Upbit Becomes New Back-of-Shirt Sponsor of Italian Soccer Club Napoli

Italian professional football club Napoli has partnered with South Korean fintech company Dunamu, which owns the country’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. 

Upbit Becomes Napoli’s Back-of-Shirt Sponsor

Napoli said the deal would see Upbit become its official global crypto exchange partner and back-of-shirt sponsor for all Serie A, Coppa Italia, and friendly matches until the end of the 2023/2024 season. The Upbit brand will be visible on Napoli’s shirt starting with the club’s next home game with rival Inter Milan on Wednesday, per the announcement.

The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, will also see the crypto exchange’s logo appearing on advertising boards around the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli’s home ground.

“We are very grateful for the welcome received and we are thrilled to embark on this journey together with SSC Napoli. Our goal is to initiate new and meaningful collaborations throughout the season,” Dunamu CEO Sirgoo Lee said.

Napoli is currently sitting at the top of the Italian Serie A league table. The club has also been having a good champions league campaign this season, facing only one defeat to English football club Liverpool in the group stages.

Commenting on the development, Napoli’s Chief International Development Officer, Tommaso Bianchini, said:

“The partnership certifies the union of two companies in strong expansion in their respective sectors, to underline the desire to develop a project whose center is innovation and technology.”

Football and Sporting Partnership Slows Amid Bear Market

Partnership deals between crypto firms and sporting organizations used to be very common. However, following the recent market events, which saw prices of major crypto assets drop significantly, industry firms have been forced to terminate their sporting deals to cut costs.

A few months ago, cryptocurrency exchange CryptoCom pulled out of a $500 million sponsorship deal with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) due to the market crisis. Per reports, Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading firm Amber Group is also planning to terminate a $25 million sponsorship deal with English football club Chelsea.