France’s Ligue 1 Partners With Uber Eats
French Soccer’s Professional Football League (LFP) has announced that Uber Eats, the U.S. based online food delivery service, will serve as official partner of French soccer before becoming the new naming rights sponsor of Ligue 1 beginning in 2020/2021. French soccer’s top flight will then be known as Uber Eats Ligue 1 through the 2021/2022 season.
Per the agreement, Uber Eats is set to pay the Ligue French Premier League 32 million euro (36.1 million USD) over the three-year partnership. The French daily newspaper Le Figaro also reported that the league’s previous partner Conforma, a furnishing, and household retailer, had only paid an estimated 20 million euro.
The French see this new collaboration as a massive win for the league and its growth internationally as this will be Uber Eats first union on European soil. The hope is by bringing in a vibrant and youthful naming sponsor, Ligue 1 can reignite interest amongst young fans.
Additionally, fans are quick to point out that the French not only are keen on food but also food sponsorship deals as Ligue 2 has been partnered with Domino’s Pizza since 2016. The idea is what fan, especially a young one, does not dream of playing professional soccer while also eating a slice of pizza?
“This major agreement reflects the new dimension taken by Ligue 1,” stated LFP chief executive Didier Quillot. “We are very proud to be able to count on the support of Uber Eats, a major global brand, to support the development of the French championship.”
“From 2020/2021, the title partnership agreement will seal a major alliance. After partnership agreements with major US sports franchises, we are very proud that Uber Eats has chosen Ligue 1 as the first European sport partnership with the aim of supporting its development. We are also particularly pleased to be able to associate Ligue 1 with a very strong brand among young consumers.”
While the specifics are still unknown, the official release did add that the partnership will offer fans many innovative opportunities, including the addition of several “unique experiences” while watching live matches.
“Available in 110 cities in France, we are very happy to be associated to the Professional Football League, an emblematic national company,” stated Stéphane Ficaja, the GM for Uber Eats in Europe.
“Football is a sport that federates all generations and is a major focus of many French people, and Uber Eats users.”
“Through this partnership, we want to continue to be part of their daily lives by registering in the long term and by offering them new experiences.”
“We warmly thank the LFP for choosing us to support them in the development of the championship of France and professional clubs French, to trust us to ensure this digital turn and we look forward to offer the first activations to users football fans.”
League officials know it is essential to keep finding new ways to engage fans, but the first step to live-matches is getting fans in the stadium. LFP announced in May that they would be putting a cap on the price of away tickets come next season. By introducing the 10 euro (11 USD) price cap is just another innovative way officials are using to keep attendance and then hopefully engagement at an all-time high.
The goal is the combination of a significant global brand acting as the official sponsor along with lower set ticket prices for away games will bring French fans back to the stadium. The primary focus is the development of the French league and French championship.
