Dutch First Division and Sports Alliance renew contract until 2023

The Coöperatie Eerste Divisie (CED) and Sports Alliance have signed a new contract which enables the Clubs and CED organisation to use the products and services provided by Sports Alliance for a further three years. The new agreement will run until 2023.

The presence of a robust database and industry-leading tools to utilise the data are essential in maintaining the relationship between fans and Clubs. The renewal is part of a bigger scheme from the CED to fill the stadiums in the ‘Keuken Kampioen Divisie’. Philip Tiekink, Marketing Manager at the CED explains: “The goal will remain the same for the next few years; a focus on personalisation and insight into our fans. The partnership with Sports Alliance will make sure that we, as a league and the Clubs, can create and send out data-driven marketing campaigns. Not just to sell tickets and merchandise, but also to initiate, strengthen and maintain the relationship with the fans.”

Wouter van Dijk, CEO Sports Alliance Benelux adds: “Ever since we started the partnership with the CED back in 2007, we have worked closely with Clubs to ensure they can use their data for personalised marketing campaigns. Over recent years we’ve worked with the CED to optimise the data structure in order to comply with GDRP. This work has resulted in a centralised data platform that is connected to marketing databases at a Club level. We aim to continue to provide a set of tools and resources to enable all parties to continually improve communicating with their fans in a personalised and impactful way.”

Unique in Europe

The centralised marketing database of the CED, with connections to club databases, is something unique in Europe. The clubs and the CED exchange data (with permission of the fan). “The Dutch First Division shows that the sum of the collective is greater than the parts of the clubs. The CED has managed to bring the clubs together data-wise.”, said van Dijk.

“With this agreement, we want to encourage Clubs never to lose sight of personal contact with fans. Database marketing is a great way to achieve this.”, said Philip Tiekink.

About the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie

The clubs in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie form a strong collective, which is united in the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie (CED). The CED represents the interests of all clubs participating in the league in general and the commercial interests in particular, including collective agreements with third parties. The CED is also a partner for all stakeholders, on behalf of the sixteen (individual) clubs, such as the KNVB, Eredivisie and the (local) government.

About Sports Alliance

With over 130 customers in eight countries, four leagues and the management of over 40,000,000 fan profiles in Europe, Sports Alliance is the market leader in data-driven fan marketing for football clubs. The focus of Sports Alliance is to optimise the data landscape and create opportunities in the field of marketing. We have a pragmatic approach together with a focus on achieving results; this ensures that we enter into a long-term relationship with all our partners and enable personalised marketing in sports. Personalising sport.