XTB Signs Olympique Lyonnais Shirt Deal Four Days After FC Porto Agreement

XTB has signed a three-season main partnership with Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais, putting its branding on the French club's shirts. The deal was announced on Tuesday, days after the Polish broker revealed a three-year sleeve sponsorship with FC Porto. Neither side disclosed the financial terms.

The Lyon agreement is XTB's third European football sponsorship since April, following a two-year global trading partnership with Napoli. Chief Growth Officer Szymon Szymański said XTB wants to become "the leader and the most popular investment app in France," according to a statement. XTB did not specify where its logo will appear on the shirt; Emirates holds front-of-shirt rights at Lyon under a deal running through the 2029/30 season.

The package includes LED board exposure at Groupama Stadium across all competitions, digital campaigns using player images, and financial education and responsible investing programs. Thibaut Chatelard, senior vice president of revenue and marketing at Lyon, said "XTB's decision to commit to three seasons confirms the strength of the OL brand." Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2002 and 2008.

Marketing push accelerates

The sponsorship drive coincides with a sharp rise in XTB's marketing spend. It reached PLN 435.5 million (about $117 million) in the first half of 2026, up 64.7% from PLN 264.4 million a year earlier and roughly three-quarters of the total marketing bill for 2025. XTB has guided for marketing spending to rise about 50% this year, followed by annual increases of 30% to 40% between 2027 and 2029.

Client acquisition has accelerated along with the spending. XTB added 703,333 clients in the first half, up 94.5% year-over-year, bringing its total client base to 2.83 million. Net profit in H1 2026 rose 150.5% to PLN 1.03 billion on operating revenue of PLN 2.09 billion, up 79.7%. That reverses 2025, when net profit fell 24.8% to PLN 644.2 million as the marketing bill jumped almost 70%.

Although XTB markets itself as an investment app, CFDs remain the revenue engine. CFDs generated PLN 1.98 billion of the PLN 2.07 billion gross result from financial instruments in the first half, with commodity CFDs alone contributing 75.3% of the total. Shares, ETFs and Investment Plans accounted for 82.9% of first transactions by new EU clients. In France, where XTB launched PEA tax-advantaged accounts in April 2025, regulators ban electronic advertising for high-risk instruments and restrict trading incentives; an industry estimate puts active CFD accounts at up to 12,000, while XTB says its French client base grew 50% last year.