Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for football in Asia, and the largest of FIFA's six confederations, representing over half of the world's football fans, with a population of 3.7 billion people within its 45 Member Associations. The AFC was formed in 1954 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ING’s partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) started in 2005 with the signing of the sponsorship agreement for the AFC Champions League and the subsequent signing of the contract for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
As a result of the success of the partnership, ING announced a four-year extension of its collaboration with the AFC. From the kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on 6 September 2008 to mid-2012, ING has branding and marketing rights pertaining to 339 matches.
These matches take place during tournaments including the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the 2012 Olympic Games Asian Qualifiers, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and the 2009 to 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Championships, among others. Currently, teams in Asia are competing to win qualifying places for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. More details of the competitions to date can be viewed at www.ingafc.com .
AFC Champions League (ACL)
Further to the initial sponsorship by ING from 2005-2008, ING re-signed from 2009-2012 and now has rights and benefits pertaining to the AFC Champions League sponsorship. Every year, the Champions League sees 32 clubs (up from 28 in previous years) pitted against one another for the winner’s purse of US$1.5 million and a place in the FIFA Club World Cup competition.
The 2009 League was launched on 12 December 2008 and more information on the schedule is available on www.ingafc.com.
As a result of its partnership with World Sport Group, ING is also entitled to rights and benefits pertaining to the AFC Cup (not to be confused with the AFC 2011 Asian Cup), which is the annual tournament played between clubs who do not feature in the AFC Champions League. The AFC Asian Cup features national teams, with the finals played every four years. For more information, please log on to www.ingafc.com.
ING Man-to-Watch
To promote ING’s sponsorship of football and the Asian World Cup Qualifiers in particular, ING has decided to sponsor ESPN’s online contest focusing on the league’s most talented and popular players. The contest runs from June 1 to July 15 wherein participants will be required to log on to the ESPN website and vote for their “Man-to-Watch” player for a chance to win US$ 5,000 in cash.
The best entry will be judged by ESPN STAR Sports’ Football Presenter John Dykes, and will be announced on SportsCenter Asia on July 31st.
Advertising support and exposure for ING will be seen in ESPN’s website in addition to promotional spots featuring the contest which will be aired on the ESPN network.
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