Football in Latin America has recently seen off-field success. According to Ampere Analysis, in the past three seasons, the three major leagues in the region - The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Mexico’s Liga MX, and the Argentinian Primera Division – have begun to close the gap economically to other top football divisions globally. Across the three major LatAm leagues and the teams that play in them, brand spend on sponsorship has grown by 11% in the period, with the growing football sponsorship market now valued at $745m in total across the leagues, according to Ampere data.
While growth in media rights and sponsorship investment don’t always go hand-in-hand, when they do - as is the case across LatAm overall - it is indicative that rightsholders have a sizable, growing and engaged fanbase. Indeed, since 2020 there has been a combined 12% growth in media rights value per year across the leagues – and Brazil has yet to sell its full package for future seasons.
CONSUMER APPETITE FOR DOMESTIC FOOTBALL
Overall, 42% of Brazilian sports fans follow the Brasileiro Serie A, with 59% of those willing to pay to watch the league, the highest of any sports competition in Brazil. In Mexico 45% of sports fans follow Liga MX, of whom 48% are willing to pay to watch it. Among those fans in the region who watch their respective domestic leagues, 74% typically watch all or most of the coverage – while in both Brazil and Mexico, over 80% of fans say they watch the games live.
This data highlights the avidness of domestic leagues’ fans and their willingness to pay to watch club football – a welcome sign for league and club sponsors, especially those advertising business-to-consumer (B2C) products and services.
SPORTS BETTING COMPANIES LEAD THE CHARGE FOR SPONSORSHIP SPEND
In total, sponsorship spend from betting companies has surged by 293% in LatAm since 2022, as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have either recently legalised or improved regulation of the sector – driven by a strong consumer demand for betting.
For example, 68% of respondents to Ampere’s Sports Consumer survey who follow one of the three leagues, but at least occasionally. Of these, 39% bet at least weekly and over-index significantly on the amount spent versus the average consumer. Betting appears ingrained within Latin American markets, which has driven sports bookmakers to enter league and club sponsorships to target tuned-in fanbases.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Outside of the gambling sector, further untapped sponsorship opportunities for brands targeting the LatAm region remain. This applies to both international and domestic brands, with the profile of current sponsors across the three leagues split evenly in this regard.
While making up 18% of global football sponsorship spend, Travel as a sector accounts for only 3% of football sponsorship spend within LatAm. Yet Ampere’s sponsorship consumer data shows that fans of the leagues are 13% more likely than average to intend to purchase a travel-related item.
Again over-indexing, fans of the leagues are 22% more likely than the average consumer to be planning to purchase a vehicle. With only 3% of current sponsorship spend stemming from Automotive Vehicle sponsors, there appears to be a large sponsorship white space that these brands can fill.
Lastly, with only five active deals in LatAm, there is a sizable gap in the sponsorship market for consumer devices – one of the biggest growth categories in global sport sponsorship in 2024. Fans of LatAm’s domestic leagues are 13% more likely to be planning to spend on laptops and other personal devices, spotlighting a further opportunity for sponsorship.