Seoul, Mar 2, 2010 - (ACN Newswire) - Kia Motors Corporation will serve as the official sponsor of the UEFA EURO 2012(TM) and UEFA EURO 2016(TM).
"As the official EUROTOP Sponsor of UEFA, Kia will make the utmost efforts towards the success of UEFA professional national team events until 2017," said Mong-Koo Chung, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman, before the signing ceremony. "Our commitment and support of UEFA will help raise awareness of the Kia brand and fortify our position as a global company."
A strategic sponsorship agreement with UEFA was signed today by Hyoung-Keun Lee, Kia Motors Corporation President, and Michel Platini, President of UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, at the company's headquarters in Seoul, extending the company's sponsorship to cover the 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Football Championship.
"We are truly happy to extend the sponsorship agreement with the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, one of the world's most promising companies. We will closely cooperate with Kia's efforts to advance its presence through football sponsorship," added Platini.
The UEFA European Football Championship final tournament, the most prestigious football competition in Europe, is held every four years, featuring 16 countries drawn into four groups of four teams. Poland and Ukraine were selected to co-host the UEFA Euro 2012 competition.
The UEFA EURO 2016 final tournament will feature 24 countries, up from the 16 nations at UEFA EURO 2012. France, Italy and Turkey have submitted their bids to host the UEFA EURO 2016.
Kia began its official sponsorship of FIFA in 2007, for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. For UEFA EURO 2008(TM), Kia was one of UEFA's EUROTOP Partners and today's ceremony further continues its reign as one of the most visible brands in football, the world's most popular sport.
Under the agreement signed today, Kia Motors will enjoy main sponsorship rights for all UEFA EURO events, including the rights to use logos, emblems as well as signage display in the stadiums. Kia will also provide vehicles from its exciting young-at-heart line-up to be used during the tournament.
With an estimated audience of 750 million people in Europe alone and the competition attracting a worldwide audience, the benefits of Kia's EUROTOP partnership with UEFA are tremendous.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship was shown in a total of 200 countries, with accumulated viewers reaching approximately 6.6 billion people. Visitors to the football stadium numbered over one million.
As a result of its sponsorship of the UEFA EURO championships and the FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa(TM) and FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil(TM), Kia is firmly on track to meeting its goals of raising its brand awareness among core consumers who are young-at-heart. Kia will continue its wide variety of marketing programs leading up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa.
About KIA Motors
Kia Motors Corporation, a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart, was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world's premier automotive brands. Nearly 1.5 million vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia today has over 40,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.5 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup -- as well as a EUROTOP partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation. For more information, please visit www.kiamotors.com.
Source: KIA Motors
Contact:
Michael Choo International Communications Manager, Kia Motors Corporation +82-2-3464-5663 mjc@kia.co.kr
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