Press Release 3 Continental Becomes Official Sponsor

press release - 3 - continental becomes official sponsor of 2019 afc asian cup in the united arab emirates ================

Press Release
- 3 -
Continental becomes Official Sponsor of
2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates
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Sponsorship designed to increase awareness of the premium
Continental tire brand
in the APAC region and the Middle East
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Rights package also includes the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the
final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in
Russia, and the 2018 AFC U22 Championship
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In Asia and the Middle East, Continental can build on 20 years’
experience in the sponsorship of the world's leading football
events
Shanghai, China/Hanover, Germany, November 12, 2015. International
tire manufacturer Continental today announced that its Tire Division
is to be Official Sponsor of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup which will be
staged in the United Arab Emirates. Through this move, Continental is
driving forward the systematic regionalization of its sports
sponsorship strategy. The extensive rights package also includes the
qualifiers for the 12 best teams in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, the
2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the final round of Asian qualifiers for
the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and the AFC 2018 U22 Championship,
where the qualifying places for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will
also be awarded.
“The AFC Asian Cup is the most important football competition in the
APAC region and the Middle East, where we are looking to grow our
market share in the next few years. To support this growth we are keen
to actively promote our premium brand and position it in the
perception of car drivers as a possible alternative in the car tire
segment,” says Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of
Continental responsible for the Tire Division. “We also expect the
media coverage of the qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the
2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to be particularly extensive in both
regions and are therefore assuming that we will achieve a marked
increase in awareness of our premium Continental brand by 2020.”
According to AFC Acting General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John: “The
partnership with Continental underlines the growing importance and
attraction of football in Asia and in particular our exciting and
successful flagship competitions – the Asian Cup and the Women’s Asian
Cup as well as the under 22 competition. Continental has a long and
distinguished history in football and we thank them for their
commitment to the AFC as this signifies another important milestone in
our continued development of both the sport and our commercial
portfolio in Asia.”
Lagardère Sports, the Asian Football Confederation‘s (AFC) exclusive
marketing and commercial partner, brokered the deal between
Continental and AFC.
“We’ve had some very positive experiences of sponsorship activities in
the run-up to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup that took place early this year
in Australia, as well as with Team China Football since 2014, and we
will be systematically continuing these activities,” adds Philipp von
Hirschheydt, who is responsible for the Passenger and Light Truck
Tires Replacement segment in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at
Continental. “The timing of this commitment is simply ideal for us,
because at the same time we are engaged in substantially expanding the
annual capacity of our main passenger and light truck tire plant in
Hefei, China. This is set to rise from its current level of five
million units to as many as 13 million units in the next few years to
meet the growing demand for our regionally manufactured premium
products. After we invested some €250 million in the initial phase,
this expansion phase will account for another approximately €250
million by 2019.”
Today Continental can look back on more than 20 years of successful
sponsorship of the most important football events worldwide. And with
current sponsorship deals covering UEFA EURO 2016TM in France and the
European qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which
run until November 2017, as well as Major League Soccer in the US and
Canada up until 2018, and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab
Emirates, the Corporation holds attractive rights packages in the
world’s most important regional markets. At Continental, football
sponsorship is traditionally fully integrated into the Company’s
marketing communications.
At www.ContiSoccerWorld.com Continental provides comprehensive
coverage of the various competitions.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation is the continental governing body for
football in Asia and comprises 47 countries. The pinnacle competition
for the national teams is the Asian Cup (won in 2015 by Australia) and
the Women’s Asian Cup (won in 2014 by Japan). The 2019 Asian Cup will
be held in the United Arab Emirates. In 2016 the AFC U22 Championship
will be held in Qatar between Jan 12-30.
Continental AG
Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people
and their goods. As a reliable partner, the international automotive
supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides
sustainable, safe, comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions.
In 2014, the corporation generated preliminary sales of approximately
€34.5 billion with its five divisions, Tires, Chassis & Safety,
Interior, Powertrain, and ContiTech. Continental employs approximately
205,000 people in 53 countries.
www.continental-corporation.com
Tire Division
The Tire Division currently has 24 production and development
locations worldwide. The broad product range and continuous
investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and
ecologically efficient mobility. As one of the world's leading tire
manufacturers with more than 47,000 employees, the Tire Division
achieved sales of €9.8 billion in 2014.
Passenger and Light Truck Tires
Continental is one of the leading manufacturers of passenger and light
truck tires in Europe and the world's fourth largest passenger tire
manufacturer in the original equipment and replacement market. The
product development focus of the Continental premium brand is to
optimize all safety-relevant characteristics, while simultaneously
minimizing rolling resistance.
www.continental-tires.com
Sponsorship
The Tire Division is an official sponsor of UEFA EURO 2016TM in
France, Major League Soccer in the US and Canada, and the 2019 AFC
Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
www.contisoccerworld.com
Contact:
Alexander Bahlmann
Head of Communications / Public Relations Passenger and Light Truck
Tires (PLT)
Continental AG I Tire division
Buettnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 2615
Fax: +49 (0) 511 938 2455
[email protected]
www.continental-tires.com
Klaus Engelhart
Press Spokesman Passenger and Light Truck/
Two-Wheel Tires
Communications / Public Relations PLT
Continental AG I Tire division
Buettnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 2285
Fax: +49 (0) 511 938 2455
[email protected]
www.contisoccerworld.com
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Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: +49 (0)511 – 938 2285