During an exciting year of news around continued loyalty program success, commitment to employees, and a focus on digital, Chipotle's latest announcement came in the form of a new partnership, and a creative campaign focused on helping athletes of all levels.
U.S. Soccer and Chipotle Mexican Grill have announced a multi-year partnership with Chipotle as the official Mexican Restaurant of the Women’s and Men’s National Teams and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
What does the partnership mean for both sides? Through the partnership, Chipotle will support a U.S. Soccer at multiple levels, including the United States National Teams during their preparations for major upcoming tournaments, including this summer’s Olympic games and the 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup.
Additionally, as a part of Chipotle’s “Real Food for Real Athletes” campaign, United States Men’s National Team players Christian Pulisic and Sebastian Lletget and Women’s National Team players Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle will be the faces of the campaign, which is focused on helping athletes of all levels perform their best by providing proper nutrition through real food and ingredients. Chipotle and U.S. Soccer hope to connect with young athletes to create healthy habits and celebrate soccer. Last summer, Chipotle offered Lavelle’s and Ertz’ favorite Chipotle orders during the USWNT’s World Cup run and the “Christian Pulisic Burrito” was made available for a limited time earlier this year.
Through the campaign, both Chipotle and U.S Soccer will focus on the impact of nutrition on athlete development and performance. Chipotle will also work with U.S. Soccer to create and amplify content emphasizing the restaurant’s approach to preparing fresh food from real ingredients daily.
While the partnership puts forward a great deal of support for the USMNT and USWNT, Chipotle will also support the U.S. Soccer Girls’ and Boys’ Development Academy, which has more than 160 clubs and 17,000 players competing in more than 11,500 games across the country.
“U.S. Soccer is excited to partner with Chipotle and help drive its ‘Real Food for Real Athletes’ campaign that is focused on helping athletes at all levels create healthy eating habits,” Brian Remedi, U.S. Soccer Chief Administrative Officer. “From our senior Women’s and Men’s National Teams competing at the highest levels, to the more than 17,000 youth players participating in the Development Academy, eating healthy is an important part of player development. We are looking forward to having Chipotle be a constant in the lead up to the most important competitions we have coming up, including the 2020 Olympics and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.”
The partnership announcement isn’t Chipotle’s first dip into soccer. Chipotle has previously been a partner of US Youth Soccer presenting sponsor of the US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup.
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