Major League Soccer champion Sporting Kansas City has extended its shirt sponsorship deal with investment management company Ivy Funds through to the end of the 2022 season.
Locally-based Ivy Funds also retains the designation of Sporting’s official investment management partner, having initially signed with the franchise in January 2013. The extension makes the partnership one of the longest club sponsorship deals in MLS.
“With the initial jersey sponsor we wanted to find a local partner,” Sporting Kansas City chief executive Robb Heineman said. “Over the course of the last two years we have realised that we had found the absolute perfect partner. It is a huge honour for us to continue our great relationship with Ivy Funds and we truly appreciate the support from everyone in their organisation.”
Along with serving as the jersey sponsor for Sporting and its four youth academy teams, Ivy Funds will continue as the naming rights partner of the executive level seating at Sporting Park stadium and collaborate with the club’s community initiatives.
“This is absolutely the right moment in time to expand our partnership,” Thomas Butch, president and chief executive of Ivy Funds Distributor, added. “We very much believe the sport will continue to accelerate its growth in the US and globally, with MLS and Sporting KC at the vanguard of that effort.
“Our partnership also allows us direct and ongoing interaction with the important millennial demographic, as Sporting KC is very much engaged with that generation. That is demonstrated particularly through the innovation that Sporting KC and its related companies bring to bear when it comes to branding and reinforcing client relationships through social media.”
