Lidl celebrates its successful sponsorship of the UEFA EURO 2024 TM

Lidl, one of Europe's leading food retail chains, is celebrating successfully completing its first international football sponsorship at the UEFA EURO 2024™. With sports being a central pillar in Lidl's long-term commitment to health and conscious eating, this sponsorship led the "We are on your team" corporate campaign. From maintaining competitive prices and providing simple, healthy, fresh food, to bringing fans closer to the biggest football event in Europe, representing its commitment its consumers’ side, the company once again proved that it is by everyone's side.

Hand in hand with the football stars

During the four weeks and and in hand with the stars, Lidl gave the opportunity to 1,122 children to form the well-known Lidl Kids Team to travel to Germany and attend matches as official accompanying players. Lidl Kids Team participants were children aged six to ten, that were selected regardless of gender, origin or other characteristics. The children’s legal guardians were only needed to complete the children’s entry form, which was available exclusively through the Lidl Plus app. The number of participations in the draw exceeded 1.1 million.

 Each Lidl Kids Team had a packed schedule filled with fun activities and educational local experiences, before meeting the best football players of Europe on the field and in front of tens of thousands of fans at the UEFA EURO 2024™ match. From hugs with the football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, to talks with Czech Republic captain Tomáš Souček, walking the pitch with Spanish midfielder Rodri, and meeting English idols such as Rio Ferdinand, all the children had the opportunity to enjoy unique experiences throughout the tournament.

Inspiring healthier choices

Breaking away from tradition and aiming to give football a helping hand, the company aimed to make healthy choices more attractive and affordable. With the innovative decision to offer healthy options instead of traditional snacks found in stadiums, Lidl made fresh fruit available in the shops at the stadiums in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart and Frankfurt, as well as in the fan zones in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Hamburg and Dusseldorf, thus creating new relationships between football stadiums and a healthy diet. As a result, 91 tons of fruit were used to make fruit salads that were distributed to everyone, inside and outside the stadiums, and as a healthy alternative option. This made football matches fresher and healthier, not only for professional players, but also for spectators, supporters and fans of all ages – especially children. The European Championship puts football in the spotlight and Lidl put fresh fruit in the spotlight, whilst looking to redefine snacks and nutrition during sports events.

In addition, the mission aimed to bring the football atmosphere to  fans outside UEFA EURO 2024™ host cities. In order to achieve this, Lidl fan festivals, which also focused on healthy eating, took place in 21 locations in Germany as well as 9 other European countries in which Lidl operates.

Lidl recognises the important role played by big sports events such as the UEFA EURO 2024™ in encouraging children to participate in sports activities. Therefore, providing experiences such as the opportunity to become part of the Lidl Kids Team, helped to promote this, while the company hopes to inspire more children across Europe to acquire an active lifestyle.

Bringing fans closer to football

Lidl's partnership with UEFA EURO 2024™ is designed to reward the company's loyal customers throughout Europe. Lidl organised draws, for example, through the Lidl Plus app, offering app users the unique opportunity to win a double ticket for the games and an all expenses paid trip for two to Germany. The total entries reached a staggering 15.3 million. The company gave the opportunity to 16,000 fans from about 30 countries, mainly through draws carried out on the Lidl Plus app, to watch matches during the UEFA EURO 2024™.

Even in Lidl countries that did not qualify for the UEFA EURO 2024™, Lidl was able to convey the emotions with its campaign. This created a comprehensive experience, which brought the fans closer to stadiums and fan zones, but also people on TV and social media networks. According to UEFA, the ten fan zones in the host cities received a total of 5.8 million visitors.

Mr. Martin Brandenburger, Lidl Cyprus’ CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors said: “Football inspires millions of people every day. And Lidl is a reliable partner in the daily shopping experience of millions customers. Consequently, the UEFA EURO 2024™ was a perfect choice for us. We at Lidl also brought our social responsibility to this partnership. Our shared goal was to raise awareness and inform the public about a healthy and active lifestyle with fresh, sustainable and healthy food, which in our opinion worked very well for us."

About Lidl

As a member of the Neckarsulm-based Schwarz Group, Lidl is among the leading food retail businesses in Germany and Europe. Today, it operates more than 12,200 stores and more than 220 logistics centres in 31 countries.

Lidl Cyprus has been active in Cyprus since 2010. Today it employs more than 700 employees, while its network includes 21 stores and 1 state-of-the-art logistics centre.