Sporting giant joins Soul Padel’s summer party
New-launch club operator Soul Padel has announced plans to bring padel to the people in collaboration with global sports brand Decathlon. The Bandeja reports.
In a first-of-its-kind agreement, the Soul Padel ‘summer festival of padel’ will see two pop-up courts installed and supplied by PADEL1969 at Decathlon’s Stockport store and two at its Glasgow Braehead location.
The festival will open on June 3rd and run until the end of August, with a focus on engaging local communities and introducing people to padel. Official opening events at both locations will offer visitors the opportunity to discover and learn more about padel, which continues to enjoy a significant rise in popularity across Europe.
Each site will be supported by Decathlon’s padel brand Kuikma, offering products catering to beginners through to professional athletes. Equipment will be available to purchase or rent.
Special events, including introductory padel clinics led by professional coaches, will be unveiled in due course. These will 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.
Padel fanatics
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.”
Passionate
This year marks Decathlon’s 25th anniversary in the UK and the partnership with Soul Padel will see it continue to create a legacy by inspiring people through sport.
Federico Fraguela, UK commercial leader – running & racket sports, said: “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 courts. The summer padel pop-ups with Soul Padel and Decathlon align with our commitment of spreading the ‘Joy of Padel’.” 🎾
- Sponsorship opportunities are available for the festival. Contact Aimee Lawson for further information.
