International tyre manufacturer, Continental has announced that its Tire Division is to be Official Sponsor of the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) until 2023, as part of a five-year agreement signed with the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF).
Continental Tyre explained on Monday that the extensive rights package of the sponsorship agreement includes the next three editions of the tournament for 2019, 2021 and 2023 that will be held in Egypt (21 June – 19 July), 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 defence, 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.
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.
Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2018, Continental generated preliminary sales of ?44.4 billion and currently employs around 244,000 people in 60 countries and markets.
The Tire division has 24 production and development locations worldwide
