What if one of the best-known football clubs in Europe sponsored you to surf? Talented, Portuguese junior Jaime Vesselko is the beneficiary of what seems an unlikely alliance between soccer and surfing.  Veselko is the youngest of nine surfers currently sponsored by Portuguese club Sporting CP.

Sporting CP, also known as Sporting Lisbon or just ‘Sporting’, is a European club with a rich history and an estimated net worth of 268.1 million Euros ($Aus 441,790,618.) Meanwhile, their highest paid player Francisco Trincão earns around Euro $75 000  a week.  ($123,505 Australian Dollars).

While Sporting CP is not tossing any seven figure sums at surfers just yet, they are spending money on talented, home-grown surfers. Jaime Veselko secured a deal after his surf coach reached out to Sporting CP on his behalf. When Jaime spoke to Tracks it was clear the young, Portuguese contender is proud of his association with the distinguished football club. “I represent Sporting CP in all the competitions I participate in. I am an athlete in an individual sport, but I belong to a family with a lot of history in sports. This is not just any partnership. My achievements are also the Club’s achievements. Being able to have my medals in the Sporting Museum, alongside so many other medals from incredible athletes, is extraordinary. Being part of Sporting also comes with great responsibility because we have many members behind us who follow our results. They are members of the Club I represent, so I represent them as well.” 

Sporting was also the first club of Christiano Ronaldo, (the highest paid footballer) who now plays with Saudi Arabian club, Al Nassr and earns around US$ 260 million a year. (Incidentally Ronaldo grew up on the island of Madeira where the waves pump.) By way of comparison, at the peak of his contract with Hurley, John John,(the highest paid surfer) was earning  approx. US $5.3 million a year. Ronaldo makes almost 50 times that amount annually.     

While not going into detail about what he actually gets paid by the multi-million-dollar club, Jaime explains that his contract with Sporting CP features performance-based incentives. “I started as a base-level athlete, only supported with the costs of some of the competitions I participated in. As I’ve shown better results, the support has also improved. On one hand, as I grow in surfing, my costs increase because I travel more. On the other hand, these trips also mean greater exposure for Sporting CP. So, the Club also supports me more. There always has to be a win-win situation, or it wouldn’t make sense.” 

Jaime has other endemic, surf-brand sponsors but his contract stipulates the Sporting CP emblem should be displayed prominently on the deck of his board. Asked what a major football club gets out of sponsoring a surfer, Jaime explains that Sporting CP aspires to be a global brand that extends beyond football.

“Sporting CP is a very diverse club and has committed itself to developing and supporting sports across different disciplines, and surfing is one of the more recent ones. Besides the competition side, the Club also teaches the sport through training. But, of course, the Club also seeks to expand its brand, so supporting the best athletes in each discipline is a way of being present not only at the national level but also internationally.” 

In a surfing world where the costs of travel and competing can be stifling, seeking the support of wealthy football clubs (or other sporting clubs) offers an alternative way for surfers to pursue their career dreams. In Portugal, coastal proximity probably plays a part. Sporting Lisbon’s home stadium, Estádio José Alvalade, is less than half an hour from prominent surf beaches. The Portuguese seaside team of GD Estoril Praia, commonly known as Estoril, also sponsors surfers.

A couple of years ago Leonardo Fioravanti was also involved in a collaboration with inner-city Italian team, Inter Milan (also known as the ‘Nerazzurri’).  Fioravanti and Bradley created a board featuring Inter’s distinctive, blue/black colours. A statement on their website reads. “The creation of the Inter x Bradley LF surfboard model demonstrates the values they share and represents another step forward for the development and positioning of the Nerazzurri brand, as it is able to integrate into worlds beyond football.”

Perhaps the marriage between surfing and soccer seems an odd fit, but one could argue they both champion good footwork. In any case, if you are a surfer there is little doubt that European football clubs have serious cash and marketing power at their disposal. Securing a deal with one is all about how you play the game.