Arizona FCU Signs Soccer Sponsorship

The agreement includes co-branded debit cards and a soccer-themed savings account for children.

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The Phoenix-based Arizona Federal Credit Union will be the official credit union of the Phoenix Rising professional soccer team for the next three years, according to an announcement.

The agreement follows a previous three-year deal and ensures that the credit union, which has $1.9 billion in assets and about 130,000 members, will be the team’s official credit union for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“One of our core missions at Arizona Federal is to set our youth on a path to good money management skills,” Arizona FCU EVP and COO Jason Paprocki said. “Phoenix Rising has embraced this mission with us and allowed us to interact with young fans at matches and soccer camps to educate them about financial literacy and our Club Rising accounts, and for that we are grateful.”

The agreement includes co-branded debit cards and a soccer-themed savings account for children. Members also get discounted tickets, and the credit union is sponsoring giveaways and home game theme nights.

“As a member-owned local credit union, we understand the importance of this ‘community first’ approach which is why we felt this was the ideal partnership for Arizona Federal,” Paprocki said.

Phoenix Rising is the highest-level professional soccer franchise in Arizona, and it is applying for Major League Soccer expansion. The team also owns FC Tucson in Southern Arizona.

Arizona Federal also recently signed a deal with Live Nation Entertainment for the naming rights to Comerica Theatre in downtown Phoenix. The credit union said that agreement, which renamed the venue to Arizona Federal Theatre, was an opportunity to increase the credit union’s visibility after its acquisition of Pinnacle Bank last December.

The credit union isn’t the first to enter a sponsorship deal with a soccer team. In January, the Philadelphia-based Ardent Credit Union inked a deal to become the official credit union of Major League Soccer team the Philadelphia Union. That deal made the $719 million credit union, which has about 36,000 members, the presenting partner of year-round youth soccer programs and pregame activities; it also made Ardent the official credit union of Talen Energy Stadium, which is the soccer team’s primary venue.