Hiopos Lleida split from main sponsor

Hiopos Lleida said on May 14 that ICG Software will cease to be the club’s principal sponsor from next season, ending a relationship that began in January 2019. The announcement removes the naming partner behind the Liga Endesa team’s current identity and closes an eight-year run in which the Lleida-based technology group backed the club first under the ICG brand and then through Hiopos. The club said the split will take effect after the current campaign. It did not publish financial terms or identify the replacement sponsor. Albert Aliaga, president of Força Lleida, described the partnership as central to the club’s development in comments carried by local media and in club statements. Andreu Pi, president of A&K Holding, the parent group behind ICG and Hiopos, said another company was prepared to provide greater resources for the next phase, according to Segre. The club said new sponsors had already shown interest, but it did not say when a formal announcement would be made. ### When did the relationship between Lleida and ICG begin? January 2019 was the start of ICG Software’s spell as main sponsor, according to the club’s statement reported by EFE. At the time, Força Lleida was playing in what was then called LEB Oro, now Primera FEB, and sat in the middle-to-lower part of the table, EFE said. (infobae.com) July 24, 2024 brought a new branding stage when Hiopos Solutions became the principal sponsor for the team’s debut in Liga Endesa. ACB said then that the agreement made the team’s official name Hiopos Lleida, while ICG’s corporate group remained tied to the project through A&K Holding and the Pi family. (infobae.com) ### Why is the current team called Hiopos Lleida if ICG was the sponsor? Hiopos Solutions replaced ICG in the team name in 2024, but both brands sit within the same business group. ACB reported that Andreu Pi said the company had supported the team with the ICG brand in earlier seasons and then shifted to promoting Hiopos for the club’s first year in Spain’s top division. (acb.com) A&K Holding president Andreu Pi said in 2024 that the group had backed the team “from the beginnings” and would continue as principal sponsor under the Hiopos name. That arrangement was described by ICG’s own corporate site as a two-season deal announced in July 2024. (acb.com) ### What did the club say about ending the deal now? Força Lleida said the club and ICG had completed a phase of “stability and competitiveness,” according to the statement reported by EFE. The club added that, with the project now established in top-flight basketball, ICG considered “a successful stage” closed and was leaving room for new sponsors that had already expressed interest. (acb.com) Albert Aliaga said in remarks reported by Segre that ICG and Andreu Pi had been decisive in the club’s transformation and professionalization. He said the company was the only major business to back the club when the alliance began and credited that support with helping Lleida reach promotion and gain stability in the ACB. (infobae.com) ### Did Andreu Pi explain why ICG is stepping aside? Andreu Pi said another company was ready to commit more resources, according to Segre. He said the group had tried to help Lleida “in all areas of sport” in the city and now had to make way for a company willing to provide greater backing for the club’s next challenges. (segre.com) Segre reported that the incoming naming sponsor would also be from the province of Lleida and that the agreement would run for three seasons with an option to extend. That report has not been officially confirmed by the club, which has said only that the new sponsor has not yet been announced. (segre.com) ### What is still unknown before next season? The replacement sponsor’s identity has not been officially disclosed. Aliaga said the agreement was already done and that details would be revealed shortly, according to Segre. Financial terms were also not published in the club statement or in ACB materials reviewed for this story. (infobae.com) The next concrete step is the formal naming of the new sponsor before the 2026-27 season, when the team will compete under a different commercial name if the change proceeds as described by the club and local media. (segre.com)