After Qatar 2022, the game that the Peruvian team is playing in search of sponsors | ECONOMY
The outlook is challenging. Now more than before, the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) must seek to convince sponsors and new ‘partners’ that he will be able to make his dream of a next World Cup come true. Above all, in a context in which several players called up are already over 30 years old, so the team will have to be restructured for the next round of qualifiers that would begin in the second half of 2023, affirm those interviewed for this note.
“What the brands are looking for is a return on their investment (almost US$ 2 million a year is invested by a gold category sponsor), they want to go to the World Cup, they have already tasted what that means in terms of income,” says Luis Carrillo Pinto, director of Live Media and professor of Sports Sponsorship at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP).
To date, the FPF has four categories of sponsors: the technical sponsor, which is currently marathon (from 2023 it will be adidas); three gold sponsors: Movistar, Cristal and Coca Cola (with those who work more than 20 years). Three of silver: I bet you, Derco and Latam Airlines. Finally, five bronze sponsors: Tommy Hilfiger, Mobil, Pedidos Ya, Lenovo and Petroperú.
Of the 12 official sponsors, 11 have contracts that they would renegotiate in the course of this year. According to Julio Medina, director of Inyogo Sportssome of the brands could be evaluating not to continue, but others, like Cristal and Coca Colawho have a history of supporting Peruvian soccer, are unlikely to part ways.
“Sports sponsorships are one of the most credible strategies in the world, which is why they are constantly growing. For this reason, it is also important that the investment made by the brands is reflected in the sports results”, affirms Medina.
The paradoxical thing, however, is that although the peruvian team As a brand, it has managed to revalue itself significantly after qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and despite the fact that we have the “best fans in the world”, it is the team that has the fewest sponsors at a regional level, says Eduardo Flores, director of the marketing agency sporty Fine Touch.
And it is that there are still sectors that need to be convinced. One of them is financial, one of the sectors that invests the most in football internationally. In Peru, BBVA It was the last entity to bet on the selection but did not renew a contract for the last four years.
Experts point out that the FPF should target new sectors, such as cryptocurrencies (in the World Cup Qatar 2022, crypto.com became the first blockchain company to participate as official ‘sponsors’ of the contest), as well as in the video game segment (as the Brazilian team has), and the retail, among other.
The Gareca era
But to convince new sponsors, is the permanence of Ricardo Gareca as a national team coach? Inyogo’s Medina responds that the ‘teacher’ is a key player since the national team with him once again brought joy to the people and reconnected many Peruvians with soccer, especially children.
“However, in the other aspects of football, such as the clubs, the league and the minor categories, we have many opportunities to work on and that is a reality that must be attacked with or without Gareca. It will be important to do a job in the medium/long term to be able to restructure all of football, and thus not depend on one coach or random actions to go to another world Cup”, he points out.
An opinion that Carrillo also shares: “Gareca is a key player because Peruvian soccer, in general terms, we are talking about the local league, the second division and the minors, is deficient. He was able to put together a competitive team in a fairly tough continent with Argentina and Brazil as protagonists. Definitely, the Peruvian team does not reflect our soccer level from the macro. Proof of this is that no footballer from the national team plays in a big team in Europe ”, he refers.
And he adds: “But a restructuring is missing because we are already falling behind. Ecuador has 11 U22 players playing in Europe, Venezuela has just been U21 runner-up in an international event, not to mention Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. This is work that should not only be done from the FPFThere must also be a change at the club level and, why not, at the player level as well. This change should also include the Women’s Footballwhich is growing exponentially worldwide,” he stresses.
the other impact
“The result against Australia was a great blow for everyone and we still do not realize the impact because we are still in mourning and shock,” says Carrillo Pinto, director of Live Media.
Only for the FPF it meant losing the prize of US$ 8 million for not reaching the first phase in the Soccer World Cup. For marathonone of the 12 sponsors of the federation and the brand that dresses Gareca’s 11, is a substantial reduction in its projections for the sale of shirts: “Today it should not sell even 5% of what it sold before the playoffs.”
And it is that a World Cup without Peru changes the entire field for companies in all sectors. Travel agencies are not going to sell even the 10% of packages to Qatar that they had projected and the advertising investment is going to be conservative: “a series of marketing campaigns will no longer see the light after the result of Peru-Australia,” he laments Flores, director of the sports marketing agency fine touch.
