Portuguese Club Sport Lisboa e Benfica has announced an exclusive commercial partnership with WME Sports, the sports representation arm of the Endeavor-owned WME agency. As part of the global agreement, WME Sports will lead the search for naming rights partners for the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Benfica Youth Academy and provide valuation, data and insights powered by Endeavor Analytics.
The agreement will see WME Sports represent two of the most prestigious assets in
European football: Benfica Stadium and Benfica Youth Academy. The Benfica Stadium,
which has a capacity of 65,000, is an iconic arena that has hosted the 2004 UEFA European
Championship Final, 2014 UEFA Champions League Final and 2020 UEFA Champions League
Final Eight Tournament, among many other international concerts and events. The state-ofthe-art Benfica Youth Academy, known as ‘Benfica Campus,’ is currently rated as one of the best in the world, having nurtured several players who are currently shining in Europe’s top clubs. It won the prize for Best Academy of the Year at the 2015 and 2019 Globe Soccer Awards.
Speaking about the partnership, Benfica CEO Domingos Soares de Oliveira said, “I am very
happy to be working with the prestigious WME Sports agency, which will bring an unrivalled
network of global sponsors to the table. We can’t wait to start collaborating with them to
find the right partners for our two most prized assets, the stadium and the academy. This is part of our strategy to continue to position Benfica as a truly international club with a global reach, ensuring that we maximise our brand potential.”
Karen Brodkin, Co-Head of WME Sports and EVP of Content Strategy and Development at
Endeavor, added, “We are excited to be partnering with Benfica and representing two of
European football’s most unique assets. The club’s iconic ‘Stadium of Light’ and award-winning, star-producing academy provide an opportunity for brands to not only connect with millions of football fans around the world, but also the six million tourists visiting
Portugal’s vibrant capital city each year. We’re looking forward to utilising our international
sports property sales expertise and a collaborative, data-driven approach to find the right
strategic partners for these prestigious global properties.”
WME Sports works closely with Endeavor’s network of businesses, including IMG, a global
leader in sports, events, fashion and media, and Endeavor Analytics, which provides
actionable consumer, marketplace and media intelligence to leading brands, leagues and
teams.
