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.
In 2007, the AFC Asian Cup was help in four countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
and Vietnam—and saw the partnership extended to the AFC Cup.
As a result of the success of the partnership, ING saw significant increases in brand
awareness in Malaysia and Thailand, supporting the growth of its insurance and
investment divisions in those markets. In Indonesia, the company leveraged the tickets
and hospitality to support its banking and wealth management operations.
On 20 June, ING announced a four-year extension of the collaboration with the AFC.
Between the kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on 6 September
2008 and 2012, ING will have branding at and marketing rights at 339 matches
which are part of a series of 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.
Chairman of ING Insurance & Investment Management Asia/Pacific and a member
of ING Group’s Executive Board Hans van der Noordaa represented ING at the
launch press conference in Hong Kong. He is pictured below shaking hands with the
AFC President, Mohamed bin Hammam.
