ING signs four-year sponsorship programme with Asian
Football Confederation
Hong Kong, 20 June 2008
ING, the global financial services group, today signed a four-year sponsorship programme
with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the presence of World Sport Group, the
confederation’s commercial partner.
Hans van der Noordaa, Member, Executive Board of ING Group and Chairman and CEO,
Insurance and Investment Management Asia/Pacific, signed the contract with AFC President
Mohamed Bin Hammam during an official signing ceremony 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 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 Qualifiers, where 10 teams will compete for four-and-a-half places in the finals in South Africa.
The sponsorship, which runs through to the end of 2012, will also see ING associated with the
2011 AFC Asian Cup 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, covering more than 300 national team games.
Van der Noordaa said that 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 Asian Football Confederation. The
popularity of Asian football has been growing. The sponsorship last year we had with the
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 the AFC, we are also confident that the sport will continue to
develop in Asia,” he concluded.
Bin Hammam was delighted to see ING sign a new sponsorship deal with the confederation,
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 its new four-year AFC
sponsorship programme will take its 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.”
In September 2005, ING signed up to sponsor the qualifying rounds and finals of the 2007 AFC
Asian Cup in Southeast Asia, an event that proved 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.
Mould 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 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.”
