Japanese car brand Nissan has extended its global partnership with City Football Group (CFG) and signed a new ambassador in Pep Guardiola.
Under the deal, Nissan will continue as the group’s Official Automotive Partner in the UK, US and Australia, with exposure at all CFG properties in those markets.
The rights include LED time and exposure at Manchester City men’s and women’s fixtures at the Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium, and LED time at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, and Melbourne City’s AAMI Park.
In a first for the partnership, Man City manager Pep Guardiola will also serve as a Nissan brand ambassador.
The announcement comes only three days before Man City is set to face CFG rival Yokohama F. Marinos as part of its pre-season Asia tour this weekend.
Yokohama F. Marinos is owned by Nissan and CFG holds a minority stake in the club. The match will take place at the Marinos’ Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
Damian Willoughby, senior vice-president of partnerships at CFG, said Nissan was the first partner to sponsor the group when it signed in 2014.
“It was the first global business to understand our vision and our objectives and see the value of using our multi-club model as a way to engage their audience in different key markets around the world,” said Willoughby.
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CFG’s majority-owned clubs are Manchester City, New York City and Melbourne City. CFG’s minority investments include Yokohama F. Marinos, Club Atlético Torque in Uruquay, Girona in Spain’s LaLiga, and Sichuan Jiuniu in China’s League Two.
CFG is majority owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), an investment and development company privately owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In December 2015, ADUG divested a 13-per-cent shareholding to a China Media Capital-led consortium, to create a platform for the growth of CFG clubs and companies in China and internationally.