MIAMI (Tuesday, May 10, 2016) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) today announced that Soccer United Marketing (SUM) has been selected to market and service the Confederation’s worldwide sponsorship rights. The decision follows a thorough Request for Proposal (RFP) process conducted over a five-month timespan. The agreement runs five and a half years (through the end of 2021).

The Confederation circulated the RFP to 24 international, experienced and reputable firms, based on criteria that included: responsiveness, capabilities, resources, proposed financial models, the bidder’s reputation, experience in the field, and preparedness to move quickly to market and service the rights. 

“CONCACAF is delighted to have reached this agreement with SUM, one of the most highly recognized marketing companies within the sport,” said CONCACAF Acting General Secretary Ted Howard. “We are confident that SUM’s global network and expertise will play a vital role in negotiating innovative sponsorship opportunities for our tournaments and events. This partnership will bring the Confederation’s major competitions closer to fans, while expanding the reach of CONCACAF football throughout the region and the world.”

“We are proud to be awarded the opportunity to represent CONCACAF’s global sponsorship rights,” said Kathy Carter, President, Soccer United Marketing. “Gold Cup, the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League and all of the other CONCACAF events are valuable properties that garner worldwide attention. There is a tremendous amount of value for brands looking to engage with the soccer fan in this diverse region.”

SUM, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, has become the preeminent commercial soccer enterprise in North America, overseeing the marketing, promotion and operational execution of the region’s most successful soccer entities.

In December 2015, SUM and the global sports marketing agency IMG acquired the commercial rights to the Copa America Centenario USA 2016, which will be held from June 3-26. Industry-leading companies that have already aligned with the once-in-a-lifetime event as tournament partners include Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Makita, Nike, Samsung, Sprint, State Farm and TAG Heuer. Additional partners will be announced this week.

The representation for the Confederation’s worldwide sponsorship rights includes the following events:

National Team Championships

•    CONCACAF Gold Cup

•    CONCACAF Cup

•    CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying Championship

•    CONCACAF Futsal Championship

•    CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship

Youth Championships

•    CONCACAF Under-20 Championship

•    CONCACAF Under-17 Championship

•    CONCACAF Under-15 Championship

•    CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship

•    CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship

•    CONCACAF Under-15 Girls’ Championship

Club Championships

•    Scotiabank™ CONCACAF Champions League

•    Scotiabank™  CONCACAF U-13 Champions League Tournament

•    CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship

SUM will be responsible for full compliance with CONCACAF’s Partner Code of Conduct.

About Soccer United Marketing

Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, has become the preeminent commercial soccer enterprise in North America, overseeing the marketing, promotion and operational execution of the region’s most successful soccer entities. SUM holds the exclusive commercial rights to Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation, as well as promotional, operational and marketing rights to Mexican National Team games played in the United States, and the promotional rights to the past six (6) CONCACAF Gold Cup™. Recently, SUM, in partnership with IMG, was selected to market and service the commercial rights to the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario.

END

IMAGE: en.wikipedia.org