The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has appointed IMG as its exclusive sponsorship agency in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for the next two years.

Until 2026, IMG will secure new sponsorship deals for the AFA and its men’s and women’s national teams across 39 countries and territories in the APAC region. This initiative aims to expand brand opportunities for the reigning World Champions, the Argentine National Team, in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Claudio Tapia, President of AFA, commented: “This new alliance with a leading commercial group like IMG demonstrates our organisation’s leadership in Asia. Reaching important and strategic markets such as China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea where the AFA has an extensive fan base and audience. 

“Through this alliance we will be able to develop more partnerships and unique sponsorship packages designed for each territory. This move will undoubtedly accelerate AFA’s global expansion”.

IMG has an impressive portfolio of sports teams and leagues worldwide, facilitating sponsorship opportunities and broadcasting deals for them. This includes the English Football League, Rugby League Commercial, and the Dutch Eredivisie, for which IMG recently secured a broadcasting deal in Japan.

The AFA will hope that the commercial group can help it build on the recent work it has put in place since 2018, securing partnerships with 50 sponsors across international markets and territories.

Adolfo Bara, SVP & Managing Director of Football Events at IMG, commented: “Argentinian football is at a pinnacle following its national teams’ success on the international stage. We look forward to building on that incredible momentum by leveraging IMG’s extensive global sales network and regional expertise, to develop more strategic sponsorship opportunities for the next generation of Argentinian football.”

Earlier this year, Insider Sport spoke to Leandro Petersen, Chief of Marketing at the AFA. Petersen revealed how the national football organisation had established a new strategic commercial growth campaign to put Argentinian football on the map, prior to its success at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

In the interview, he emphasised that winning the competition ‘crowned’ the hard work done beforehand to expand the organisation’s local and international sponsorship reach.

Last night (14 July), Argentina celebrated another significant tournament win by lifting the Copa America. This victory will undoubtedly be leveraged by IMG to enhance opportunities across Asia for the organisation.

Commenting on the agreement with IMG, Petersen stated: “We recognise the importance, uniqueness and enormous growth potential of AFA in the Asian market. Together with IMG, our network of contacts and opportunities extends like never before. 

“We deeply believe in our work together, promoting our brand, our national teams and expanding our commercial opportunities to every part of Asia ahead of competitions such as the Copa América, Olympic Games and World Cup 2026. We can assure all future sponsors that we will deliver more and better brand value to fans and followers in every corner of the world.”

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