The Sports Law approved last July opened the door to investments, but no firm has approached the clubs
14ymedio, Havana, 16 October 2025 — The National Series baseball teams continue to fail to attract sponsors and advertising for uniforms and stadiums. More than two months after the Sports Law approved the opening of the program to state and private companies, none have approached the clubs. “The opportunity is legal,” Karel Pachot, legal director of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (Inder), told the program Bola Viva.
Pachot is certain that “if it is used as intended, it can yield the best results for all parties involved in this action.”
The current regulations, which were placed under the control of INDER, aim to generate revenue, a portion of which would be used to restore sports venues and guarantee resources to organize events, cover transportation costs, and provide food for baseball players.
For now, the outlook remains bleak. The lack of transportation, of water for the players, and of electricity has led to the suspension of games. Last June, the U-23 match between Cienfuegos and Mayabeque had to be canceled because “the bus that was supposed to take them to the stadium didn’t arrive,” according to reporter Fabián Morales.
“Theft, abuse, and constant problems are the daily bread of Cuban baseball. The incidents continue to accumulate, and it seems there’s no end to these evils,” explained the specialized media outlet Swing Completo.
Thus, Pachot appealed to companies, reminding them that they can all apply for advertising and sponsorship. “In the case of the National Baseball Series, the application is made through the Cuban Baseball Federation and the event’s Organizing Committee. These bodies submit the application to the appropriate authority.”
The [Cuban bottled water] company “Ciego Montero, for example, is a regular at some of our competitions, and has been a sponsor that has guaranteed the water,” explains Pachot.
The Cuban bottled water company “Ciego Montero, for example, is a regular at some of our competitions; it has been a sponsor that has guaranteed the water,” Pachot explains.
In the case of uniforms, the official emphasized that “they may allocate up to a third of their total surface area to sponsor logos, seeking to maintain a balance between team identity and economic needs.”
Based on the success of Cuban baseball, the measure is intended to be extended to other disciplines, including soccer, volleyball, and athletics.
Sponsorships, in general, have not borne fruit in Cuban sports. In 2021, authorities opened the door to privatizing the management of sports facilities. The first venue to pass into the hands of the “new forms of economic management,” as the federations called the non-state sector, was the iconic Estadio Latinoamericano, home of Havana’s Industriales baseball team.
The goal is for these facilities to “be financially autonomous and self-sustaining,” said Juan Reinaldo Pérez, National Baseball Commissioner, at the time. The changes didn’t go as planned, and the facility underwent another renovation last March.
Now, work continues on the souvenir shops , restaurants, cafes, pizzerias, and ice cream parlors, as well as the arcade, screens, and tents in outdoor areas.
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