Press Release
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Continental becomes Official Sponsor of
2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates
 Sponsorship designed to increase awareness of the premium Continental tire brand
in the APAC region and the Middle East
 Rights package also includes the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the final round of Asian
qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and the 2018 AFC U22 Championship
 In Asia and the Middle East, Continental can build on 20 years’ experience in the
sponsorship of the world's leading football events
Shanghai, China/Hanover, Germany, November 12, 2015. International tire manufacturer
Continental today announced that its Tire Division is to be Official Sponsor of the 2019 AFC Asian
Cup which will be staged in the United Arab Emirates. Through this move, Continental is driving
forward the systematic regionalization of its sports sponsorship strategy. The extensive rights
package also includes the qualifiers for the 12 best teams in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, the
2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in
Russia, and the AFC 2018 U22 Championship, where the qualifying places for the 2020 Olympic
Games in Tokyo will also be awarded.
“The AFC Asian Cup is the most important football competition in the APAC region and the Middle
East, where we are looking to grow our market share in the next few years. To support this growth
we are keen to actively promote our premium brand and position it in the perception of car drivers
as a possible alternative in the car tire segment,” says Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive
Board of Continental responsible for the Tire Division. “We also expect the media coverage of the
qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to be particularly
extensive in both regions and are therefore assuming that we will achieve a marked increase in
awareness of our premium Continental brand by 2020.”
According to AFC Acting General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John: “The partnership with
Continental underlines the growing importance and attraction of football in Asia and in
particular our exciting and successful flagship competitions – the Asian Cup and the
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Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: +49 (0)511 – 938 2285
Press Release
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Women’s Asian Cup as well as the under 22 competition. Continental has a long and
distinguished history in football and we thank them for their commitment to the AFC as this
signifies another important milestone in our continued development of both the sport and our
commercial portfolio in Asia.”
Lagardère Sports, the Asian Football Confederation‘s (AFC) exclusive marketing and
commercial partner, brokered the deal between Continental and AFC.
“We’ve had some very positive experiences of sponsorship activities in the run-up to the
2015 AFC Asian Cup that took place early this year in Australia, as well as with Team China
Football since 2014, and we will be systematically continuing these activities,” adds Philipp
von Hirschheydt, who is responsible for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires Replacement
segment in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at Continental. “The timing of this commitment is
simply ideal for us, because at the same time we are engaged in substantially expanding the
annual capacity of our main passenger and light truck tire plant in Hefei, China. This is set to
rise from its current level of five million units to as many as 13 million units in the next few
years to meet the growing demand for our regionally manufactured premium products. After
we invested some €250 million in the initial phase, this expansion phase will account for
another approximately €250 million by 2019.”
Today Continental can look back on more than 20 years of successful sponsorship of the most
important football events worldwide. And with current sponsorship deals covering UEFA EURO
2016TM in France and the European qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which
run until November 2017, as well as Major League Soccer in the US and Canada up until 2018,
and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, the Corporation holds attractive
rights packages in the world’s most important regional markets. At Continental, football
sponsorship is traditionally fully integrated into the Company’s marketing communications.
At www.ContiSoccerWorld.com Continental provides comprehensive coverage of the various
competitions.
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Klaus Engelhart, Phone: +49 (0)511 – 938 2285
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Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation is the continental governing body for football in Asia and comprises 47
countries. The pinnacle competition for the national teams is the Asian Cup (won in 2015 by Australia)
and the Women’s Asian Cup (won in 2014 by Japan). The 2019 Asian Cup will be held in the United Arab
Emirates. In 2016 the AFC U22 Championship will be held in Qatar between Jan 12-30.
Continental AG
Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable
partner, the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides
sustainable, safe, comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2014, the corporation generated
preliminary sales of approximately €34.5 billion with its five divisions, Tires, Chassis & Safety, Interior,
Powertrain, and ContiTech. Continental employs approximately 205,000 people in 53 countries.
www.continental-corporation.com
Tire Division
The Tire Division currently has 24 production and development locations worldwide. The broad product
range and continuous investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and ecologically
efficient mobility. As one of the world's leading tire manufacturers with more than 47,000 employees, the
Tire Division achieved sales of €9.8 billion in 2014.
Passenger and Light Truck Tires
Continental is one of the leading manufacturers of passenger and light truck tires in Europe and the
world's fourth largest passenger tire manufacturer in the original equipment and replacement market.
The product development focus of the Continental premium brand is to optimize all safety-relevant
characteristics, while simultaneously minimizing rolling resistance.
www.continental-tires.com
Sponsorship
The Tire Division is an official sponsor of UEFA EURO 2016TM in France, Major League Soccer in the
US and Canada, and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
www.contisoccerworld.com
Contact:
Alexander Bahlmann
Head of Communications / Public Relations Passenger
and Light Truck Tires (PLT)
Continental AG I Tire division
Buettnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 2615
Fax:
+49 (0) 511 938 2455
alexander.bahlmann@conti.de
www.continental-tires.com
Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: +49 (0)511 – 938 2285
Klaus Engelhart
Press Spokesman Passenger and Light Truck/
Two-Wheel Tires
Communications / Public Relations PLT
Continental AG I Tire division
Buettnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 2285
Fax:
+49 (0) 511 938 2455
klaus.engelhart@conti.de
www.contisoccerworld.com