Belvius State Bank is cutting costs and has therefore decided not to renew sponsorship contracts with both Club Brugge and RSC Anderlecht. Both clubs see millions in sponsorship money disappear.
Club Brugge and Anderlecht may soon be looking for a new sponsor. Both major clubs have been sponsored in recent years by the state-owned Belfius Bank and its insurance subsidiary DVV on the one hand, and Candriam, which manages the investment portfolio of wealthy Belfius clients, on the other.
But according to Marc Rezier, CEO of Bellevues, these sponsorship contracts yield very little. What do we want to save on? We have already decided to stop sponsoring football, both in Anderlecht and Club Brugge. I just want to sponsor sports that bring us enough money. Hockey, for example.
These are lucrative sponsorship deals: at Dutch champions Club Brugge, asset manager Candriam reportedly paid around €1m a year to get his brand name on the back of shirts. This contract will run until the end of next year. Belfius gave his name to Bruges’ new youth academy in Knokke.
Belvius is even in Anderlecht Main sponsor. There Candriam Insurance and DVV alternately decorate the box and on the boards in the stadium and the youth complex in Neerpede has been renamed the RSCA Belfius Academy. According to some sources, this would make the biggest club in Brussels 2.5 to 3 million euros per year. At Anderlecht, the sponsorship contract will run for another two years, until the end of 2024.
