CBA facing five-fold increase in Matildas sponsorship

CBA continues to kick goals with its sponsorship of Australia’s two most valuable sporting teams – but its support is set to become more costly.

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) may need to fork out more than $40 million to remain naming rights sponsor of the Matildas following the team’s World Cup success.

“Based on all the various metrics, the world cup has built the Matildas brand five fold,” Mark Crowe, managing director of Brand Finance Australia, told news.com.au. “It’s not out of the question that the quantum of [the CBA] deal could increase five fold.”

CBA’s four year sponsorship deal, which is believed to be worth more than $2 million a year, expires in 2025.

Based on Mr Crowe’s estimation, the value of a new four year deal could be in excess of $40 million, or $10 million a year.

The Matildas brand value has soared in the wake of the FIFA World Cup. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images.

CBA is also the naming rights sponsor of the Australian Women’s Cricket Team, which Mr Crowe said is the second most valuable sporting brand in Australia, behind the Matildas.

Monique Macleod, CBA group executive of marketing and corporate affairs told news.com.au the bank “can’t speak to [the] commercial investment”.

Brand Finance Australia managing director Mark Crowe said the Matildas brand value is as high as $210 million. Picture: Brand Finance

CBA group executive of marketing and corporate affairs Monique Macleod. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

Mr Crowe puts the Matildas’ overall brand value at up to $210 million – a staggering $170 million more than at the start of the tournament.

The Matildas’ success has also catapulted them into top spot as the most valuable sporting brand in the country, Mr Crowe told news.com.au, pushing previous leaders, the Australian Women’s Cricket Team, into second spot.

He explained that which team is the nation’s most valuable in brand terms at any point in time depends on their success and where they are in their cycle of major tournaments.

In the past two years, the Australian Women’s Cricket Team has won both the one-day and T20 world cups, a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and retained the Ashes.

CBA has commercially supported the Australian Women’s Cricket Team for the past 24 years, and according to SportBusiness, CBA’s deal with Cricket Australia was worth $5 million between 2016-2021.

In 2021 it extended the deal for a further three years.

Australian women's cricketers have had remarkable success. Picture: Cricket Australia.

Given the success of both teams, CBA could be looking at a significantly higher investment to continue both relationships going forward.

But as Ms Macleod called the Matildas “the pride of the nation” and said CBA was “delighted” with their success, it seems a price they may be happy to pay.

“In April 2021, we announced a four year partnership with Football Australia seeing CommBank become one of the largest supporters of women’s sport in the country,” Ms Macleod said.

“I think the value of that has been well demonstrated with our Cricket Australia partnership over the years and now also through our support of women’s football.

“This world cup and what the CommBank Matildas have done has changed this sport in Australia forever – they’ve done something incredible.

“They have inspired the next generation and that’s where you create real change.”

Originally published as CBA facing five-fold increase in Matildas sponsorship