Madrid, March 3. Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Ignacio Gorigolzarri. Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) and CaixaBank. They just renewed their alliance with a deal that lasts until 2024. “It’s not just another sponsor, it’s a FEB partner with projects, they’re already part of the house,” said the president of the Federation to EFE.
The return for the bank has tangible numbers and intangible values. The golden minute of Rudy Fernández lifting the Eurobasket Champions Cup in 2022 with his logo on the front of the shirt was seen by 5.7 million cumulative viewers and a share of 38%. Caixabank, according to entity sources, increased the investment made ninefold.
What are the keys to the success of this twinning? The presidents of the two institutions sealed this week with visible satisfaction an alliance that will benefit the women’s and men’s basketball teams in their senior and training categories. But, in addition, the agreement includes actions to promote popular basketball, such as the Plaza 3×3 CaixaBank circuit or the FEB Volunteers program. They are proof that the relationship is not only focused on professional sport: the objective is also to promote amateur basketball in all corners of Spain and the values of a sport that has brought enormous success to sport. national.
In fact, the women’s and men’s teams, since there was a sponsorship agreement with CaixaBank and other companies (Iberia, Endesa, Nike, Santalucía, Finisher…) have won up to eleven medals between Cups of the World, the Europeans and the Olympic Games. The ceiling was reached by the Spanish men’s team at the 2019 World Cup in China, when they won gold.
TEAMWORK, INVOLVEMENT AND RETURN OF VALUES
This last decade of sporting successes of the FEB is the result of the work of many departments of the organization chaired by Garbajosa. And one of the many keys to these successes is the stability that this type of sponsorship provides. The key to durability over time.
“At the FEB, we are proud because our sponsors tend to be of long standing. But it is true that CaixaBank is not just any sponsor, it is a partner of the FEB with projects. They are already doing part of the house. For us, and it’s not just a It’s a matter of return or interest, it’s a matter of fidelity, loyalty, common goals and in a similar way of understand the promotion of basketball,” Garbajosa told EFE.
According to him, the FEB has a responsibility towards society that goes beyond sport. They must inculcate their values through the practice of basketball and, for this reason, he assures, he is the “perfect” partner because he has a vision similar to the entity he presides, with which he tries to improve society.
“It’s not a ‘we sign for two years and in two years we talk again’. We have constant communication through the marketing department, the CEO and myself. The feeling is that, very fluid communication with a relationship in which you can speak openly. Both when you have to create something new and when you have to consolidate it. It is built day by day with a common philosophy, equal values and common goals”, explains Garbajosa.
VISIBILITY, GOLDEN MINUTE AND VALUES
The president of the FEB catalogs his ally as one more member of the federation, essentially as a “comrade” when it comes to understanding what is the role of the FEB in providing support not only financial, but also important when creating new projects and programs.
CaixaBank sources agree with Garbajosa that the financial entity does not only provide financial support to FEB. He gets involved in ideas and, above all, in trying to instill values in young people through basketball. For this reason, the sincere interest shown by both parties in exchanging something more than an economic amount, has managed to maintain a relationship already consolidated over time.
“Also, in our commitment to women’s sport, the role in this agreement is very important, since this sport is the one with the largest women’s licenses in Spain. In short, a bond that allows us to get closer to people and territory, in line with our strategy as an entity”, they add from the bank.
And what return does its close relationship with the FEB have for CaixaBank? Simply, it provides many intangible assets that position the bank as a reference sponsor of Spanish basketball without forgetting the great figures obtained in the European Championship that Spain won in Germany in 2022.
“The golden minute of Rudy Fernández lifting the Eurobasket Champions Cup with our logo in the center part of the shirt got 5.7 million cumulative viewers and a 38% share. Eurobasket reached 11.4 million viewers throughout the championship. In short, we are very proud to be able to say that we have multiplied by 9 the investment made. One more success of this agreement”, they develop .
But in addition to sponsoring the men’s and women’s sections, CaixaBank is also involved in participating in major championships. In fact, it was the official sponsor of the World Cup which took place in Spain in 2014 and a collaborator of the Women’s World Cup in Tenerife in 2018 and the European Women’s Championship in Valencia 2021.
And one of the most popular bets that connects the two parties is the Plaza 3X3 circuit, which has accumulated ten editions and is the largest free outdoor 3×3 championship in Spain that has managed to complete 113 sports days in cities all over the world. the country with the participation of more than 50,000 players followed live by 300,000 spectators. The proximity, work and values emanating from their collaboration have succeeded in generating, as on other occasions, a successful pairing between a bank and basketball.