Fast food will meet football next season when McDonald’s takes over the naming rights to France’s top domestic league.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LPF), which oversees Ligue 1 in France, announced last week that the purveyor of Big Macs has signed a three-year deal to become the league’s title partner starting on July 1, 2024. “This partnership seals the meeting between two popular institutions, strongly inscribed in the daily life and collective imagination of the French,” reads a press release (translated to English by Google).
Thanks to this new agreement, the LFP continues its ambition to develop the Ligue 1 brand in order to make it ever more unifying. Through its national network of 1,560 restaurants, McDonald’s will allow Ligue 1 to get even closer to its fans throughout the country. In addition, thanks to the international dimension of its title sponsor, Ligue 1 will benefit from additional growth drivers outside its borders.
— Ligue de Football Professionnel
Ligue 1 had previously been sponsored by Uber Eats since the 2020-21 season. The value of the deal with McDonald’s was not disclosed, but reports earlier this month indicated it could be worth between €60 million and €90 million over the three years.
The McDonald’s logo will presumably appear next to the Ligue 1 logo on jersey patches and other official league materials.
“At a time when enthusiasm for Ligue 1 has never been so strong, notably with record crowds in the stadiums, welcoming an international brand like McDonald’s into the home of French professional football constitutes a very strong signal of the attractiveness of Ligue 1,” said LPF president Vincent Labrune. “This major agreement marks the union between two popular and accessible worlds, and inseparable for many supporters. With McDonald’s, our ambition is to offer numerous activations aimed at fans and all French people who are used to frequenting its restaurants. This new agreement also marks the end of a magnificent collaboration with Uber Eats as title sponsor of Ligue 1. I would like to particularly thank the management of Uber Eats France for their trust and support.”
According to the LPF press release, McDonald’s franchisees across France support more than 400 youth, amateur, women’s and professional soccer teams.
“McDonald’s and Ligue 1 is a partnership that makes perfect sense. With family or friends, there are always many supporters of Ligue 1 clubs who associate a McDonald’s moment with a Ligue 1 day. Building on this close bond, we intend to help enable an even larger number of fans of the football to fully live their passion,” said Jacques Mignault, president of McDonald’s France. “We have many projects and ideas to bring this partnership to life over the next three years and throughout the territory. For more than 40 years, our franchisees have been loyal and committed partners to enable amateur sports clubs to develop and realize their projects. We will pay particular attention to allowing young amateur athletes to have unforgettable experiences as part of this new partnership. We have, in fact, the ambition to become, at our level, a true link between professional football and amateur sport.”
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