PURCHASE, N.Y.—With more than 70 different nationalities gracing the field in this season’s Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League, Mastercard has teamed up with soccer legend Pelé to “celebrate the unifying power of football and the moments that have “Started Something Priceless” in the history of the world’s premier club competition.”
As an Official Sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, Mastercard has launched 22 Languages, a short-film that features 22 football fans from around the world coming together to play a match and compete for 11 UEFA Champions League tickets.
“With barriers down and stakes high, the intense match can only have one winning team but after heading back to the locker room post-match, all players are gifted with the same truly priceless moment – lifting the trophy with none other than Pelé,” Mastercard said.
“Football is a unifying force across the world and there is no better example of this than the UEFA Champions League,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard. “Our #StartSomethingPriceless campaign is about supporting one another to inspire change and the UEFA Champions League is truly unique in traversing borders and transforming the lives of both players and fans.”
The 22 Languages film marks the latest reiteration in Mastercard’s #StartSomethingPriceless campaign which is designed to inspire people to pursue a passion and transform small moments into amazing memories, the company said.
“As a football icon who followed his passion to become the world’s greatest player, Pelé has identified three UEFA Champions League occasions that have unified the footballing world, empowered change and started something priceless happening,” Mastercard stated.
“I remember when I got a crucial message from my father when I was young ‘you are going to be a very good footballer, but most importantly you have to be a good person and a good man’ and those words have always stuck with me,” said Pelé, who scored 1,283 goals throughout his career. “While we all love the competition that comes with sport, it’s more important what we do as people on and off the field. Football is a great unifier and these UEFA Champions League moments truly capture the #StartSomethingPriceless sentiment.”
The acquisition of Final is just one part of Goldman Sachs' efforts to expand into the consumer credit industry. In October 2016, the company launched Marcus, an online personal loan and savings account service. Goldman issued over $2 billion in personal loans through this service in its first year, according to Fast Company, Hardekopf explained.
“It is not yet clear whether Goldman Sachs plans to release a traditional credit card or create a virtual card, such as the Final Visa,” Hardekopf said.