Binance Cryptocurrency exchange has been added as an associate sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicked off in Cameroon on Sunday.
The Binance logo appeared on pitchside LED boards as Cameroon defeated Burkina Faso in the tournament opener, and the sponsorship agreement was formally announced this afternoonafternoon January 10, 2022.
Binance has been named the Africa Cup of Nations’ exclusive cryptocurrency and blockchain platform in the company’s first sponsorship of a large-scale football tournament. It will brand the tournament’s assist of the day, week and tournament awards, which will be promoted across social media.
The cryptocurrency exchange shot to prominence three months ago via a shirt sponsorship deal with SS Lazio that included the launch of a club fan token. The deal was announced by the Serie A club as worth more than €30m ($34m), comprising fixed and variable income, over a potential three-season period.
It was followed by a back-of-shirt sponsorship and ‘Official Fan Token Partner’ deal with Portuguese side FC Porto.
Binance joins a pool of Afcon sponsors headlined by title partner TotalEnergies. Other official sponsors include TikTok, Umbro, 1XBET, Continental, Orange and Visa.
Digital entertainment platform TikTok announced a one-year deal with the Confederation of African Football last week, covering the Africa Cup of Nations as well as the Caf Champions League and the Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022. The deal was brokered by the France-based Agon agency.
Umbro’s exclusive multi-year technical sponsorship of Caf-organised tournaments and events was also announced last week.
Véron Mosengo-Omba, Caf’s general secretary, said today (Monday) that the continental federation was “ready to embrace blockchain-based technology and its impact on the future of African football development”.
Yi He, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Binance, added: “With a population of 1.2 billion Africans and the prevalence of blockchain technology and its use cases, we believe the African continent could lead the future of the blockchain industry. We will continue to put in our efforts in pushing the mainstream adoption of crypto, so that more people can understand crypto, and understand Binance.”
