Heineken wanted to celebrate its success in the Champions League with FC Barcelona fans. A large banner has been posted on Las Ramblas street in Barcelona with which Heineken proposes: “Cheers to Barcelona, for qualifying to the Champions League semi-finals”.
Barcelona’s women team has been highly successful this season, advancing to the semi-final round of the European competition with a triumphant 5-2 thrashing of Spanish rivals Real Madrid, in a game that broke the record for the most highly-attended event in women’s sports, with 91,553 people in the stands of the Camp Nou.
“With this message, we seek to share what is a great success for the club and all its fans, highlighting that passion is not determined by gender, which is why we are also proud sponsors of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Hope, applause, suspense – and enjoying every moment before, during and after a sporting event is what every fan wants, now more than ever,” explains Veronica Sica, marketing manager of Heineken in Spain.
However, just like the beer itself, this message may leave a bitter taste for fans of the Barcelona men’s team which, for the first time in many years, failed to make it through the Champions League group stages and have since been relegated to the second-tier European tournament, the Europa League.
Heineken, official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for 25 years, has extended its support in 2021 to the UEFA Women’s Champions League and UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 and 2025.
