Once again, Hublot is one of the first to partner famous personalities and teams involved with the round ball. This year, the brand directed by Ricardo Guadelupe has gone on the offensive by signing an agreement as official timekeeper for FIFA. Parallel to this, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United have also joined the Hublot family. The colors of both teams appear within limited-edition timepieces, such as the Big Bang Maradona born of the partnership between the “golden boy” and the Geneva watchmaker. Last but not least, Chelsea FC trainer, José Mourinho, has donned the hat of Hublot ambassador.
As regards other ambassadors, Cristiano Ronaldo has left Jacob & Co to join TAG Heuer, while Eric Cantona, always highly popular in Asia and South America, attracted plenty of attention on the Hautlence booth during Baselworld. However, watchmaking companies are tending more towards partnering a team rather than a particular player. Richard Mille has since 2012 been serving as official timekeeper for Manchester City Football Club, which has just won the Premier League for the second time in three years. Together, they are also committed to charity projects in local communities. Maurice Lacroix has become official sponsor of FC Barcelona, dressing all the staff at Baselworld in the Barça’s colours, while JeanRichard has partnered London club Arsenal. Rotary sponsors Chelsea FC and is creating a special edition watch in tribute to the “Blues” for the occasion. Eterna is deserting the tennis clay courts of Gstaad to take its place on the field of FC Southampton. A pioneer in this regard, and in order to celebrate its various sports alliances over the past ten years, Ebel is offering a boxed set of six watches paying tribute to the various clubs sponsored : Arsenal, Glasgow Rangers, Bayern Munich, Ajax Amsterdam, Olympique Lyonnais and Real Madrid, all of which have at some time or another left their mark on the watchmaking company.
Lastly, Parmigiani Fleurier and Cyrus not only support rising football stars but also sports associations or charity events. In addition to being the official watchmaker of Olympique de Marseille, Parmigiani Fleurier supports the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol. Cyrus for its part sponsors the World Stars Match which has been organized in Monaco for the past 20 years. The match takes place between the Star Team for the children, under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco, and the F1 Race Stars. Follow the matches on www.worldtempus.com.
