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| Calendar of Events |
| 13/11/2008 |
Organising Committee for AFC Youth Competitions
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| 20/11/2008 |
Women's Committee |
| 20/11/2008 |
AFC Women's Awards Night 2008 |
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| News Centre |
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| AFC, ING ink sponsorship deal |
HONG KONG: AFC today signed a four-year sponsorship programme with ING, the global financial services group, in the presence of World Sport Group, the confederation’s commercial partner.
AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam signed the contract with Hans van der Noordaa, Member, Executive Board of ING Group and Chairman and CEO, Insurance and Investment Management Asia/Pacific at the Conrad Hong Kong Hotel.
The signing was also attended by Nick Mould, President of World Sport Group (East Asia); Timothy Fok, President of the Hong Kong Football Association and also President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, and Brian Leung, Chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association.
ING’s sponsorship programme will start in September 2008, the first month of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Fourth Round Qualifiers, where 10 teams will compete for four-and-a-half places in the finals in South Africa.
The contract, which runs through to the end of 2012, will see ING associated with the AFC Asian Cup 2011 in Qatar, the Asian qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics, the AFC Under-19 and Under-16 Championships in 2010 and 2012, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the AFC Futsal Championship, involving more than 300 men’s and women’s national team games.
Bin Hammam expressed his delight, saying it illustrated the growing popularity of football in Asia . More than 700 million fans across Asia watched last year’s AFC Asian Cup™, making it the region’s top sporting event.
“ING has been a strong supporter of Asian football since 2005 and their new four-year AFC sponsorship programme will take their commitment and exposure to new heights,” Bin Hammam said.
“Asian football is experiencing a dramatic growth, so we’re delighted that Asia’s top sport and its players are being supported by some of the world’s top brands, such as ING, who are sharing in our commitment to take Asian football to the world. Millions of fans are benefiting from this partnership and together we can ensure that our beautiful game continues to thrive.”
Van der Noordaa said ING, whose sponsorship portfolio includes the Dutch national football team, was excited about taking its sponsorship of Asian football to a new level since first teaming up with the AFC in 2005.
“ING is proud to be one of the major sponsors of the AFC. The popularity of Asian football has been growing. The sponsorship last year we had with AFC raised brand awareness in key ING markets including China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, all due to their passion for football,” said Van der Noordaa.
“We are confident that this four-year contract will really benefit ING’s brand awareness and help us build our business in the region further. Given our extensive support for Asian football and the strong partnership with AFC, we are also confident that the sport will continue to develop in Asia,” he concluded.
In September 2005, ING signed up to sponsor the qualifying rounds and finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2007™ in Southeast Asia, an event that proved to be a major branding success for the company.
According to a FIFA survey, some 85 million people in Asia play football, which represents the largest number of any continent and more than 30 per cent of the 270 million players worldwide.
Nick Mould, President of World Sport Group (East Asia), said: “ING’s new sponsorship agreement is a testament to the power and effectiveness of Asian football as an integrated marketing platform.”
“ING showed it was a forward-looking company when it first came on board with the AFC for the last AFC Asian Cup™ and realised the massive benefits of the association with Asian football. Like all AFC sponsors, ING will benefit from coverage through a wide number of media channels, which means its brand recognition is constantly increasing.”
“As a sport content provider, WSG is committed to delivering quality programming to our clients and fans. This includes making Asian football available to everyone through new media channels including the digital platform to meet the increasing sophistication of Asian sports fans.”
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