El Gouna Red Sea, a premium coastal town developed by Orascom Development in Egypt and one of the Middle East’s most prominent Red Sea destinations, has partnered with Aston Villa Football Club for a series of branding, storytelling and experiential touch-points across the season.
The partnership aligns Aston Villa with a destination known for innovation and quality of life, while expanding El Gouna’s international audience and further strengthening its global sporting profile.
In conversation with Campaign Middle East, Yosra Ebeidy, Head of Marketing, PR and Comms, El Gouna, said, “This is an experience-led partnership rather than a logo-led sponsorship. It goes beyond visibility to create a meaningful lifestyle narrative, bringing together Aston Villa’s global sporting platform and El Gouna’s coastal way of life. The focus is on inviting audiences into a shared experience and a way of living, not simply promoting a brand.”
El Gouna – Where sports, culture, arts and lifestyle meet
From day one, El Gouna was created as a place where culture, art, sports and a unique lifestyle all come together naturally. It is internationally recognised for its world-class facilities and ongoing support of elite sport.
Over the past 35 years, it has developed into a fully-integrated, year-round international community that spans more than 50 nationalities, a significant portion of which is British.
The partnership builds on El Gouna’s long-standing commitment to sports, from hosting World Cups in some sports, such as squash and fishing, to supporting homegrown talent, as well as arts and cultural initiatives.
The town’s calendar of elite sporting events – including El Gouna International Squash Open (PSA Platinum), International Game Fish Association (IGFA), Oceanman, International Golf Tournaments, triathlons, marathons and endurance races – not only highlights El Gouna as a year-round hub for elite sport and global fans but also demonstrates its ability to host world-class competitions and attract international audiences.
Ebeidy said, “El Gouna is really one of the top spots in the world for kitesurfing and watersports. We have a vibrant international kitesurfing community, professional training centre, sailing clubs, and even an Olympic-standard cable park, it’s really a full high-performance sports environment.”
She added, “What we’re doing today is simply building on that strong foundation. Through collaborations like this one, we’re continuing to grow what we started, expanding our sports portfolio, attracting high-caliber events, and reinforcing El Gouna’s position as a leading destination for premium sporting experiences.”
The partnership with Aston Villa FC aims to build on El Gouna’s strategy of combining sports, culture and lifestyle storytelling while reinforcing livability, community and global engagement rather than functioning as a standalone activation.
Rollout of the El Gouna Red Sea – Aston Villa partnership campaign
The partnership was rolled out through a fully integrated approach across different channels, making sure the objectives and key messages were aligned from the start. Beyond coordinated announcements, the idea was to build real awareness and reinforce the destination’s positioning over time.
“Also, we’re supporting this with ongoing content and experiences to create awareness, maintain momentum, drive engagement and ensure the campaign creates lasting impact rather than just a one-time push,” said Ebeidy.
The campaign targeted international, lifestyle-driven audiences, with a focus on UK and European communities interested in travel, wellbeing and premium coastal living.
It also tapped into Aston Villa’s global fanbase, using football as an entry point to introduce El Gouna to audiences beyond traditional tourism segments.
With its strategic positioning and distinct identity in the region, El Gouna is also positioned as an idyllic Red Sea gateway to the rest of Egypt. As such, the partnership contributes to this goal of growing El Gouna’s international presence.
Ebeidy added., “This partnership is just one of many initiatives we have to strengthen our global reach, especially with our vibrant international community that already lives in and regularly visits El Gouna. In the mid-term, this collaboration helps us grow our audiences through a trusted, globally recognised brand, while also building on the strong British community already living and visiting El Gouna. In the long-term, it supports our vision for El Gouna to be seen as a truly global destination, a place where people want to visit, stay longer, and eventually make their home.”
The campaign was delivered through a collaborative model, bringing together agency teams from both Aston Villa and El Gouna. Each side contributed their expertise across strategy, creative, digital, social, production and media planning to make it all come together smoothly.
The partnership and the corresponding campaign position El Gouna as a premium destination with a strong sporting and cultural legacy, making it a natural fit for Aston Villa as the club expands its global footprint.
Commenting on the success metrics, Ebeidy said, “We are mainly focusing on driving awareness and generating word of mouth following a set of data-led metrics that align with El Gouna’s broader objectives. Also, we are measuring the initiative’s impact on promoting livability, tracking perception shifts among both international and local audiences, highlighting El Gouna as a place to live, not just visit. And this can be tracked through reach and engagement across digital and traditional channels and numbers of visitors to measure how well El Gouna’s premium profile is being raised.”
She concluded, “Finally, we are evaluating the quality of engagement with the town’s cultural, sporting, wellness, and nature experiences. Together, these measurements will show how well the initiative contributes to raising international awareness, reinforcing El Gouna’s livability, attracting first-time visitors, and encouraging repeat visits, solidifying its position as a vibrant lifestyle destination.”
