Netherlands soccer fans run into trouble with Fifa - 19/06/2006
For Netherlands football fans it has become the summers cult outfit. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, "over the past few months, a quarter of a million Netherlands supporters have bought themselves a pair of patriotic orange lederhosen - wearing them whenever Holland take to the pitch in the WC. But when Netherlands fans turned to watch their team play the Côte dIvoire, wearing the garish trousers, Fifa officials were not amused. The lederhosen carry the name of a Dutch beer, Bavaria, and the Dutch brewery which makes Bavaria is not an official WC sponsor."
New Bill stops SA sponsors in their tracks - 13/06/2006
The major sports stadiums bearing sponsors names and logos are going to lose those names much earlier than was expected. According to Business Report, "under the terms of the 2010 Fifa World Cup SA Special Measures Bill, which is before Parliament, the match venues must be clean of all advertising other than Fifas official sponsors with effect from the Confederations Cup, which is to be held in SA in 2009."
Bafana Bafana preparations for the 2010 WC have received a major boost after they received R60m from overseas donors. SAsoccer365.com reports that "the millions will go into the coffers of the newly-established Bafana Bafana commercial wing."
Puma joins the shoemakers battle - 04/06/2006
Football marketing is no longer a two-way fight. The Miami Herald reports that "although Adidas is the official Fifa sponsor, the company sponsoring the most teams this summer is not Nike, with eight of the 32, or Adidas, with six, but Puma, with 12 - a figure that guarantees the smaller German company exposure in at least half of the games. Puma is counting on its sponsorship of all five African teams in the World Cup. Not only is its strategy helpful for marketing, but it is far-sighted too - the next World Cup will be held in SA in 2010."
Multibillion-euro business of 2006 soccer WC - 31/05/2006
Less than two weeks before the 18th soccer world championship kicks off, public life in Germany has been overcome by an unparalleled World Cup mania. According to a wsws.org report, "no city centre, station forecourt or public square, no shop window, no newspaper, no television station and hardly a single programme, let alone any adverts, are without the obligatory reference to the forthcoming games, with their footballs and goals, waving flags and jubilant fans. World Cup 2006 is a business worth billions, with the sale of television transmission rights alone bringing in more than €1bn."
Streetfootball team battle to find local sponsor - 31/05/2006
The SA streetfootball team, which is participating in the first Streetfootball World Cup, to be held during the Soccer World Cup in Berlin in July, is battling to find a local sponsor.
Budweiser and Bitberger resolve dispute -19/5/2006
In a last-minute climb-down, Budweiser has been told it will now be able to use its abbreviated Bud moniker during the 2006 tournament. Brand Republic reports that "Bitberger had objected to the use of the name Bud in advertising in Germany around the World Cup because it sounds too similar to its brand, Bit."
Budweiser has been the official beer at every Fifa World Cup since 1986. Sport Business reports that "the extension of this partnership by a further eight years in the beer product category, awards Anheuser-Busch global rights to both the 2010 Fifa World Cup SA and the 2014 Fifa World Cup, as well as to the Fifa Confederations Cup during this period."
The World Cup will see the rekindling of a feud between two of the worlds leading sportswear brands. The Independent reports that "brothers Rudi and Adi Dassler, the founders of Puma and Adidas, fell out six decades ago. Puma however, is already looking ahead. It is investing heavily in African football and supplies kit to eight African football associations."
In this sports-mad world in which we live, one large beer brewer is conspicuous by its absence in the world of football sponsorship - our very own SABMiller. Business Day reports that "Anheuser-Busch, brewer of the world’s largest selling beer, Budweiser, is the official beer sponsor of the Fifa Soccer World Cup 2010 and Heineken recently announced that it would be the official sponsor for the Rugby World Cup in France next year. So, with the two premier footballing events tied up by these two behemoths, what’s left for SABMiller, whose roots are firmly in one of rugby’s most holy of grails, SA?"
Emirates Airlines has signed on as Fifas sixth and final major sponsor for the next three World Cups. This means that SAA has lost out on a major marketing opportunity in 2010. SABC News reports that "the other blow was the recent news that Budweiser will be 2010s official beer, with SAB losing out on sponsoring SAs biggest sporting showpiece."
Matercard sues Fifa over WC sponsor deal - 20/04/2006
MasterCard International filed a complaint against Fifa seeking an injunction to prevent them from moving forward on an agreement with Visa International to sponsor the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Marketwatch.com reports that "MasterCard contends its contractual agreement with Fifa precludes the governing body of the World Cup from entering such an agreement with Visa."
Emirates wins sponsorship rights to all Fifa competitions for 7 years - 19/04/2006
Emirates Airline has signed a $195m partnership deal with football’s governing body, which would give the Dubai-based airline sponsorship rights to all Fifa competitions for seven years from 2007. Khaleej Times reports that "Emirates is a sponsor of the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany."
2010 sponsorships more lucrative than for Germany WC - 16/04/2006
Sponsorship deals for the 2010 WC in SA already are 25% more lucrative than for this years tournament in Germany, said Fifa president Sepp Blatter. The Star reports that "Blatter, speaking a day after Fifa unveiled its annual financial report, said the success of the world soccer federation in securing contracts for 2010 has disproved the notion that a World Cup held on African soil could not be profitable."
SA willing to pay big money for top foreign coach - 07/04/2006
The government, sponsors and the World Cup LOC are willing to pay the salary of a top foreign coach to ensure SA does well when it hosts the 2010 showpiece. A senior official at the SA Football Association (Safa), who did not want to be named, said the LOC and the government wanted to have a big say in the rebuilding of Bafana Bafana to ensure that the 2010 World Cup is a success.
Visa new official financial service partner of Fifa - 05/04/2006
Visa and Fifa will sign a sponsorship agreement worth $150m to $200m. Chron.com reports that "the deal was confirmed by an official close to the negotiations, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement hadnt been announced. Fifa spokesman Andreas Herren said he was unable to confirm the deal."
Keep your distance warns Fifa - 31/03/2006
Direct sponsorship of the 2010 WC finals will be confined to just six sponsors . But that will not preclude some SA companies from having a direct association with the event. The Financial Mail reports that "Fifa is now offering three separate tiers for interested partners. Fifa partners are limited to six and have rights across all the Fifa competitions for the period 2007-2014."
African soccer gets an additional R15m boost - 23/03/2006
Standard Bank is to inject R15m into African football over the next three years after reaching an agreement with SportFive, the marketing agent of Confederation Africaine de Football (also known as the Confederation of African Football or CAF). According to a report on the News24 site, "the Standard Bank Group, which has representation in 17 African countries including South Africa and trades as Stanbic Bank in some of these countries, announced that it is an official sponsor of the MTN Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2008."
Google and Nike kick off social networking site - 20/03/2006
In the run up to the 2006 WC, Google and Nike are teaming up on a new social networking site centred on football. PCPro reports that "the companies angle is that www.joga.com can combine Googles social networking technologies (a la OrKut.com) with Nikes sports content (specifically, access to sponsored players). Joga members will be able to form clubs, share football-related information, upload photos and video, and comment on local matches and events."
SA soccer fans attending the 2010 WC will not be able to crack open a Castle at the stadium - instead they will have to make do with American beer, Budweiser. Jérome Valcke, the CE of Fifa Marketing and TV, told a 2010 seminar that SAB-Miller had refused to negotiate with the football controlling body about what beer brand would be sold at stadiums. The Cape Times reports that "Valcke told delegates attending the KPMG, aloeCap and Business Reports 2010 seminar that SAB-Miller did not even respond to their request for a meeting."
