The German-based automotive manufacturing company Continental, on Wednesday announced that its Tires Division will be the official sponsor of the Total African Cup of Nations until 2023, following a partnership agreement signed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
This partnership will include the next three editions of the tournament in 2019, 2021 and 2023, which will be held in Egypt (June 21 to July 19), Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire, respectively.
“The Africa Cup of Nations is the most important sporting competition on the African continent, a region where we are aiming for increased growth over the coming years,” said Jon Ander Garcia, the Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at Continental.
“Africa is a major emerging market for Continental and football is certainly the most popular sport. This sponsorship will bring us closer to consumers and bring us exciting and inspiring initiatives through the universal language of football.”
Continental’s package will also include the exclusive sponsorship of the “Best Goalkeeper” Award. As the last line of defense for a team, the goalkeeper’s role reflects Continental’s safety credentials, as the manufacturer has been recognized as a pioneer in road safety for more than 140 years.
Safety is also at the heart of Continental’s Vision Zero Initiative, which aims to make roads safer in the future to achieve zero deaths, zero injuries and zero accidents.
“We are pleased to welcome Continental as the new sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations. This new partnership shows how our flagship tournament is not only the most watched football event in Africa, but also the most important sporting event on the continent,” said CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad.
He added: “We are very optimistic about the exchange of our respective values in such a partnership, and thanks to Continental, we look forward to launching the Best Goalie Award.”
HA/fss/abj/APA