last week revealed much-bigger ambitions with the signing of four club sponsorships: Liverpool FC, Stoke City FC, FC Porto and Sevilla FC. It also signed ten international players.
At a star-studded event at its store in New York City that matched another held simultaneously at its London flagship, Joe Preston, EVP of global footwear and apparel for New Balance, said the brand’s goal is to achieve the number three spot in football behind Nike and Adidas globally. The soccer expansion is particularly expected to help build on the brand’s recent momentum overseas, including supporting growth in its core running category.
New Balance is essentially taking over the soccer business from Warrior, also owned by New Balance. The company said the decision to drop the Warrior tag for soccer came because of “the success of this initiative” with Warrior. Warrior will continue its focus on lacrosse and ice hockey.
The prize club New Balance will be taking over is the Liverpool FC, one of the most successful clubs in England that has won more European trophies than any other English team. Warrior’s entry into the soccer market was highlighted by its $40 million-a-year jersey deal with Liverpool starting with the 2012-13 season.
Among the other clubs, Stoke City is the oldest club in the Premier League. FC Porto plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tier of the Portuguese football league system. Sevilla, with a 110-year history, plays in Spain's Liga BBVA (BBVA League), Spain’s top professional association football division.
Richard Wright, general manager of New Balance Football and the former managing director at Warrior, said, “We have four clubs all with distinctive, exciting identities and which will play a key role in taking New Balance Football to a truly global audience.”
New Balance Football will also work alongside a number of local teams, including Shamrock Rovers, Odds BK, Sagan Tosu, Yamagata, Club Sport Emelec, O’Higgins FC and Persebaya Surabaya.
Among the players New Balance signed to endorsement deals were Vincent Kompany, captain of Manchester City and the Belgian national team; Tim Cahill, a former midfielder for the New York Red Bulls now playing in the Chinese Super League; and Fernando Reges, who also plays for Manchester City as well as the Brazilian national team.
New Balance will debut club kits and footwear in May/June.
