ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Aflac U.S. president Virgil Miller says his insurance company was a natural fit for a front-of-kit sponsorship deal with Atlanta鈥檚 new National Women鈥檚 Soccer League team, in 2028.
Aflac鈥檚 agreement to have its Georgia-based company name on the front of the Atlanta players鈥� shirts was announced on Wednesday.
The Atlanta expansion team is owned by Arthur Blank, who also owns the NFL鈥檚 Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United of Major League Soccer. The Falcons and Atlanta United play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which also will be the home of the NWSL team.
Atlanta will become the NWSL鈥檚 17th team, following the additions of Boston and Denver in the league鈥檚 most recent expansion.
鈥淲e believe in supporting women and women in sports and as we have looked at some of the statistics out there, we鈥檝e seen that the National Women鈥檚 Soccer League has seen four consecutive years of viewership growth,鈥� Miller told The Associated Press. 鈥淭hat is very attractive to us.鈥�
Miller also said because 鈥�80% of healthcare decisions are made by women 鈥� you put those things together and it is a great way for us to show our support.鈥�
As part of the sponsorship agreement, a portion of the contribution from Aflac will be donated to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at the Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta.
鈥淭hat was connecting all the dots for a great relationship that we鈥檙e looking forward to being a part of,鈥� Miller said.
The Atlanta NWSL team said the seven-year sponsorship deal is believed to be the league’s most lucrative front-of-kit agreement. Financial terms were not released.
AMB Sports and Entertainment president Tim Zulawski said Atlanta United’s attendance success helped make the new NWSL team attractive for a sponsorship deal.
鈥淎tlanta United, when we launched that franchise, people didn鈥檛 see coming down the road 70,000 people regularly coming to matches and being top eight in the world,鈥� Zulawski said.
鈥淲e fully expect that NWSL Atlanta will be a leader in fandom, in attendance, in every aspect of measure that you would look at in measuring a franchise. … Aflac is making an amazing investment, showing how much they care about both this partnership and women鈥檚 sports, and we fully expect to deliver tenfold to their investment.鈥�
There will be modifications to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the NWSL club. Attendance will be capped at approximately 28,000.
Blank鈥檚 investment in women鈥檚 professional soccer also includes the development of a training site in the city.
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This story corrects the name of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at the Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta.
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