With the impending close of the 2013-14 season, UniCredit celebrates its fifth year of sponsoring the UEFA Champions League. The sponsorship continues to effectively promote UniCredit’s brand in Europe, delivering a return on comparable costs of more than 200%.

This weekend, UniCredit invites its guests to “Discover the Stars!” together with Luís Figo, a former international footballer and member of a team that won the UEFA Champions League.

UniCredit’s cooperation with Panini, which began in November 2013, has provided the Group with a new means to leverage its sponsorship.

Next season, the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by UniCredit will bring the trophy to five European countries for the sixth consecutive year.

MILAN, LISBON, May 24, 2014 – Tonight’s historic match between Real Madrid CF and Club Atlético de Madrid at the Estádio da Luz marks the conclusion not just of another exciting UEFA Champions League season, but of the fifth successful year of sponsorship by UniCredit, the official bank of the UEFA Champions League.

Sponsorship continues to burnish the UniCredit brand

According to the latest market research, the sponsorship continues to deliver positive results for UniCredit. From 2009-2013, UniCredit has generated almost 12 billion contacts and collected over 500,000 leads in total thanks to various UEFA Champions League promotions and activities. Across nearly all of UniCredit’s markets, the bank’s various entities and subsidiaries launched almost 250 league-related campaigns and sold roughly 1.4 million related products over the past four years. To date, UniCredit has shared its excitement for the UEFA Champions League with over 46,000 of its guests at matches.

"The finals in Lisbon promises to be yet another big moment in European football, and UniCredit is delighted to be a main sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for the fifth consecutive year,” said Federico Ghizzoni, the CEO of UniCredit. “Over the past years we have certainly surpassed our sponsorship goals. In terms of brand awareness, image and propensity to buy, the sponsorship has been a boon for UniCredit. Its return on comparable costs has been more than 200 percent during the first four years of its partnership with UEFA.”

“The UEFA Champions League sponsorship has effectively promoted UniCredit’s brand in Europe since 2009,” continued Mr. Ghizzoni. “We are further establishing our position as a leading European commercial bank thanks to the strong international reach of the UEFA Champions League."

UniCredit invites its guests to “Discover the Stars” in Lisbon

In connection with its involvement in the Champions League final in Lisbon this year, UniCredit has offered its guests, customers and other sports fans a number of opportunities to “Discover the Stars.” UEFA built the final in Lisbon around the theme of “The Stars Align,” drawing on the history of the great Portuguese explorers who used the stars to navigate around the world. In coherence with UEFA’s theme, UniCredit’s “Discover the Stars!” initiative featured an online game based around a virtual voyage through the cities of the last 16 UEFA Champions League teams, with Lisbon as the final destination. Players sought to “collect” as many stars as possible along their way by correctly answering trivia questions about these 16 teams. The grand prize was tickets to the finals in Lisbon tonight. Among other prizes, winners will receive pieces of the official match confetti that will rain down on this year’s champions. In addition to the international version of the game, local versions of the “Discover the Stars!” game were run in Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary. Winners and other special guests can look forward to discovering the stars for real this weekend in Lisbon together with Luís Figo.

Tonight’s match will also allow the two lucky winners of UniCredit’s internal “Discover the Stars!” competition to walk out onto the football pitch, where they will hand over the “Official UEFA Champions League Match Coin provided by UniCredit” to the chief referee.

Welcoming the new season with the 2014 Trophy Tour

In September, for the sixth consecutive year, UniCredit will continue its tradition of taking the iconic Champions League trophy on a tour of Europe for the enjoyment of football fans across the continent. This year the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour will open in Warsaw in mid-September before continuing to Bratislava, Vienna, Zagreb and Belgrade, where the program will conclude at the end of October.

As in 2013, the trophy will be displayed on an official podium in front of a monumental backdrop that enables visitors to get a taste of the UEFA Champions League experience as they pose for pictures alongside the famous prize. Admission to the Trophy Tour is free, and the trophy is accompanied by a lively exhibition of UEFA Champions League-related content and interactive displays.

In its first five years, the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by UniCredit visited 66 European cities in 14 countries. More than 500,000 fans have participated, taking more than 146,000 pictures with the iconic trophy.

On average, over 514 million contacts were made by each tour. An average ROI of 399 percent was achieved by these tours from 2009 to 2013.

About UniCredit

UniCredit is one of Europe’s leading commercial banks, with strong roots in 17 European countries. Our network covers roughly 50 markets, with nearly 9,000 branches and more than 147,000 employees.

More information for clients:

UniCredit Bulbank, Call Centre

Phone: 0700 1 84 84

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 963, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch