XTB Sponsors FC Porto as Marketing Spend Hits PLN 435M

XTB has been named FC Porto's official investment partner, with sleeve branding on the men's first-team shirt for domestic competitions starting in the 2026/27 season. The agreement also includes pitch-side displays, stadium video walls, press-room visibility, digital communications and player content. The English-language statement calls it a three-year partnership through 2028/29, matching comments from Porto president André Villas-Boas, but Polish reports describe two guaranteed seasons with an option for a third, making the conservative reading a commitment through 2027/28.

The sponsorship comes as XTB sharply increases spending on client acquisition and brand awareness. Marketing expenditure in the first half of 2026 rose 64.7% to PLN 435.5 million from PLN 264.4 million a year earlier. Marketing accounted for PLN 171.2 million of the increase in operating expenses, which reached PLN 884.3 million. In the same period, XTB added 703,333 clients, up 94.5%, bringing the total client base to 2.83 million. Active clients grew 74.5% to 1.49 million, revenue rose 79.7% to PLN 2.09 billion and net profit increased 150.5% to PLN 1.03 billion.

The key metric to watch is client acquisition cost. XTB has reported CAC in the PLN 600-700 range in every quarter since 2024, with PLN 600 in the first half of 2026. Management expects CAC to remain stable while marketing spending increases by about 50% in 2026 and by 30-40% annually from 2027 to 2029. A sustained move above roughly PLN 700 would signal that the visibility generated by sponsorship is not converting into accounts at the economics assumed in XTB's growth plan. The first quarter set a high base with 370,041 new clients, helped by market volatility, so sponsorship performance will be clearer in quieter markets.

The Porto deal extends XTB's sports portfolio, which includes SSC Napoli for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons, a FIBA partnership through 2027 and a brand campaign featuring Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The contract structure suggests XTB is buying renewable access to sports audiences rather than making uniform long-term commitments, similar to the broader return of retail broker football sponsorship, such as the Arsenal-HFM agreement.

The FC Porto shirt will also carry Betano, whose parent Kaizen Gaming renewed its main front-of-shirt sponsorship through 2028/29. That puts a betting brand and an investment platform offering CFDs on the same kit, raising consumer-protection questions around risk disclosures and product suitability. XTB CEO Omar Arnaout said the partnership would go beyond branding and support financial education. The commercial test, however, is whether Porto's audience produces funded, active accounts without pushing CAC outside the PLN 600-700 range. The optional third season gives both sides a natural review point.