Sponsorship: European market estimated at a record €20.69bn in 2022, +4.4% vs 2021 (Nielsen/ESA)

The value of the European sports sponsorship market will reach a record €20.69bn in 2022, according to the ESA Sponsorship Market Overview report, published by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) and UK consultancy Nielsen Sports on 23/03/2023. This is 4.4% higher than in 2021 (€19.8bn), and slightly higher than in the pre-pandemic period (€20.26bn in 2019).

"The lifting of Covid-19 restrictions was the main contributor to the market growth across sport events, festivals and concerts. Sport also benefited from the staging of major events such as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 and the Commonwealth Games, as well as spill-over from the Winter Olympics and 2022 World Cup," explained the ESA.

"The rapid increase in crypto sponsorship had both a positive and negative impact on the industry, bringing a cash injection alongside a degree of volatility due to the instability of the sector. They also acknowledged the negative impact on all markets caused by Russia’s military occupation of Ukraine," states the report.

Among the top 10 European markets, Spain (14%) and the UK (10%) were the…