John Guppy

Volkswagen And U.S. Soccer – A True Partnership

Volkswagen is now the Presenting Partner of U.S. Soccer and is poised to become the most significant non-endemic brand invested in American soccer. It’s a landmark deal and I am thrilled that Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing has been selected by Volkswagen to help bring this ambitious vision to life in the coming years.

The integrated partnership with U.S. Soccer provides Volkswagen with several highly visible assets including: VW logo integration on the U.S. National Team’s training gear, title rights to the Tournament of Nations with the U.S. Women’s National Team, on-site event marketing rights, and media integration. But what makes this truly noteworthy is Volkswagen’s commitment to support soccer initiatives that will enhance opportunities for players, coaches, referees, and fans. Under the #VWOneGoal banner, Volkswagen will directly help U.S. Soccer overcome development obstacles and grow the game of soccer. Now that’s a true partnership.

The notion of “partnership,” of course, is a much-used term in the sports industry. It’s a more substantive way to describe a relationship between a property and a brand than “sponsorship” – a term that can feel impersonal and transactional. While there are hundreds of sports partnerships in existence, I would suggest, however, that many are partnerships in name only and, in truth, they fall well short of the true meaning of the word.

This is simply not the case for Volkswagen and U.S. Soccer. The partnership is built on the recognition of a common target audience, identification of common objectives, and a mutual desire to help grow the sport in the U.S. VW is not just along for the ride (no pun intended), they are here to make a difference, and as a soccer marketer and a soccer fan, that’s an exciting prospect.

“Volkswagen will be one of the most active and visible partners U.S. Soccer has ever had.”

Dan Flynn, U.S. Soccer CEO and Secretary General

The partnership announcement was made on Monday at the Detroit Auto Show with representatives from Volkswagen and U.S. Soccer who were also joined by Aly Wagner and Alexi Lalas.

Categories: Featured, Soccer Marketing, Sponsorship, U.S. Soccer