October 14: Heineken has signed a global partnership with Baller League and launched it by turning KSI, Chloe Kelly, Micah Richards, Alex Iwobi and Mark Goldbridge into football figures.
The custom “footballer’s table” for six features branded bar taps, bottle holders, LED lighting and Baller League goal celebrations. It will be at the new Baller League Arena at Eastbrook Studios in Dagenham (last year the league was played at the Copper Box in London’s Olympic Park), where fans can come up against players and personalities, and in selected Heineken Star bars and pubs across the UK.
The Baller League is not intended to be traditional soccer. It’s six, built around creators, celebrities and former pros, with random rule changes and constant interaction with an online audience. It reaches people who may never see a full 90 minutes of 11 and turns them into fans of the game.
Season 3 of Baller League UK generated 344 million short views with an engagement rate of 6%. It averaged 1.3 million live unique viewers per game day, increasing to 1.85 million for the Final Four, and more than 70% of viewers were between the ages of 18 and 34.
Heineken will own the two “Gamechanger” moments in each match, when a random rule change is triggered, and operate the Front Row pitchside experience, a Heineken Lounge and a Mixer Zone where fans, players and talent create content together.
“The Baller League shows how quickly soccer fandom is evolving,” said Nabil Nasser, Global Head of Heineken. “It brings together the worlds of sports, entertainment and personality in a format built for engagement, both online and in real life.”
Baller League CEO Felix Starck said the deal takes the league “from the Arena and our digital platforms to the social spaces where fans connect and share the game.”
Last week, the Baller League announced buy-now-pay-later provider Clearpay as an official partner for its fourth season.
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