- Decathlon’s Stockport and Glasgow stores will be the prime locations
- Courts will open to the public from June 3
- The padel festival will include a wide range of activities to promote the sport
UK-based padel operator Soul Padel has announced an exciting partnership with global sports brand Decathlon.
It is a major agreement for Soul Padel, which will see it host its first ‘summer padel festival’ as it embarks on an ambitious programme to grow padel.
The collaboration will see two pop-up padel courts, installed and supplied by PADEL1969, at Decathlon’s Stockport store and an additional two courts at Glasgow’s Braehead store.
The festival will go ‘live’ from Monday 3rd June and run until Wednesday 31st August and aims to engage and introduce the sport to local communities and fitness enthusiasts.
Official opening events at both locations will offer visitors the opportunity to discover and learn more about padel, a sport that continues to experience a significant rise in popularity across Europe.
Each site will be supported by Decathlon’s in-house padel brand, Kuikma, offering products catering to beginners through to professional athletes, with equipment available for purchase or rent for those who want to ‘try before they buy’.
Special events, including introductory padel clinics led by professional coaches, will be unveiled in due course. These events aim to showcase the sport and promote Soul Padel’s community values of ‘meet, play, and connect’. Additionally, Soul Padel will promote inclusivity through children’s sessions during the school holidays and “women-only” sessions.
Soul Padel founder and CEO Mark Hewlett said: “This is an incredible opportunity to bring padel to these two communities. Decathlon is an internationally respected sports brand, and we are immensely proud to be partnering with them in the months ahead.
“Our aim across these three months is to create a summer festival of padel that will introduce more people to this incredibly fun sport and encourage them to become fellow padel fanatics. We also have a lot of activities in the pipeline, which we will share once they are finalised.
“In terms of the locations, in Stockport we will look to build on the popularity of padel being seen in nearby Manchester, while we are really pleased to be taking padel into the heart of Glasgow for the first time.”
As 2024 marks Decathlon’s 25th anniversary in the UK, this new partnership with Soul Padel will proudly see Decathlon continue to create a legacy by inspiring people through the wonders of sport.
Federico Fraguela, UK commercial leader – Running & Rackets Sports, said: “At Decathlon, we’re passionate about making sports accessible to all. Partnering with Soul Padel allows us to extend our reach and introduce padel to new audiences. With our shared values of community and inclusivity, we’re excited to support these events and help more people feel ready to play this summer.”
Installation of the courts will start imminently. PADEL1969 founder and CEO Atte Suominen added: “We are looking forward to this exciting new chapter for padel. We are proud to be providing our ONE COURT FOR LIFE® by PADEL1969 – a combination of quality and high performance premium padel courts. The summer padel pop-ups with Soul Padel and Decathlon align with our commitment of spreading the ‘Joy of Padel’.”
Soul Padel is expecting the festival to be extremely popular and is inviting businesses to be part of this exciting initiative.
It has a range of sponsorship opportunities, including presenting partnerships, activation partnerships, supporting sponsorships, court sponsorships and sampling. For more information on the about the opportunities, contact Aimee Lawson via email – aimee@eutopia.agency
Issued: 01 May 2024
Images: Please find a selection of images in this Dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/u70zfi4k5ffblxe9uvone/AJCYUx0cimg12zV40oblCFE?rlkey=krhu7a8e19ssrf67fem41qp3g&st=cbimg73m&dl=0
Media Contact:
Sweetspot Communications.
Contact Lee McLaughlan
Email: lee@sweetspotcommunications.co.uk
About Decathlon:
A global multi-specialist sports brand catering to beginners and top athletes, Decathlon is an innovative maker of sporting goods for all skills. With more than 100,000 teammates and 1,700 stores worldwide, Decathlon and its teams have been working ever since 1976 to fulfil an ongoing ambition : Move people through the wonders of sport, to help them be healthier and happier in a sustainable future.
About Soul Padel:
Soul Padel is an ambitious new entrant into the padel sector, and aims to open community-focused padel centres, including a centre of excellence. It is founded by former retail and healthcare executive Mark Hewlett.
About PADEL1969:
Padel is from Acapulco since 1969. PADEL1969 is the largest Premium Padel court manufacturer and advisory provider. We live with Passion, Joy and Integrity. We are the only company that is only dedicated to Padel products, and services and operates worldwide. Our products are high-quality rackets and courts. Our services are market research, advisory services, and projects of new Padel clubs to investors.
