International tyre manufacturer Continental today announced that its Tyre Division is to be Official Sponsor of the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which will be staged in Egypt from 21 June to 19 July 2019. As part of a five-year agreement between Continental and the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), the extensive rights package also includes the next two editions of the tournament for 2021 and 2023 that will be held in Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively.
“The Africa Cup of Nations is the biggest and most important sports competition in the African continent, a region where we are targeting further growth over the next few years,” said Jon Ander Garcia, Regional Manager – Africa & Middle East, Continental. “Africa is a key emerging market for Continental and football is undoubtedly the continent’s most popular sport. With this sponsorship, we aim to get closer to the consumers, and bring exciting engaging activations through the global language of football.”
Continental’s rights package will also include the exclusive sponsorship of the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ performance index of the tournament. As the team’s last line of defense, the keeper’s role of safeguarding the goalmouth reflects Continental’s own safety values, with the manufacturer being known as a pioneer in road safety for more than 140 years. Safety is also reflected in Continental’s Vision Zero initiative to make roads safer in the future, to have zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero crashes.
“We are pleased to welcome Continental as a new sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations. This new partnership shows that our flagship tournament is not only the most watched football event in Africa, but also the continent’s premier sporting event,” said CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad. “We are very hopeful about the exchange of our respective values through such a partnership, and thanks to Continental we are excited about the launch of the Best Goalkeeper award,” he concluded.
Idriss Akki, President Football Africa at Lagardère Sports, the exclusive marketing and commercial partner of Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), said, “We are delighted to partner with international tyre manufacturer, Continental, to inspire and engage even more fans with the Total Africa Cup of Nations. Continental have a long history of supporting football and a passion for winning and working together which embodies the spirit of African football.”
Through this move, Continental is driving forward the systematic regionalization of its sports sponsorship strategy. Continental aims to leverage the Total AFCON platform to continue to deliver exceptional benefits to its local communities, clients, partners and fans as they come together to support the best of African football.