TenTrade, which operates as a contracts for differences (CFDs) broker from its offshore Seychelles base and also offers prop trading, has onboarded football legend Luis Figo as its global ambassador.
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A Campaign Already in Place
It appears to be a strategic pick, as the now-retired footballer wore the number 10 jersey for Real Madrid and has now launched a campaign video with the broker, “Inspiring the Next Number 10”, which also aligns with its branding.
“He's a champion who redefined what was possible on the world stage, and that's exactly the standard TenTrade holds itself to,” said the three partners of TenTrade, Athos Agathocleous, Rasheed Altoun and Andreas Samatas, in a joint statement.
Figo, now 53 years old, retired from football in 2009, but he still has a massive social media following: 5.2 million on Instagram, 2.1 million on Facebook, and 1.1 million on X (formerly Twitter).
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Known as “El Paso Doble”, he played for the Portuguese national football team and also for three of the biggest clubs in Europe: Barcelona FC, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. Although he wore the number 10 jersey for Real Madrid, his shirt number for the other clubs and the Portuguese national team was 7.
Onboarding him as the brand ambassador aligns with TenTrade’s strategy to tap into the football fans of the Figo era, many of whom are now over 30.
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Brokers and Prop Firms Are Now Looking for a Face
Although football sponsorships are common among retail trading platforms, most opt for club sponsorships. In recent years, however, many platforms have been onboarding individual athletes, including retired ones, as ambassadors.
Other brokers with active or previous brand ambassador deals include EC Markets with Judd Trump, OANDA with Robert Lewandowski, AvaTrade and XM with Usain Bolt, Tickmill with Jonty Rhodes, CFI Financial with Lewis Hamilton, and XTB with José Mourinho, Conor McGregor, and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
These deals do not give brokers access to a broad stadium presence, but they can use the ambassador's face in their marketing material, both offline and online.
While brokers' interest in sports marketing has been known for some time, several prop firms have also recently signed such deals. Although the number has been limited, Hola Prime onboarded NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns as its ambassador, while Tradeify signed a deal with UFC champion Israel Adesanya.
