Press release
XIX Sports Group launches its endorsements division and welcomes Teddy Riner as its first athlete.
Paris, 4 September 2026 – Sports sponsorship agency XIX Sports Group announces the creation of an endorsements division that will manage image rights contracts between athletes and advertisers. The first athlete to come on board is French judoka Teddy Riner, a five-time Olympic champion and 11-time world champion.
The new division broadens the agency’s scope without weakening its core identity. It will overlook athletes’ contractual journeys, from sourcing private partners and negotiating contracts to monitoring and coordinating agreements between parties.
While endorsement differs from traditional sponsorship consultancy, it meets a similar need. Athletes are searching for partners that reflect their image, and advertisers are on the lookout for narratives that reflect their values and can deliver quantifiable results. In becoming fully fledged rights holders, sportspeople need to map out their market approach, and this is where the agency comes in, providing them with the expertise they need.
Riner, number one again
In Teddy Riner, XIX Sports Group has made a very high-profile signing to launch this new venture, with its endorsements division announcing only last week its first multi-year partnership, between the French judoka and Groupe ICM, which owns the Keepcool and Neoness brands.
As he readies himself for one last major challenge in 2028, Riner has put his faith in XIX Sports Group to support him down the final straight of his illustrious sporting career.
A growing market full of potential
The timing of announcement owes everything to shrewd analysis of the market. The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 triggered a boom in endorsement deals, but only a few have lasted the distance, with many of the athletes supported during the Games failing to have their contracts renewed.
XIX Sports Group has bucked that trend. The April Assurances athletes team it set up before the Games is still up and running in 2026. And in creating lasting relationships between athletes and advertisers, it is now looking to build on that expertise today.
With France due to host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, the future is full of promise. Buoyed by its growth and structural development of the last few years, the agency now possesses all the in-house expertise it needs to support athletes in this area.
More athletes set to join
Another elite signing will be revealed next week. XIX Sports Group aims to support athletes with high profiles at both the start and end of their careers, and to establish endorsement as a widely recognised marketing and communication tool in France and around the world.
“In creating this division, we are looking to offer athletes dedicated and structured support, with the same eye for detail that we apply to all our other activities. This is a core business that dovetails to perfection with our existing verticals and strengthens our positioning as a specialist sports sponsorship agency. We are immensely proud that Teddy Riner has put his faith in us for this new project, which merely underlines everything this exciting venture has to offer. This is only the start for us. We have several projects in the pipeline and we cannot wait to finalise them and roll them out.” Ludovic Dumas, CEO and founder of XIX Sports Group.
