OKX expands Man City deal to become Premier League champions’ sleeve sponsor
Manchester City and OKX have announced an expansion to their sponsorship deal with the crypto exchange becoming the Treble winners’ official sleeve partner.
As part of the expanded ‘multi year’ deal, the OKX brand will feature on the left sleeve of both the men’s and women’s first team playing kits and will retain its position on the left sleeve of the first team training kits, in addition to appearing across further digital and physical club assets.
OKX’s partnership with Manchester City began in March 2022, first expanding in July 2022 to become the club’s official training kit partner for the 2022/23 season. To date, the partnership has helped introduce the brand to millions of football fans around the world through innovative Web3 experiences like the OKX Collective where fans can get up-close-and-personal with Manchester City players and OKX Ambassadors such as Jack Grealish and Alex Greenwood.
The partnership expansion was unveiled at an exclusive reveal at the Etihad Stadium featuring City Football Group Chief Executive Officer Ferran Soriano and OKX Global Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique. As part of the event, the sleeve was unveiled in a ‘virtual reveal’ with a video featuring player avatars. Manchester City legend Gaël Clichy was also in attendance for a media Q&A.
In a session moderated by Manchester City presenter Natalie Pike, Rafique and Soriano spoke about OKX’s vision of reaching City fans around the world through the partnership. They also discussed the role Web3 technology can play in fan engagement, especially when it comes to designing engaging, immersive experiences for fans. Rafique and Soriano also answered questions from Crypto AM.
“We are very proud to have OKX represented on the sleeve of the Manchester City shirt. Both OKX and Manchester City are leading companies driven by a passion for innovation,” said Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive Officer at City Football Group.
“We have already seen great Web3 experiences designed by OKX for Manchester City’s global fan base and there will be many more to come. This is a very exciting partnership.”
Haider Rafique, CMO at OKX, added: “The journey with the Man City team has been incredible. Manchester City was our first official global brand partnership and in just a year and a half we have come a long way. We always intended to integrate with the sport and help the Club lead on leaning into Web3. Fast forward fifteen months, we now have a metaverse, an NFT initiative and a number of other new projects that we are excited about.
“The sleeve partnership brings us closer to City fans across the globe, and we look forward to collaborating to create unique, exciting and innovative engagements through Web3 technology. As the Club’s Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner, fans can expect amazing things every time they interact with OKX.”
Answering questions from the media, Rafique and Soriano were quizzed by Crypto AM’s editor-at-large James Bowater.
He asked: “Time and time again we see huge crypto companies becoming involved in sport, but we rarely see genuine success as a result. What’s different here? Why is this working so well?”
OKX’s Chief Marketing Officer, Haider Rafique, replied by saying “the success for us is a couple of things that might not be obvious to the world outside”.
“First is, typically, when you do these deals there’s this perception or impression that its designed to drive the brand. Yes, of course, every brand looks for exposure and growth. But for us a lot of it was about internal morale – bringing people together, more collaboration and getting people excited, and it’s really hit that goal. And I think that’s an important metric for us to embrace.
“The other is, most people didn’t know who we were two years ago. With the partnership here we’ve really become this brand that is now visible on the global stage.
“There is quality of success and quantity of success with this deal.”