Neo, the cross-border payments and foreign exchange (FX) fintech, has entered the sports industry by inking a partnership deal with the English football club, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (Wolves). The deal, announced today, has made Neo the football club’s official foreign currency exchange partner.

AstroPay, another FX company, was Wolves’ principal partner and main shirt sponsor for the last couple of years, but that deal was not renewed this season. For the upcoming season, Debet, an online gambling website, has become the main sponsor.

Welcoming @getneonews, our Official Foreign Currency Exchange Partner

— Wolves (@Wolves) July 17, 2024

A New Form of Sports Sponsorship

“Becoming Wolves’ official FX transfer partner is a huge step forward for Neo and demonstrates our ability to work with exciting, global organisations and help optimise their multi-currency requirements,” said Laurent Descout, co-founder and CEO of Neo.

Under the partnership deal agreement, Neo will help the sports club reduce its FX transaction costs by handling FX and multi-currency transfer payments. The fintech will also be able to promote its brand using the club’s infrastructure.

“Foreign exchange management is an important element of the commercial side of our football club,” said Russell Jones, Wolves’ General Manager for Marketing and Commercial Growth. “It’s vital that we work with trusted partners to ensure our processes are optimised and we are confident that our partnership with Neo will add value to our global operations.”

In an interview with Finance Magnates earlier this year, Descout revealed that “half of the payments on the chain are using stablecoins at some point.”

Brand Promotion in a Top Football League

Wolves play in the English Premier League, the top football league in the country. It is also regarded as one of the most competitive domestic football leagues and attracts eyeballs from sports fans globally.

Established in 1877, the club has a rich history and decent online popularity. On Instagram, the club has 2.9 million followers, while on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, the counts are 1.2 million and 3.3 million, respectively.

The club is based in the UK’s Wolverhampton city and plays at Molineux Stadium, its home turf, which has a capacity of 32,050 spectators.

In other popular sports sponsorship deals, the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken recently partnered with England’s Tottenham Hotspurs and Spain’s Atlético de Madrid. Another crypto exchange, BingX, also expanded its deal with Chelsea FC.