Brazilian beer brand Brahma has signed a new deal to sponsor the Copa América, South America’s biggest international football event.
The deal, signed between parent company AB InBev and South American football fed Conmebol, is a one-off deal for this year’s tournament in Brazil, and was launched yesterday at the group-stage draw.
AB InBev has partnered with the Brazilian Football Confederation since the early 2000s, but activates the partnership through its Brazilian brands Brahma and Guaraná Antarctica.
Under AB InBev’s World Cup Sponsor deal, the beer group chose to activate Brahma in Brazil during the 2014 and 2018 World Cup, rather than its flagship brand Budweiser.
Fabio Wolff, head of Brazilian sports marketing agency Wolff Sport & Entertainment, told SportBusiness Sponsorship this morning: “Brahma continues to be the main beer sponsor in the Brazilian football market, although other smaller beer players like Schin, Probida and Itaipava have been investing huge amounts of money in select competitions.”
Schin currently sponsors the Copa do Nordeste, Proibida sponsors the Campeonato Paulista and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, and Itaipava previously sponsored the Copa do Brasil and Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, but these competitions reach a much smaller audience than those targeted by Brahma.
Brahma also partners with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A clubs Palmeiras, São Paulo, Fluminense and Santos, where the brand regularly invests in academy facilities and stadium renovation projects through its philanthropic arm, the Brahma Fund.
Brahma’s main rival in Brazil, Dutch beer brand Heineken, is already a partner of Conmebol, but will activate at this year’s Copa América through its Amstel brand.