Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) announced a three-year, multi-million dollar agreement with FC Barcelona to make Herbalife the club's Official Nutrition Sponsor. At the same time, Leo Messi has agreed to a personal sponsorship agreement.
The contract with FC Barcelona involves the acquisition by Herbalife of global association rights, as well as various publicity assets and rights held by the club to promote its name internationally. The company will also have a strong presence in Barca's pre-season friendly games and on the international tours the club undertakes each year before official competitions begin.
The agreement also states that as nutrition sponsor, doctors and nutrition experts from Herbalife's Nutrition Advisory Board will meet with members of the first team to develop specific nutrition programs to support them.
Leo Messi also reaches deal
In addition to, and as a consequence of the deal with the club, Herbalife has also reached an agreement with Leo Messi for its global promotional activities for the next three years.
"I'm very happy to be associated with such a large, established nutrition company as Herbalife that's known around the world. Together, we can help spread the word about how healthy nutrition can help athletes achieve the most out of their training, while at the same time, work together on projects to help children at risk," said Messi.
Solidarity
One of the more notable features of the agreement is that a percentage of the sponsorship fee will be paid to the FCB Foundation whose XICS Centres work to help children at risk all over the world.
In a similar vein, the agreement with Messi involves the development of programs to assist nutritional health and education initiatives carried out via the Leo Messi Foundation in collaboration with the Herbalife Family Foundation.
"FC Barcelona is one of the greatest clubs in the world, made up of extraordinary athletes who perfectly illustrate our philosophy of living a healthy, active life. Our independent distributors around the world are incredibly excited that FC Barcelona and its players are representing our company, bringing together two leaders in our fields," according to Michael O. Johnson, chairman and CEO of Herbalife.
Top team sponsors
In addition to FC Barcelona and the LA Galaxy, Herbalife also sponsors a number of leading football teams around the world, including Inter Milan FC, Valencia CF, Schalke04 in Germany, Pumas of Mexico and Brazil's Santos, as well as the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in the U.S.
The Herbalife brand stands for great nutrition as part of a healthy active life, and sports sponsorship is a natural fit for the company's brand. For their part, FC Barcelona is recognized as a standard bearer in the sporting world and considers nutrition to be an essential part of its players' training. The company's portfolio of products can play a key role in further enhancing that program. FC Barcelona and Herbalife also share a commitment to the communities they operate in and a common objective they both have in signing this deal is to strengthen their involvement in their communities through their respective Foundations.
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