Paralympic boccia champion, Aurélie Aubert will be sponsored by Kinder (or more precisely Ferrero) after a huge appeal towards the brand after her gold medal won in Paris during the summer.
A spotlight that bears fruit. Boccia gold medalist at the Paris Paralympic Games, Aurélie Aubert became one of the darlings of the French public after her title. Devourer of Schoko-bons, the para-athlete launched an appeal for the Kinder brand from a TV set. And obviously the message has gotten across since the 27-year-old young woman will become the first Paralympic athlete sponsored by the Ferrero company, according to information from the newspaper Le Parisien.
If Aurélie Aubert had indicated that she hoped to see Kinder sponsor boccia in order to be able to get her hands on a stock of chocolates, the agri-food giant will do even better by providing her with financial aid in view of the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The partnership should be formalized on Wednesday.
Ferrero “flooded with messages” in favor of the Frenchwoman
Three days after her coronation in the boccia event at Paris 2024, Aurélie Aubert made her request on live television. But with the support of social networks, the dream came true for the Normandy sportswoman.
“With my team, we were inundated with messages from employees who told us: we must sponsor it,” Fausto Rotelli, director of external affairs at Ferrero France, told the daily. Before confirming that the idea of sponsoring it was not even discussed within his teams.
Despite minor difficulties in finding the trace of Aurélie Aubert or her assistant Claudine Llop, Ferrero finally succeeded. But if the company could have been satisfied with a gesture towards the boccia champion, it went much further by deciding to support her financially by paying all her expenses linked to her sport with a view to Los Angeles 2028.
This includes both the “movements” adapted for the para-athlete as well as all her equipment “which is substantial” in the words of Fausto Rotelli.
Aurélie Aubert freed from financial worries linked to her sport
Aurélie Aubert did not directly comment on this great news but the Parisian obtained a reaction from her assistant. The latter explained how this first contract won after the Paris 2024 Games would change the young woman’s daily life. “This partnership allows Aurélie to no longer have to look for funds everywhere to be able to secure insurance for a season,” welcomed Claudine Llop. Not without forgetting to point out that the Paralympic boccia champion regularly had to pay for travel to international competitions out of her own pocket.
And Aurélie Aubert’s close friend added: “I thought we might have chocolates but I didn’t think it could go any further.”
The one who will officially become an ambassador for the ‘Kinder Joy of moving’ program, has resumed training for 11 hours per week. And thanks to her new partner, Aurélie Aubert will be able to concentrate solely on her boccia performances.
