The takeover of Swiss financial institution Credit Suisse leaves many sports activities stars, groups and tournaments with an enormous query mark hanging over their profitable sponsorship offers.
The Swiss nationwide soccer workforce, the nation’s high soccer division, tennis nice Roger Federer, golf star Sergio Garcia and Zurich’s new stadium have been all sponsored by the financial institution, which is being taken over by Swiss rival UBS.
The deal was rapidly organized on Sunday after Credit Suisse’s share value plunged.
Golf and equestrian occasions additionally relied on Credit Suisse cash, as did the Swiss Sport Aid Foundation, which backs proficient younger athletes in minority sports activities.
“Our sponsorships replicate our ardour for excellence, sustainability, and partnership,” Credit Suisse boasts.
The Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper said that no matter how much Credit Suisse got embroiled in scandals or rejigged its strategies, “the bank has always been a reliable partner for sports”.
“For the time being, we’ll proceed our corresponding commitments unchanged,” a Credit Suisse spokesman informed AFP.
But UBS, which has its own portfolio of sports sponsorships focusing on Formula One, athletics and ice hockey, may not necessarily continue with the deals.
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Focus on Football
Credit Suisse has been the main sponsor of the Swiss Football Association (SFA) governing body since 1993.
The men’s national team, ranked 12th in the world, has enjoyed some of its best years since the bank came on board.
Having only appeared at one World Cup between 1966 and 2006, Switzerland have qualified for the last five World Cups, reaching the last 16 in four of those tournaments.
The contract runs until June 30 next year. It is worth around five million Swiss francs ($5.4 million) per year, according to Blick newspaper.
The Credit Suisse logo will stay on the national teams’ training jackets and jerseys for as long as the bank exists, SFA spokesman Adrian Arnold said ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Belarus.
“We had good discussions with our contacts at Credit Suisse, who assured us that the existing contracts would be honoured,” Arnold stated.
“We would really like the partnership to proceed thereafter, in no matter kind.”
Credit Suisse is also the main sponsor of Switzerland’s bid to host the 2025 women’s European Championships, and the takeover comes shortly before the hosting decision is due on April 4.
The bank is the title sponsor of the Super League, Switzerland’s 10-team top football division, including well-known clubs like Young Boys, Grasshopper, FC Zurich and FC Basel.
Blick said the contract runs until 2025 and is worth around eight million Swiss francs ($8.7 million) per season.
Money goes into every club as well as the tournament, with the bank’s name appearing on all team strips and on advertising boards around the stadiums.
In 2019, the financial institution received the naming rights for a proposed new soccer stadium in Zurich, the place Grasshopper and FC Zurich are anticipated to play.
But the planned “Credit Suisse Arena” has confronted delays. It was as a result of open in mid-2022, however little progress has been made and its future now appears much more unsure.
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Federer Ties
Federer is by far the most important identify related to Credit Suisse.
Although Switzerland’s biggest sports activities star retired in September, he stays a model ambassador for Credit Suisse.
The financial institution was on board for his transition right into a post-tennis profession, saying: “We look ahead to many extra years collectively”.
Federer has a host of other sponsors he can fall back on, including Rolex, Lindt, Mercedes-Benz and Moet et Chandon.
Credit Suisse also sponsors the Federer-instigated Laver Cup, which features six top men’s tennis players from Europe against six from the rest of the world, captained by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
The Business of Sport: Sponsors leave, others arrive
In golf, Credit Suisse sponsored the European Masters golf tournament in Crans-Montana and Spanish former world number two Garcia, who won the 2017 Masters.
European Masters tournament director Yves Mittaz said the contract runs until the 2024 tournament so the event is not at risk.
“There is no reason to panic,” he informed the Tribune de Geneve newspaper.
“That’s the enterprise of sport: sponsors depart, others arrive.”
In equestrianism, Credit Suisse is a main sponsor of the Concours Hippique International de Geneve and White Turf in St. Moritz, a glitzy exclusive event featuring horse racing on a frozen lake.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed)
