Kielce looking for a new sponsors: 60 years of great handball history
A story which was definitely a shock for the whole handball world came from Polish Kielce in the last part of 2022, when became official that one of its title sponsors – concern Van Pur S.A. which is a producer of the Łomża beer brand, will finish partnership with the national champions and EHF Champions League finalists.
The contract is valid only until the end of the year 2022. The Club’s authorities agreed to end it ahead of time by a mutual agreement.
– The relationship between Club and Van Pur S.A. from the beginning was perfect. Although the economic situation compel our partner to made a decision to stop sponsoring the Club. We try to understand the situation of the Van Pur company. And we part with mutual kindness, and gratitude for the commitment, and for the decision on sponsorship made during the difficult time of the pandemic – said the CEO Kielce Club Bertus Servaas during the press conference informing about the changes.
For several weeks, the Club has been intensively looking for a new titular sponsor. If it fails to find a sponsor, the Club may leave several players. For now, however, such a scenario is out of the question. Because in progress is intensive work to find a new sponsor.
– We have a really huge marketing potential in Poland and Europe. We have a lot of data that confirms this. Including – only in Poland – viewership of over 41 million viewers during the season 2021/2022 in EHF Champions League and over 20 million in Spain and approx. 9 million in France. In the near future, the World Championship will be host by Poland and Sweden. For sure the tournament will increase the popularity of the handball discipline in plenty of countries. Interestingly, 14 players from Kielce will play in the World Championship.
At the end of cooperation with the Van Pur S.A. concern, the Club received a reference letter. The management board of Van Pur S.A. emphasizes the marketing and promotional benefits obtained thanks to cooperation with the Club.
In the Club we are constantly examining our ranges and, being one of the best clubs in Europe, we can boast of great marketing numbers. In the last 30 days, only our videos in the Club’s social media have been watched by over 1,6 million users. We have worked out the advertising equivalent through social media for our sponsors at the level of 500 thousands of Euro as a result. We are 4at 4th place among all clubs in Europe in view of social media reach. Secondly, the advertising equivalent for Łomża brand as a sponsor only in Poland amounted to over 9 million PLN.
The fans of the Kielce Club collect signatures on the Internet for a petition to the city and regional authorities to support the Club. They are ready to make donations.
– I am very grateful to our fans, who once again give us great support. We receive many messages from them that give us the strength to act. We are looking for partners in Poland and Europe. We have built a sports brand and a great team. It would be a pity to lose it. That is why so many people are working to keep us on the sporting level and find a new title sponsor. We have 60 years of history, we have been playing in the Champions League continuously for 13 years and we won five Champions League medals – says CEO Bertus Servaas.
