(Reuters) – Financial institution of America is partnering with FIFA to turn into a sponsor for the 2026 World Cup, soccer’s international governing physique mentioned on Thursday, in a transfer that may hyperlink the monetary large with one of many world’s most-watched sporting occasions.
Sponsoring sport could be a fruitful advertising and marketing tactic for corporations because it permits them to succeed in a wider viewers and increase recognition of their manufacturers.
The second-biggest U.S. lender will probably be FIFA’s first-ever international sponsor within the banking class, the affiliation mentioned.
FIFA has the same partnership with funds processing large Visa (NYSE:) since 2007, after it broke ties with Mastercard (NYSE:) following a dispute.
BofA mentioned the partnership would “complement its international and native market methods” and permit it to have interaction with “a worldwide viewers”.
“Soccer connects the world like no different sport,” BofA CEO Brian Moynihan mentioned in a press release.
The 2026 World Cup will function 104 matches and 48 taking part groups, considerably increased than the final summit conflict in Qatar in 2022, when 32 groups performed 64 matches.
It will likely be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. Of the 16 host cities, 11 are within the U.S.