Anyone for floorball? UNYP teams up with Sparta as Official Partners

August 30 2017

UNYP has always been committed to sport, and this commitment is now taking on a new dimension, as the university becomes the Official Partner of the Sparta Praha floorball team. We talked to UNYP’s General Manager Sotiris Foutsis and Marketing Director Mark Anderson about what the partnership will mean for Sparta’s players and UNYP’s students.

Q: Why did you choose floorball as the sport you wanted to support?
Sotiris: The University of New York in Prague has been providing higher education in the Czech Republic for 20 years now. Floorball is a fresh and energetic sport that is popular in the Czech Republic. As a young sport, floorball is still more about the game and the sportsmanship than money and commercial gain, and it’s a strong example of how to build character and ethical behavior on and off the court. We felt this made it a perfect fit for UNYP, and a good source of inspiration for our student body. Moreover, we wanted to find a way to connect more closely with Prague and connect our students to the city, and we decided that sponsoring the Sparta Floorball teams was an ideal way to accomplish this.
Mark: I also want to highlight that this partnership will benefit UNYP students too. We will be cooperating with Sparta to set up our own floorball team, and encouraging our students to interact with the teams and go to their games. This will not be a one-way sponsorship, but a partnership that will benefit the young people on both sides of the relationship.

Q: Could you tell us why your university chose Sparta specifically?
Mark: The Sparta athletic association is a Prague icon. The floorball team is made up of smart, well-educated youth who have become a respected and respectable team. It made perfect sense for us to team up with them.

Q: Will UNYP see any benefits as a result of the partnership with Sparta?
Sotiris: UNYP will be the Official Partner of the U17, U19 and Male Elite Sparta Floorball teams. Of course, we hope that the long-term relationship will be beneficial to both UNYP and UNYP students as we grow and develop it together. A normal sports sponsorship is just about money, branding and the logos on the shirts, but we all want this to be a true partnership. The Sparta Floorball players will be given an orientation to learn all about UNYP, and Sparta Floorball will take part in our UNYP fresher orientation, to introduce the new students to Sparta. What’s more, UNYP will be working with a coach from their Male Elite team to start and build up our very own UNYP Blazers Floorball team!

Q: Does UNYP support any other sports?
Sotiris: We are very proactive as a university in terms of keeping our students active, as we strongly support the idea that a fit body makes a fit mind. As part of their studies here, all students are provided with free gym membership and pool access, and we also have our own UNYP Blazers football team and basketball teams. So we have a long tradition in supporting sports for our students, and we look forward to integrating this partnership further to provide even more opportunities to our students.

Q: Are you a floorball fan?
Mark: I was aware of the sport before the sponsorship, but after going to a couple matches, I’ve definitely become a fan! I feel a great connection to the team, and look forward to a future of shared success.

The new season for the Czech Floorball Association will start on the 4^th of September, and we’ll be keeping you updated on how to get involved. We all wish our new partners Sparta the best of luck for the upcoming season, with no injuries and perhaps a championship title too!