The Tsingtao brewery has agreed a three-year deal to sponsor the Asian Football Confederation’s club competitions.
The deal makes Tsingtao the first Chinese company to form a commercial partnership with the AFC on the back of Chinese Super League title-holder Guangzhou Evergrande’s triumph in the 2013 Champions League – the final of which was the most-watched sporting event on Chinese television over the last 12 months – with more than 30 million people watching the second leg against FC Seoul.
As well as supporting the Champions League, Tsingtao’s association with club football in Asia extends to the brewery backing the AFC Cup, the AFC President’s Cup and the AFC Futsal Club Championship.
World Sport Group, the exclusive marketing partner of the AFC, brokered the agreement.
Nick Mould, World Sport Group’s president in East Asia, said: “Guangzhou’s success in the AFC Champions League led to record television viewing figures and a total attendance figure totalling over 110,000 across both legs of the final and it is important to build on this to ensure significant value for our commercial partners.”