Set to make their first-ever Asian Champions League appearance, 2018/19 A-League Premiers Perth Glory have agreed to a sponsorship deal with the Western Australian Government to promote ‘Brand Perth’ during the campaign.
The competition, the Asian Football Confederation’s premier annual club tournament – running from February to November 2020 – has a combined live global television audience of 1.5 billion people and social media reach of more than 550 million a month to key Asian countries.
With cryptocurrency and sports investment group London Football Exchange reportedly nearing a deal to buy the club, the partnership, led by the makes Western Australian Government’s Invest and Trade WA, will see it become the Glory’s 2020 AFC Champions League (ACL) Principal Partner, with ‘Perth’ branded on the front of the team’s playing strip for their games.
It also covers signage and branding, media, digital engagement and merchandise promoting Brand Perth throughout the 2020 ACL competition.
Glory Chief Executive Officer, Tony Pignata, believes that the partnership with the state government is a very exciting one and a natural fit for both organisations.
“We are extremely proud to be flying the flag for Perth and Western Australia in the AFC Champions League,” he said.
“More than 50 million people across Asia were exposed to A-League clubs in the AFC Champions League last year.
“The agreement provides a fantastic opportunity to simultaneously promote the Perth Glory brand and Perth as a world-class location for tourism, international education and business.
Those sentiments were echoed by WA State Premier, Mark McGowan.
“Sponsoring Perth Glory in the Asian Champions League is a real coup for Brand Perth, showcasing our beautiful State to a digital reach of more than 586 million people in Asia,” he said.
“Perth Glory’s first-ever appearance in the lucrative Champions League tournament comes at the perfect time for our State.
“This deal ensures we can leverage Perth Glory’s success in our key Asian markets, allowing Perth to beamed into the lounge rooms of tens of millions of people.
“The return on investment in tourism and international education alone will be significant and on top of that, there’s the trade and investment benefits that come out of this sort of profile.
“The sponsorship also feeds in strongly to our international education strategy ‘live, learn and launch’ which positions Western Australia and Perth in particular, as a world-class international education city and helps the city open its doors to increasing numbers of students, especially from Asia.
“This competition will put Perth and Western Australia on the map for a whole new Asian audience and allow us to showcase the State as a secure and attractive place to invest and visit, supporting our WA economy and leading to more local jobs.”
Glory’s AFC Champions League campaign is set to get underway on Tuesday 18 February 2020 with an away trip to FC Tokyo.
The club’s other opponents in Group F are Ulsan Hyundai from Korea Republic and Shanghai Shenhua of China.
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