MIAMI, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today an official partnership with Scotiabank, designating the international bank as title sponsor of the CONCACAF Champions League and official bank of the Confederation.
The multi-year agreement makes Scotiabank the first official partner of CONCACAF, and covers multiple tournaments through 2018 including the region's most important club competition – the CONCACAF Champions League –now to be known as the Scotiabank Champions League beginning February 2015 with the Championship Round of the on-going 2014-15 edition.
"I am extremely proud to welcome Scotiabank to the CONCACAF football family and commemorate this strategic partnership," said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. "This agreement exemplifies the growing value of CONCACAF's properties and demonstrates the trust and confidence in our Confederation."
Headquartered in Toronto, Scotiabank is Canada's most international bank, with a presence in over 55 countries including Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Asia. The Bank offers a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, to over 21 million customers.
"Scotiabank is proud of our deep roots and strong commitment in the CONCACAF regions – supporting customers, businesses and communities for over 180 years," said John Doig, Scotiabank's Chief Marketing Officer. "This partnership is a natural fit for Scotiabank. Football is a passion we share with our customers and we're excited to support current and future football stars. We are looking forward to celebrating the sportsmanship and teamwork of this beautiful game."
In addition to title sponsorship of the Champions League, Scotiabank becomes an official sponsor for the CONCACAF Gold Cup – the Confederation's flagship event for national teams – for 2015 and 2017.
Scotiabank will also support multiple additional CONCACAF tournaments through 2018, including 2016 Olympic Qualifying events, and men's and women's tournaments at the under-20 and under-17 levels, starting with the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship Jamaica 2015, set to kick off in January.
The deal further includes sponsorship for the next two editions of the CFU Caribbean Cup and the UNCAF Central American Cup, as well as upcoming CONCACAF championships in Beach Soccer, Futsal and at the Girls' and Boys' under-15 levels.
"When we extended our agreement with CONCACAF in late 2013, we focused on restructuring the sponsorship program in line with global standards led by CONCACAF Partners," said Aaron Davidson, President of Traffic Sports USA, the sponsorship rights agency of CONCACAF. "Scotiabank is the perfect founding CONCACAF Partner thanks to their footprint across the region and their commitment to sport and the communities they serve."
The partnership was announced in an event hosted at the Mexican Stock Exchange in Mexico City on Tuesday morning, with the presence of special invited guests from the Mexican and international soccer community including Mexican Football Federation President Justino Compean.
