An economic and political vision of the country and the world. Exclusive. With signature. Only members of this community have access to it. Make an informed decision, and before others. We don’t want subscribers, we want active members of the community.
Dressed in a blue kimono and somewhat disappointed by his loss to Cho Guham in the judo semi-final in the -100 kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, Jorge Fonseca returned to the mat with a mission: a medal. He won bronze. And, with “a big kiss”, the double champion blasted Puma and Adidas, for not having sponsored him. Aren’t the medals won by judo shiny enough to attract brands? “Any average Portuguese League football player can give more than a two-time world judo champion and that’s bad news,” says Daniel Sá, IPAM executive director and sports marketing specialist.
“I want to dedicate this medal to the leaders of Adidas and Puma, because they told me that I did not have the capacity to be represented. I am double world champion, third [classé] at the Olympic Games, what else do you need to show to be sponsored by Adidas and Puma? Jorge Fonseca said in statements to RTP.
A speech that quickly went viral on social networks. Adidas reacted. “We want to congratulate athlete Jorge Fonseca on his bronze medal. He put in an incredible performance to win the final fight, which is an extraordinary achievement. As a sports brand, we seek to support all athletes with our products, helping them achieve their athletic goals, ”said the brand’s official source, as cited by Sábado. However, he says, when it comes to “sponsorship deals, even though we want to support more athletes, we often have to make tough decisions about who we can work with. Athlete Jorge Fonseca is extremely talented and we wish him every sporting success in his future.
At the Olympic Games, Adidas sponsors for example Nelson Évora, triple jump world champion in 2007 and gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and who has his last participation in this edition of the Games.
Puma, on the other hand, supports Patrícia Mamona and Pedro Pablo Pichardo, triple jump athletes. Contacted by ECO, the brand declined to comment on this subject.
But the “big kiss” of Jorge Fonseca raised the question: why, while sport has already “offered” Portugal three bronze medals at the Olympic Games (1986, 2016 and now in 2021) and numerous championship titles. Europe and the world, are any of the eight judokas who headed to Tokyo sponsored?
The visibility of the athlete and his sport among the general public are factors taken into account by brands to weigh the pros and cons of their investment. And in this weighting, judo loses to others with greater exposure. “Sponsorship is a business. Brands consider this [les parrainages] as an aspect of their business. When a brand decides to invest a thousand, ten thousand, 100,000 or a million euros in an athlete, the brand wants a return ”, explains Daniel Sá, executive director of IPAM and sports marketer, in statements to the ECO.
I would almost say that any average Portuguese League soccer player can give more than a two-time world judo champion and that’s bad news.
A performance that largely depends on the visibility of an athlete. The brands want an athlete who “has a strong media presence, has a sporting performance and who makes insertions in newspapers, magazines, internet, television”, explains the sports marketing specialist. In the case of João Fonseca, despite “legitimate criticism, because he is a double world champion athlete and current Olympic medal winner”, the athlete did not receive the sponsorship “because the brands have surely done the math and are not seeing the necessary return on the investment they would have to make.
Daniel Sá gives as an example the large gap that exists, in terms of performance, between the king sport in Portugal, football and judo. “I would almost say that any average Portuguese League soccer player can give more than a two-time world champion in judo and that’s bad news.”
“Judo, and beyond, cannot live on media exposure. She is strong at the Olympic Games, European Championships and World Championships. I can’t live on these bumps. It’s bumps that give them a media boost, some visibility, but again comparing with football, we have an impact here literally 365 days a year, almost 24 hours a day, ”he said.
A shift which is not exclusive to athletes, but which extends to the sports federations themselves. Currently, the Portuguese Football Federation has a total of 12 sponsors while the Portuguese Judo Federation (FPJ), despite 14,056 practitioners and 249 clubs registered in 2020, according to the report and FPJ accounts, only has one. ‘one: the Santa Games Home.
When information matters more than ever, support independent, rigorous journalism.
In what way? Subscribe to ECO Premium and get access to exclusive news, opinion that matters, features and specials that show the other side of the story, and the ECO Insider and Novo Normal newsletters.
This subscription is a way to support the ECO and its journalists. Our counterpart is independent, rigorous and credible journalism.
Jorge Fonseca won bronze in judo at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, in the -100 kg category, after facing Canada’s Shady El Nahas, in a match that ended in a 1-0 result.
Update your browser to have a better experience and view this site. Update your browser now
