Newly crowned English football Champions Arsenal Football Club has officially partnered with St. Lucia in what is a monumental development in the island’s tourism marketing plan and youth and sports development.
The partnership was officially announced yesterday at a grand ceremony at the Royalton Resort in Cap Estate, Gros Islet.
Attended by a number of notable tourism and sports officials, the event also included St. Lucia’s brand ambassadors West Indies Cricket Head Coach Daren Sammy and St. Lucian sprint queen Julien Alfred. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Dr. Ernest Hilaire also joined live from Germany alongside Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer Juliet Slot.
Chief Executive Officer {CEO} of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority Louis Lewis lauded this multifaceted partnership. “The St. Lucia Arsenal/Football Club Partnership delivers a powerful combination of global destination marketing, sports tourism growth, football development, women’s sports advancement, investment attraction, international visibility, capacity building, and sustainable community legacy positioning St. Lucia as a leading sports tourism destination in the Caribbean.
The Tourism Authority CEO went on to explain the immense benefits to be derived from this strategic move. “St. Lucia gains a strategic partnership with one of the world’s most recognized and influential football clubs, providing access to millions of Arsenal supporters and a global football audience across key tourism source markets. The destination will benefit from Arsenal’s brand assets, players imagery, club trademarks, digital platforms, and marketing channels to promote St. Lucia internationally. St. Lucia’s branding will be integrated across Arsenal’s global ecosystem including the club’s website, its app, the social media channels, supporter communications, partner platforms and promotional campaigns.”
The agreement will span the commencement of the 2026/27 season through to the 2031 seasons and reaching over a billion fans in the club’s database.
Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire is confident that while many are witnessing a potential transformation of the local tourism industry the other components are equally valuable to St. Lucia. “The setting up of the Arsenal academy hub in St. Lucia will, not only benefit young people in St. Lucia but the entire Caribbean. The opportunities for our footballers to get the opportunity to interact with the Arsenal Football Club especially through its training facility, our men’s team, our women’s team, and of course our young people. That has never been heard of and it’s really going to be for us an exciting opportunity for them to be exposed to the highest levels of training.”
Dr. Hilaire believes this partnership is timely particularly because of the increase in the local room stock and the reported demand for St. Lucia as a premier vacation destination.
Arsenal club officials and club legends are expected on island over the next few months as part of the marketing campaign and brand partnership development strategy.