Relevent Sports named Under Armour, Gatorade, Equinox, Geico, and DHL as sponsors for the 2016 Int'l Champions Cup.
Under Armour will be the official ball and apparel provider of the ICC and will supply football product. Gatorade will be the official sports fuel of the ICC. Equinox, Geico, and DHL also joined as official partners of the '16 tournament. DHL’s ICC campaign will complement its global partnership with Bayern Munich. Terms were not disclosed. Prior to the announcements, Relevent Sports had signed Heineken USA and its family of brands to be the presenting sponsor and official beers of the ICC. Indeed, McDonald’s, Vivid Seats and Groupon Live will be sponsors of the '16 tournament as well.
Each of the sponsors will get exposure at ICC matches along with various activation programs leading up to and throughout the tournament (ICC). FORBES' Kurt Badenhausen wrote sponsorship revenue for the tournament "is up 60% over last year." Football has made inroads in the U.S. with both Major League Soccer and European clubs, but "it still lags considerably behind other sports in popularity." The latest Harris Poll "has the U.S.-version of pro football on top with 33% of Americans naming it their favorite sport, up nine percentage points from 30 years ago." Next up "are baseball (15%), college football (10%), auto racing (6%), pro basketball (5%) and hockey (5%)." Football "follows along with college basketball at 4%, up from 3% in 1985." The ICC is the third major football tournament of the summer, "following the Copa America and European Championship with the Rio Olympics still to come next month" (FORBES, 7/14).
