Charlton Athletic and Footballco, a global football content and media firm, have announced a new industry-leading sponsorship relationship to enable advertisers access the coveted Gen-Z audience.
The London club was chosen to join with Footballco because the Addicks are the UK’s top social purpose football organisation.
The Charlton Athletic Community Trust is the largest UK club charity; it has long been the country’s leading EDI [equality, diversity, and inclusion] club, ranking sixth in the English Football League for sustainability. Its Academy, which recruits players from the slums of South London, is ranked seventh in England, while Charlton Athletic Women’s Football Club now leads the second tier.
Footballco, which has a monthly global audience of 800 million fans, operates a number of global, local, and community football content brands, including GOAL, MUNDIAL, INDIVISA, and Front Three.
Footballco president Stefano D’Anna stated, “Charlton Athletic is an extraordinary organisation that demonstrates the power of football to inspire hope and transform communities.” Its location among the multi-cultural neighborhoods of inner-city London lends it a rich flavor of true street football, as evidenced by the back stories of many of its young players.
“We conducted significant research on what Gen-Z consumers and companies desire from football, and the Charlton story is a fantastic fit. It focuses on urban, diverse, fun, aspirational material that tells authentic tales without the pomposity associated with professional football clubs.
“After hearing about the ambitions and purpose of Charlton’s new owners, we felt that this would be the right partnership to engage the Gen Z audience.”
Global Football Partners (GFP) acquired Charlton Athletic and Charlton Athletic Women’s Football Club in July 2023.
GFP co-owner Charlie Methven stated, “This alliance has been six months in the works, and we are overjoyed that it has come to fruition. The breadth of Footballco’s research and market knowledge has astounded us, and Charlton’s selection as their first club partner is great validation for all aspects of our organisation, including our wonderful community trust, our fantastic boys and girls academies, and CAFC and CAWFC themselves.
“Our executive teams thoroughly look forward to working with Footballco to produce exciting new content which will re-define how football can engage with a new generation of fans around the world.”
Charlton and Footballco will collaborate to go to market, combining Charlton’s rich brand identity with Footballco’s massive following and extensive understanding of fan behaviours. Unlike typical sponsorship models, Charlton Athletic and Footballco’s agreement will allow businesses to exploit both corporations’ products through a single package.
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