French bank BNP Paribas celebrates 50 years of sponsoring the French Open tennis tournament
Schlack! Every time it slams, it hits hard on the ocher of Roland-Garros, a counter gets carried away and is enriched by 100 euros on the Philippe-Chatrier court. As soon as an ace (direct service, for laymen) is registered on the central court of the French Open tennis tournament, this sum is donated to charity. Baptized “Ace de coeur”, this operation born in 2015 is only one more avatar of the program developed by the BNP Paribas bank, which this year will celebrate its half-century of partnership with the Porte d’Auteuil tournament.
Access to the very high level is expensive
It was in 1973 that BNP (the merger with Paribas dates from 2000), which counted the French Tennis Federation (FFT) among its clients, put its name on the tarpaulins next to the courts for the first time. The operation then aimed to finance the construction of lodges, at a time when the tennis business was in its infancy. Since then, liquid crystals have replaced polypropylene on tarpaulins, and BNP, now BNP Paribas, has expanded its partnership. From a few hundred thousand francs, sponsorship has increased to several tens of millions of euros, but for a global visibility of 30 seconds per minute.
Long sponsor of the Davis Cup (2001-2021), patron of the Fed Cup, which became the Billie Jean King Cup in 2020, the bank also supports the Indian Wells Masters 1000, which bears its name, and those of Monte Carlo and Rome. BNP Paribas also supports 150 young people through seven “teams” in six countries with prestigious sponsors such as John McEnroe in the United States, Justine Henin in Belgium or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in France. “Reaching the very high level is expensive, whether in terms of equipment or training,” explains Thierry Laborde, Deputy CEO of BNP Paribas. In order to allow them to realize their dream, we decided to help them. »
A “Team of young talents”
In France, a steering committee made up of former stars such as Marion Bartoli or Paul-Henri Mathieu selects several teenagers aged 12 to 18 each year for this “Team of young talents”. BNP Paribas has invested 1 million euros in its program between 2018 and 2021, i.e. just over 330,000 euros per year. The bank awards each budding champion a scholarship ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 euros, reassessed every year. Several beneficiaries have become hopefuls, such as Luca Van Assche, 19 (85th in the world), or Diane Parry (20, 109th in the world), who will be in the big picture of the tournament.
In addition to these initiatives, BNP Paribas offers the license to 15-25 year olds who want to start playing tennis. “This year we are going to invite 10,000 young people, on May 28, at the opening of the tournament to celebrate this fiftieth anniversary,” concludes Thierry Laborde.
2023-05-20 09:45:09
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