Jobs network XING is main sponsor of Baller League, a new football league featuring German creators

• XING sponsors innovative indoor football tournament to the tune of several million euros as key contribution to brand repositioning 
• New Baller League expected to achieve hundreds of millions of impressions each season 
• Baller League kicks off in January 2024 – further details are available at xing.com/ballerleague

 
Hamburg/Berlin, 2 November 2023 – XING, the leading jobs network in German-speaking countries with around 22 million members, is now the founding partner and official main sponsor of the new Baller League that is set to kick off in Germany in January 2024. 

XING is investing several million euros for the first two Baller League seasons. In return, the Baller League offers an appealing and innovative sponsoring package where XING is not only the shirt sponsor for all 12 league teams, but also features on the perimeter billboards at the indoor venue. A major milestone ahead of each season is the player selection process, known as draft day, where the 12 team managers pick ten players for their team. The application process will take place at xing.com/ballerleague. In addition, the draft day will be streamed on the Baller League content channels and on the XING platform.

XING Managing Director Thomas Kindler sees the company’s Baller League sponsorship as a key contribution to the brand’s repositioning: “We think the XING brand is a great fit for the Baller League concept. The founding trio are looking to transform football, making it more appealing to a young audience, while we want to transform job searches. Sponsoring the Baller League adds an emotional dimension to the XING brand, making it tangible thanks to innovative stories surrounding draft day, jobs and careers. It really is a perfect match in every sense of the term.”
 
Thomas de Buhr, one of the Baller League founding trio, agrees with this sentiment, and said: “We’re really happy to have XING on board as a founding partner and main sponsor. XING offers companies and candidates a high-reach platform, and we offer talented football players. We worked together to develop a player recruitment process that includes draft day and an innovative academy concept, in turn making XING an organic partner of the Baller League.”

In addition to former Twitter and DAZN boss de Buhr, professional soccer player Mats Hummels and Felix Starck, founder of the production company "Koryphäen Film," are also among the founders of the Baller League. The founding team is supported by Lukas Podolski, who is president of the Baller League together with his soccer colleague Hummels.
 
The Baller League is reinventing football with a new take on existing rules.
A season is played over 11 match days and a final tournament. Each game consisting of two 20-minute halves. Games will be streamed live and free of charge on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Each team has 12 players who are semi-professionals or amateurs, who can apply for participation throughout Germany and are finally determined at the so-called draft day. Players will include Germany’s biggest and widest-reaching celebrities and content creators from sports, TV, entertainment, music, lifestyle and streaming.

Match days will involve interaction, participation and gamification opportunities to appeal to younger audiences consisting of football fans aged 12 to 35. The three founders expect the Baller League to achieve over 100 million live views per season and reach hundreds of millions of people. Visit xing.com/ballerleague for more information.  

About XING  
XING is the leading jobs network in German-speaking countries. Professionals from every industry and career level can browse over 1 million jobs on XING and get found by more than 20,000 recruiters. XING’s goal is to match 22 million members with the right job and employer for them because people are more than just their CV. XING shows users potential career paths and opportunities, helping them to make informed decisions about their professional future. Visit xing.com for more information.