FC Barcelona puts Intel inside with shirt sponsorship deal

Intel and football club FC Barcelona have struck a deal that’s a bit too much branding for our tastes. The partnership has Intel putting its logo in the unlikeliest of places – on the inside of the players’ jerseys — and sees the company playing a bigger role with the football club as far as technology for the support staff goes.

The deal was announced earlier in December by both FC Barcelona and Intel. “The partnership will bring world-class technology to everything from Camp Nou to the Joan Gamper training facility helping the team raise its game and further delight their 350 million strong global fanbase,” Intel had announced.

Intel inside, quite literally

As far as the logo goes, here’s how it will work. Most sponsors would want their logos featured prominently on player jerseys, but Intel seems to have other ideas. The Intel logo will be placed on the inside of the players’ jerseys. In case you haven’t caught on yet, it signifies “Intel inside”, the company’s tagline. A common way of celebrating a goal is a footballer putting his jersey over his head, and that’s when Intel’s logo will be visible during a Barcelona match. Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?

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Intel will be “supercharging” several aspects of the club, including a complete makeover of FCB’s boardroom and one of the computer labs with imagery that talks both about the partnership and the club’s history. Intel has commissioned a muralist, Ricardo Cavolo, to deck up the computer lab. The mural will also be etched on limited edition Intel 2-in-1s, which the club’s players and coaches will be presented with. The club and the company will also be working towards improving the fan experience at Camp Nou. Intel will be donating five latest generation laptops to the FC Barcelona Foundation.