The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has selected a consortium made up of the IMG agency and digital media company Perform as its new partner for the commercialisation of its club competitions for the four-year cycle spanning 2019 to 2022, stating that the offer is worth a guaranteed minimum of $1.4bn (€1.17bn).
Perform, together with IMG’s Trans World Sport division, was one of four bidders shortlisted by Conmebol earlier this month, alongside Synergy Football, a joint venture between the Infront Sports & Media and Synergy Sport agencies; the MP & Silva agency; and Brazilian sports marketing agency Sport Promotion.
Conmebol launched an invitation to tender on July 3, with 10 entities having made an initial shortlist for the contract. The tender represented the first time the continental governing body had engaged in such a process.
IMG and Perform will provide professional consulting services in the marketing, sale and after-sale of the commercial assets of the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa, which features the winners of each competition, along with other tournaments.
Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez said: “This contract represents a huge advance towards our strategic goal of generating more value for the development and growth of South American football. We believed in big, we did things well, and today (Wednesday) we achieved a great result, since the guaranteed minimum represents more than double the income of the previous business cycle.
“The winning consortium, which also works with (Spain’s) LaLiga, the (English) Premier League, (North American stock car racing series) Nascar and (North American basketball league) the NBA, among others, has the proven ability to optimise the revenue generated by our club tournaments, which are the most exciting in the world.”
IMG and Perform will now begin to work closely with Conmebol in the design of a professional and technical scheme to package and commercialise media rights to the club competitions. IMG and Perform will create a dedicated team and company for the project financed and resourced on a 50/50 basis.
Ioris Francini, co-president of WME|IMG, said: “We are delighted to have won this very competitive and highly-sought after business along with our partners at Perform. We will provide a bespoke and innovative solution, designed to radically enhance the commercial programme and presentation of Conmebol’s club competitions, including the Conmebol Libertadores, Conmebol Sudamericana and Conmebol Recopa, and change the approach towards the core fans and the broader audiences too.”