The UEFA governing body for soccer in Europe has announced Kaizen Gaming, the Greek game-tech company, and its betting brand Betano as official global sponsors of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League club competitions.
As part of the deal, Stoiximan, Kaizen Gaming’s betting brand in Greece and Cyprus, will be the competition’s sponsors in those two specific countries for the 2024-27 cycle (encompassing three seasons of the second and third-tier men's club competitions). Elsewhere, the Betano brand will act as the UEFA partner.
The partnership will build on Betano’s sponsorship program at the national teams' UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, which made the betting firm the competition’s first-ever betting partner.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director, has said: “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Kaizen Gaming and its Betano brand for the next three seasons of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
“After witnessing the impressive scale at which they activated their UEFA Euro 2024 sponsorship with us this summer, we eagerly anticipate how Betano will capture the passion of European club football to deliver even more excitement for the fans.”
Aris Dimarakis, deputy chief executive of Kaizen Gaming, added: "During UEFA Euro 2024, we formed an impeccable partnership with UEFA, elevating the experience of millions of fans across the globe who enjoyed the excitement of watching one of the world's most prestigious sports events.
“Building on that success, we are joining forces again to support the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League."
The group stage of this year’s UEFA Europa League gets underway on September 25, while for the UEFA Conference League, it does so on October 3.
Other Europa League and Conference League sponsors for the 2024-27 cycle include Hankook, Engelbert Strauss, Enterprise, and Just Eat.
Earlier this month, UEFA announced a deal with Crypto.com, with the firm coming on board as the latest sponsor of the top-tier UEFA Champions League for the 2024-27 commercial cycle.
The two parties have secured a deal at the second time of asking after Crypto.com reportedly pulled out of a UCL sponsorship agreement with UEFA in 2022 worth almost €500 million ($547 million) over five seasons.
UEFA issued a tender to find sponsors in the cryptocurrency exchange sector for the 2024-27 UCL cycle in March this year, with a deadline of March 20 set for formal offers.
