BNP Paribas Fortis is renewing its partnership with the Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht for a further three seasons. From next season onwards, BNP Paribas Fortis will share shirt sponsorship of Belgium’s record championship-winning soccer club with the Belgacom group’s Proximus brand.
BNP Paribas Fortis, main sponsor of the Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht (RSCA) since 1981, is delighted to announce that its partnership with the Brussels-based football club is to be extended until the end of the 2016-17 season. This move confirms the Bank’s commitment to this stable, long-term relationship, in which BNP Paribas Fortis partners RSCA both in its various competitions on the field and through events such as Fan Day and Talent Days for young hopefuls and the BNP Paribas Fortis Player Escorts initiative.
BNP Paribas Fortis is to remain the club’s main shirt sponsor for Belgian competitions – the Belgian championship (Jupiler Pro League) and the Belgian cup (Cofidis Cup) organised by the Royal Belgian Football Association. In a new departure beginning in season 2014-15, the Proximus logo will also appear on the back of the team jerseys and on players’ shorts during Belgian competition matches and the Proximus name will replace the BNP Paribas Fortis logo on team shirts for European competitions.
BNP Paribas Fortis and Belgacom are already partners on the Sixdots mobile e-commerce and payments platform. The two parties now once again illustrate their capacity for joint innovation by creating this novel co-sponsoring approach, which involves rotating the sponsor’s name according to the competition.
Welcoming the extension of the sponsorship contract, RSC Anderlecht President Roger Vanden Stock declared: “We are extremely happy that BNP Paribas Fortis and Belgacom have decided to renew their sponsorship agreement as these two companies share the same values and similar ambitions with the club. We very much appreciate the continuing support of these two market leaders in their fields, especially as regards promotion for the competitions in Belgium.”
The relationship between BNP Paribas Fortis and the Anderlecht soccer club, which marks its 34th anniversary next year, is unique in Europe in its longevity. This partnership underlines BNP Paribas Fortis’ commitment to Belgian football and its close involvement in the fabric of Belgian society.
“The renewal of this sponsorship agreement for a further three years clearly demonstrates our confidence in and loyalty towards the RSCA,” stressed Peter Vandekerckhove, Executive Board Member and Head of Retail & Private Banking at BNP Paribas Fortis, adding: “This loyal, exemplary collaboration is based on the fundamental values which we share: accessibility, high performance, team spirit and respect for others.”