World Surf League Partners With Brazilian Brand Havaianas
World Surf League forms a 2-year partnership with Havaianas, a Brazilian flip-flop brand. The popularity boom of surfing in Brazil resulted in the Saquarema WSL Championship Tour stop draw in record breaking crowds; with Havaianas fully supporting surfing and sponsoring Tataiana Weston-Webb, the partnership looks set for success.
Press Release:
World Surf League Announces Global Partnership with Havaianas
- WSL Partnership Follows Sponsorship of Brasilian Surfer, Tatiana Weston-Webb
- More Available at WorldSurfLeague.com
The World Surf League (WSL) announced a global partnership with the iconic Brazilian brand Havaianas. As part of the two-year partnership, Havaianas expects to strengthen its international relevance and will support multiple events through the 2020 WSL season and beyond. The brand has made a considerable investment in surfing and has recently announced the sponsorship of Championship Tour (CT) surfer, Tatiana Weston-Webb, who has been qualified through the WSL Championship Tour for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“Welcoming Havaianas as a partner of the WSL – both in Brazil and around the world – is an incredible indication of how popular surfing is in the region, as well as how significant this region is for the sport,” said Ivan Martinho, WSL GM of Latin America. “We are very excited to partner with a brand that is so successful, and so Brazilian; it’s really important for us to work with strong brands like Havaianas that are leaders in their segment.”
In recent years Brazil has become a powerhouse in surfing with the rise of the ‘Brazilian Storm’, which has flooded both the CT and Qualifying Series with talent. Brazilian surfers currently occupy three of the top four places on the WSL Men’s CT Leaderboard. This year saw Italo Ferreira, Gabriel Medina, and Filipe Toledo all vying for the WSL Title and Olympic qualification during the season finale in Hawaii.
The unprecedented popularity of surfing in Brazil has seen the CT event in Saquarema play out in front of record-breaking crowds. Havaianas partnered with the WSL for the Brazilian CT stop earlier this year and following the incredible success of their activation, the world’s first underwater store, they will be back to support the event again in 2020.
“We’ve had a natural and genuine relationship with surfers across the world for years and surfing represents a lot of the lifestyle that our brand celebrates,” said Fernanda Romano, CMO of Havaianas. “We see this as a long-term partnership where we will create the most amazing experiences for people who love this joyful and unique lifestyle.”
Havaianas will have an onsite presence at four WSL Championship Tour events in 2020, starting with the season opener on the Gold Coast in Australia in addition to the stops in Rio, Portugal, and Surf Ranch. The partnership will also extend beyond the CT with Havaianas supporting the Challenger Series event in Galicia, Spain, and the New York Longboard event, as well as having a digital presence at select events throughout the season.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
