Kia Motors and UEFA celebrate UEFA Europa League sponsorship agreement

Following the recent announcement that UEFA has signed a three-year agreement with one of its long-standing partners, Kia Motors, to become an Official Partner of the UEFA Europa League, representatives from both organisations gathered today in Geneva to celebrate and inaugurate the new partnership.

Kia Motors sponsorship of one of UEFA’s most prestigious European club football competitions will commence in time for the start of the 2018/19 season and run through to, and include, the UEFA Europa League final in 2021.

The special partnership inauguration event, held during the staging of the prestigious Geneva Motor Show was attended by members of the media, representatives from Kia Motors and UEFA and by former Argentinian international footballer Hernan Crespo.

“We are soon to embark on our first full season in partnership with Kia Motors for the UEFA Europa League which is the largest professional club football competition in Europe, with 28 member associations represented in the group stage this season. The competition also features football players from every corner of the world, so we are looking forward to working together with Kia to build mass fan engagement,” said Peter Willems, Head of Marketing Activities & Sponsorship at UEFA Events SA.

“Together we will harness the power to surprise, by creating the first global UEFA Europe League Trophy Tour presented by Kia, which will be a fantastic opportunity to promote the competition and Kia’s core brand values. Each season the competition reaches a television audience of one billion viewers, 45% of which live outside of Europe, so we value partners such as Kia Motors that have such a great reach. Today we officially welcome Kia Motors into the UEFA Europa League commercial partner family for the 2018-2021 cycle and look forward to working together to promote the competition,.” Willems added.

Yong-Won Cho, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Kia Motors Corporation said: “This partnership inauguration ceremony celebrates the start of a new and exciting era for Kia Motors and UEFA. We are excited to become an Official Partner of the UEFA Europa League for the next three seasons, continuing our long-established link with the most popular sport, not just in Europe but around the world. The UEFA Europa League presents us with the perfect platform from which to engage more closely with fans all over the globe, and enhancing Kia’s visibility as an exciting, dynamic brand for the young-at-heart.”

UEFA Ambassador and football legend Hernan Crespo added: “I am a huge fan of the UEFA Europa League. I have fantastic memories of playing in the competition and even lifting the iconic trophy in 1999 with Parma FC. The competition goes from strength to strength and now with the support of Kia Motors, this is something that can only continue to accelerate. I wish every success to Kia Motors and to UEFA at the start of this fantastic partnership.”

The UEFA Europa League 2018/19 season commences on 20 September 2018. The final will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on 29 May 2019.

Kia Motors becomes the third Official Partner of the 2018-21 UEFA Europa League joining alongside Amstel and Enterprise Rent-A-Car who both recently announced renewals of their sponsorship of the competition.

Note to the editors:

UEFA Events SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of UEFA, created to manage and handle the European football governing body's commercial and event operations.

TEAM Marketing AG is the exclusive marketing agency of UEFA for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women’s Champions League final and UEFA Youth League finals.