Tinkoff announces it has signed a title partnership agreement with the Russian Football Premier League (RFPL). 

The agreement covers the 2019/2020, 2020/21 and 2021/22 football seasons. Starting from February 2020, the most popular sporting event in Russia will be called the Tinkoff Russian Football Premier League.

Under the signed agreement, Tinkoff will be the title sponsor of the League and the Tinkoff brand will be integrated into various sponsorship formats, including in television broadcasts, digital platforms and at stadiums where RFPL games are held.

Oliver Hughes, Chairman of the Management Board, Tinkoff Bank 

"We at Tinkoff are delighted to become a title partner of the League and support the Russian football – something that many of our employees are passionate about. We see this partnership as an opportunity to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, including those in business and marketing integration.”

Sergey Pryadkin, RFPL President:

“We are happy to team up with Tinkoff, one of the leaders in its market, boasting innovative and dynamic business. We are deeply impressed by Tinkoff's fresh and sporting character. It focuses on today’s energetic digital audience – the people we rely on strategically.

Cooperation with the League marks a new level of Tinkoff's involvement in football, and we are happy to welcome the new partners to our football family.”

Anna Mikhina, Tinkoff VP: 

“We have long been looking at football, the most popular sport in Russia. We studied some successful partnerships in Europe, when private businesses became title sponsors of the largest national championships. 

We realised that Russian football and its clubs could benefit from unique marketing opportunities and attract new fans to the stands. Therefore, we are confident that this will prove to be an interesting win-win business partnership.“

Advantages for the RFPL and its teams

We have already developed an integrated marketing campaign for the RFPL. It should help us achieve greater loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones. For example, over 5 million Tinkoff customers reside in cities and regions covered by the League – a figure we expect to double over the term of our contract. 

This partnership offers Russian football clubs an opportunity to sell tickets via new channels, enjoy direct access to relevant audiences, and use marketing tools available across the Tinkoff ecosystem. One example is personalised targeted big data-driven offers to customers. Our marketing channels can be used to attract new fans to the stadiums and promote football as a popular family entertainment.

The Tinkoff ecosystem's benefits for football and the fans

Tinkoff is a large ecosystem placing a great deal of importance on lifestyle services. We sell tens of thousands of movie, theatre, and concert tickets, help book restaurant tables, and connect Tinkoff SuperApp users to partner services (medical and beauty salon appointments, urban quests, dry cleaning, food delivery and so on). 

We are planning to leverage the opportunities offered by our ecosystem in our partnership with RFPL, including by tapping into new channels to attract football fans and sell football tickets. We are about to launch sales of sports tickets with cashback in the Tinkoff SuperApp to give our customers an opportunity to buy tickets for football matches and other sporting events directly from their accounts in just one click.

To top it off, the Tinkoff ecosystem has travel, mobile and many other services on offer. Football fans will be able to purchase rail and air tickets to see games in other cities and have access to the best hotel deals with attractive cashback offers. Tinkoff Mobile provides free phone coverage across Russia, while Tinkoff Stories offers extensive travel information on Russian cities hosting the matches. The SuperApp also gives an opportunity to book a table in a restaurant to get a kick out of the “third half-time”, while also benefiting from a great cashback bonus.

Moreover, we are currently working on other attractive (if not revolutionary) integration offerings and products for sports fans, which will be announced shortly.

About Tinkoff in football

We at Tinkoff love Russian football and have a lot of football fans among our employees, especially at our headquarters where 70% of the staff are IT specialists, with an average age of 26.  Even members of our Board of Directors attend away RFPL games. There are many people in the Company, including some vice presidents, who have spent many years as supporters in the stands. Some of them are even members of football firms. That is why the news of our partnership with the League aroused great enthusiasm in the Company.  

About partnership with CSKA

Our partnership with PFC CSKA has proved to be an immense success, as we have managed to implement about a dozen various synergies. This includes conventional advertising formats and a joint loyalty programme with special points – BitHorses – accrued online and at offline stores, offering exclusive prizes, priority ticketing, lotteries and cards available at the stadiums. 

Such a partnership produced impressive business results for both parties, as thousands of Tinkoff–CSKA co-branded cards have been issued and their number continues to grow.

We can see such synergies working extremely well. That is why we are ready to expand such projects to the entire Premier League. 

During the seasons 2019–2020, 2020–2021, and 2021–2022 the Russian Premier League will be officially referred to as

Tinkoff Russian Premier League