FC Barcelona and Nike have extended their current sport equipment deal by 5 years until 2013. The deal is worth around € 150 mill.
The new deal includes the option to extend the agreement for another 5 years more until the year 2018.


Mark Marker, president and CEO of Nike Inc. revealed:

FC Barcelona is one of the best football teams and one of the most attractive to watch. We are extremely satisfied in extending this contract. The relationships we hold with top football clubs such as FC Barcelona help us to maintain our role in the world's most popular sport and to be the most important brand in the world of football.

The US sports equipment producer Nike has become the leading brand in world football. Nike transformed the football business from $ 40 mill. in 1994 to $ 1.5 bill. today. Nike currently sponsors 32 football clubs, 18 national teams such as Brazil and has a large number of the world's best players under contract.


FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta is very delighted about the extension of the deal:

The agreement is an international recognition of the level the club has achieved both by its on field success and social commitments. We value the force that Nike gives and that it will continue to provide because FC Barcelona is more than a club to the world.

Nike and FC Barcelona co-operate since 1998. US giant Nike supplies over 50 countries with the FC Barcelona brand and the Barca shirt is one of the most popular in the world.

FC BArcelona Blog already reported some time ago that AUDI and FC Barcelona will agree on a sponsorship deal. Since yesterday, the deal is official. The German car manufacturer AUDI will become an official sponsor and supplier of FC Abrcelona for the next two seasons.


The presentation of the deal was attended by Audis Spanish division manager Jesús Gasanz and FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, as well as a selection of Frank Rijkaard's team. Audi presented models of its brand new Audi Q7s to each member of the FC Barcelona first team.


Audi has become the first official FC Barcelona sponsor to also secure advertising rights, which involves the right to associate itself to the club's name and create joint marketing ventures involving both the team and the company.

As FC Barcelona Blog published some days ago, the idea of a solidary "sponsor" has been finally signed for FC Barcelona. UNICEF has been the humanitarian foundation choosen by FC Barcelona.


All the Spanish media reflects in the last editions the just signed agreement. Both Unicef and FC Barcelona, publish the global agreement signed today by Unicef and FC Barcelona for the next 5 years in their respective sites.

fcbarcelonablog has the pleasure to publish this joint statement made by FC Barcelona and UNICEF today:




"UNICEF, the United Nations agency whose goal it is to guarantee children's rights, and Futbol Club Barcelona, through their Fundació, have reached an agreement to work together for the benefit of orphaned children in vulnerable situations, in particular those that are affected by the HIV/AIDS virus.


"With this new global alliance with UNICEF, FC Barcelona, through their Fundaciò, is committed to defending these objectives for the next five years.


"The signatures and the official presentation of the agreement will take place on August 11 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, within the framework of the tour of Mexico and the United States that the first team football squad are undertaking.


"The theme of this accord is Barça, more than a club, a new global hope for vulnerable children.


"UNICEF was founded in 1946 by General Assembly of the United Nations to reply to childrens' urgent needs in Europe which, after World War Two, were in a very precarious situation.


"The first UNICEF programmes allowed emergency help to reach millions of children in the Middle East, China and Europe. Since then, the protection of all children, without distiction of race, beliefs, nationality or religion has become a universal mission that is now almost 60 years old."




Other Articles: FC Barcelona: No commercial Logo on Shirt - Barca considers humatitarian projects | Barca agree first shirt deal in history with UNICEF | UNICEF Shirt Logo Agreement with Barca on 11 Aug in New York

Catalan Television station TV3 has reported that FC Barcelona has agreed to wear the UNICEF logo on their famous Barca shirts next season.
FC Barcelona have never had a shirt sponsor in their over 100 years history, but have agreed to break with the tradition to support the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). A presentation will be made at the United Nations Headquarters in New York when the official contract will be signed.


Barca had several record-breaking sponsorship deals before, but Barcelona president Joan Laporta has always remained sensitive about a commercial sponsorship with a company's name on the jersey because it could have caused opposition among the club's faithful supporters.


Barca, the biggest football club in the world, are "more than a club" and are happy to be seen as a humanitarian club that wants to give his share to fight racism and poverty around the world. Barca already agreed a charity deal with UNICEF last month. The agreement between UNICEF and FC Barcelona will see Barca donate 0.7 % of their annual income (estimated to be over € 2 mill. next year) to the UN-Charity fund from the start of the 2006-07 season. FC Barcelona became the first football club ever to formally support the UN Millennium Development Goals campaign and hopes that other rich football Clubs will follow. The UN Millennium Development Goals campaign aims to halving extreme poverty, limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education by 2015 anog other targets.

FC Barcelona´s brazilian superstar Ronaldinho is the football player with the highest marketing value in the world after a study researched by Germans Consulting Company BBDO. His value is estimated at € 47.6 Mill. and therefore has overtaken David Beckham of Real Madrid with € 45.6 Mill. and third placed Mancherster United youngster Wayne Rooney, € 44.4 Mill.
Best placed spanish player is Raúl González, at 12th place with a marketing value of an estimated € 27.6 Mill.

The brazilian forward Ronaldinho is the hottest marketing prospect for the future. With only 26 years and his titles FIFA Best Player of the World and Golden Ball Award winner he is considered as the marketing and sponsorship icon in the upcoming years. BBDO expects that Ronaldinho will increase his value substantially by closing high valued and long term marketing and sponsorship deals, especially with the prospect of Brazil winning the World Cup in Germany and Ronaldinho of being the protagonist of the event this year.
David Beckham of Real Madrid still owns the status of being the metrosexual prototype and this image and reputation still earns him lucrative contracts. The other Barca players listed in the study of BBDO are the cameroon international Samuel Etòo with € 31.1 Mill. and Argentinian Barca starlet and new Adidas marketing icon Lionel Messi with € 31.0 Mill.