October 15: LaLiga North America and Panini America have extended their multi-year partnership, keeping the trading card company as the title sponsor of the LaLiga North America US Gaming Challenge.
The agreement, which remains in its current regional form from 2023, will also include youth and grassroots initiatives such as ElPartidazo and the LaLiga Futures Under-12 tournament.
The Gaming Challenge, launched in 2021, allows fans and amateur players to compete in EA SPORTS FC for prizes, Panini collections and trips to watch LaLiga matches in Spain. This year’s edition featured four online heats, eight finalists and a championship grand finale in Charlotte. It generated over 40 million impressions and 5.2 million video views.
“Our audiences, especially the younger ones, are not passive spectators who only listen on match days; they prefer and expect engaging hands-on experiences, which is exactly what the US Gaming Challenge offers,” said Nicolás García Hemme, CEO of LaLiga North America.
Jason Howarth, Panini America’s senior vice president of marketing and athlete relations, said, “The LALIGA US Gaming Challenge combines gaming, soccer and collectibles in the way so many people engage with sports now; we look forward to continuing to find new ways to evolve the program.”
The deal adds to LaLiga’s recent deals with Luckia, Google, Duracell and Toobit covering fan engagement, digital rights protection, branded content and regional partnerships.
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