Betano has been named the official betting partner of the FIFA Club World Cup for South America, embracing the region’s connection with the football competition.
Through the new partnership, the Kaizen Gaming-owned brand seeks to build on the success of sponsoring previous major tournaments, including the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as well as the 2024 UEFA European Championship and the Copa America tournaments.
George Daskalakis, Co-Founder and CEO of Kaizen Gaming, commented: “After being the first sports betting operator to support the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, we are proud that Betano is joining forces with FIFA once again.”
Daskalakis added that this year’s tournament is “particularly special” given that it is the first iteration of the expanded format, which will now be held every four years. Previously, from 2005 to 2023, the tournament only featured the six confederation champions from the previous season.
The Club World Cup has traditionally enjoyed a strong audience from Latin America due to the opportunity it affords for teams from countries such as Argentina and Brazil to take on teams from Europe.
As a result, this deal fits well with Betano’s plans for growth within the Latin American region and complements the brand’s sponsorship of football clubs such as Argentina’s River Plate and Benfica in Portugal.
Throughout the tournament, which began on 15 June and runs until 13 July in the US, Betano’s branding will be showcased throughout DAZN‘s broadcasts and in stadiums.
This year’s tournament features 32 clubs from the six FIFA confederations, including globally recognisable giants such as Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating once again with Kaizen Gaming and its Betano brand,” said Romy Gai, Chief Business Officer at FIFA. “Over the past three years, we have seen the Betano brand grow and expand, and we know fans will be excited for this next step.”
A disappointing start
Despite the fanfare created by FIFA and DAZN around the renewed tournament, attendances in the US have disappointed, with games being played out in front of more empty seats than fans.
On Monday, just 22,000 fans watched Chelsea beat Los Angeles FC 2-0 in Atlanta, Georgia’s 75,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Meanwhile, Journalist Maher Mezahi reported that he believed only 557 were in attendance for a game between the South Korean side Ulsan and South African outfit Mamelodi Sundowns.
The official reported attendance was 3,412 in the 25,500 capacity Inter & Co stadium.
FIFA claims that it has sold more than 1.5 million tickets so far for the Club World Cup, and over 340,000 fans attended the first eight matches of the tournament, meaning an average crowd of approximately 42,500 per game.
However, it appears that the US public has failed to embrace the tournament so far, which is a worrying sign given that the country, alongside Canada and Mexico, is set to host an expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026.
Nonetheless, Betano will see the sponsorship as an opportunity to be involved from the ground up as the tournament begins its new evolution and looks to emerge as a landmark event in the sporting calendar.
