DHL, the global logistics and delivery giant, has entered the French sports sponsorship marketplace for the first time, stepping in as the new main sponsor of top-flight rugby union side Stade Francais Paris.
This multi-year deal, which will run through 2029, will see DHL serve as the front-of-shirt sponsor of the Parisian team home and away in both domestic and European competition.
Also included is branding presence across the club’s social media and digital channels – where the pair will collaborate on co-branded content – and the team’s 20,000-capacity Stade Jean-Bouin home.
Additionally, DHL’s Express France service will support Stade Francais and its players by assisting with the transport of sports equipment and training gear both across France and beyond.
The partnership was brokered by sports marketing and commercial agency Sportfive.
While this is DHL’s first sports-specific deal in France, the brand is a prominent presence across global rugby union.
In South Africa, DHL is the title sponsor of the Stormers franchise, which competes in the URC international club competition and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Elsewhere, DHL also sponsors English heavyweights Harlequins, Irish side Munster, and in 2019 was the official logistics partner of the Rugby World Cup competition in Japan. The company has been a partner of the British and Irish Lions touring organization since 2005.
Back in December, DHL agreed a two-year extension to its commercial tie-up with the European Professional Club Rugby competition organizing body, meaning it will continue as the official logistics partner of the Champions Cup (top-tier) and Challenge Cup (second-tier) competitions through the 2026-27 campaign.
Stade Francais are 14-time champions of France’s elite Top 14, most recently in 2015, and won the European Rugby Challenge Cup continental competition in 2017.
In the 2024-25 campaign, the team finished 12th in the 14-team league domestically, only a point above the relegation play-off place, but have recovered this season and currently sit 5th in the table after 16 games.
Naturally, as one of two Paris-based clubs, Stade Francais has access to France’s largest sports market (although arguably not the largest rugby market), which will be a major consideration for any commercial partner.
In taking up the primary branding spot, DHL replaces fruit drink brand Capri Sun, owned by Stade Francais owner Hans-Peter Wild, which had held the prominent inventory since his takeover in 2017.
