By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The sponsorship deal between Standard Chartered Bank and Liverpool Football Club of England has been extended by four years, terminating in the 2026/27 season.
The contract also extends to the Liverpool Football Club Women and will make the lender appear on the front of the shirt of the football outfit until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Standard Chartered first signed up as the club’s main sponsor in July 2010, making the partnership one of the longest in the Premier League, and has been at a time in which Liverpool FC has enjoyed tremendous success.
In this period, the two organisations have supported a number of the bank’s global sustainability and community investment programmes, including Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, which focuses on empowering young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn, earn and grow.
Since 2019, Futuremakers has raised over $64 million and reached over 670,000 young people, mainly girls and women, supporting them with education, employability and entrepreneurship skills.
The financial institution aims to raise $75 million by the end of 2023 and, with the support of LFC, to raise the aspirations of young people across its markets.
“When we partnered with Liverpool FC in 2010, we could not have imagined the success of both the sponsorship and of the club.
“With more than 770 million Liverpool FC followers across the world – many in Standard Chartered’s markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East – the club brings excitement and joy to so many of our colleagues, clients and their communities, and we’re proud to continue to be associated with them,” the Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, Mr Bill Winters said.
He further expressed the excitement of the firm “to be able to recommit and increase our investment with Liverpool FC Women, who had a fantastic 2021/22 season and have now been promoted back to the Women’s Super League.
“We look forward to seeing their continued success, and partnering with them to support the Bank’s Futuremakers initiative and our commitment to lifting participation by unleashing the potential of women in our markets.”
Also commenting, the CEO of Liverpool FC, Mr Billy Hogan, described the deal extension as significant for the club “and I could not be prouder to confirm a four-year extension to our already long and successful partnership with Standard Chartered.
“We have been on an incredible journey together and Standard Chartered’s support has been a key driver in our most recent successes, both on and off the pitch, with their loyalty and commitment to Liverpool Football Club.
“Our partnership has been able to thrive because of our shared values and we look forward to continuing to work together to help and support our communities and supporters around the world.”
Dipo Olowookere