German sports club Hamburger SV has brought in youth travel service FUN-Reisen as a jersey sponsor.
Hamburger SV is set to compete in the Virtual Bundesliga and, in collaboration with its new partner, it will create content and host activations.
Bernd Hoffmann, President of Hamburger SV discussed the partnership in a statement: “We are very pleased to welcome FUN-Reisen, a new top partner from Hamburg on board. Like us, the FUN travel team believes in the FIFA eSports project and the virtual and communicative expansion of our core football product. Together we want to inspire our young followers with exclusive stories and experiences and bind them to us.”
Hamburger SV entered the esports industry in January 2018 when it decided to sign a competitive FIFA player. The Bundesliga club will face off against a number of other football clubs – such as FC Ingolstadt 04, 1. FC Köln, and SV Sandhausen – in the inaugural season of the Virtual Bundesliga starting January 16th.
Guido Paust, CEO of FUN-Reisen also commented on the deal: “We look forward to working with the HSV eSports team. It quickly became clear to us as a management that eSports in cooperation with HSV offers a good opportunity to support one of the world’s most popular online games for young people on a broad scale and to make the FUN Travel brand even better known. And by the way: Every gamer wants to take a vacation.”
In September last year, the German Football League (DFL) announced plans to launch the VBL Club Championship. Made up of 13 Bundesliga teams and nine Bundesliga 2 teams, the season will wrap up in March.
Esports Insider says: FUN-Reisen’s offering makes it a relatively unique company and certainly an unusual member of the esports industry. The VBL Club Championship is an interesting premise with some local potential, so – depending on its expectations – this sponsorship be a decent move.