Amsterdam, 28 August 2015 - As Europe's top football clubs gear up for another exciting season, Heineken NV has announced an ambitious new sponsorship of European club football, with its international quality brand Amstel becoming a sponsor of the UEFA Europa League.
The announcement sees a welcome return to football for Amstel, one of Europe's leading beers, which has a rich heritage backing elite European football, having previously been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League from 1994-2005.
Walter Drenth, Senior Global Director International Brands at HEINEKEN, commented: "Amstel's previous 11 year partnership with UEFA played a significant role in the brand becoming a truly international player in the global beer market. Amstel has a proud heritage in supporting football at different levels and we are delighted that the brand is back involved with elite European club football. With the evident synergies between the UEFA Europa League and the international Amstel brand we look forward to another fruitful partnership for years to come."
Commenting on the announcement, Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director of UEFA Events SA said: "We are delighted to be welcoming Amstel once again into the European professional club football landscape. Amstel is a brand with historical heritage in European professional football and thus a welcome and notable addition to the UEFA Europa League commercial platform. Having Amstel on board successfully completes the commercial partner family for the UEFA Europa League 2015-18 and so we now look forward to beginning to work with Amstel and the rest of the sponsor partner portfolio towards a successful next three years."
The new deal positions the HEINEKEN company as the key player in European club football with its two leading brands leading the charge in the top two cup competitions of the game across the continent. Building on the existing successful partnership with UEFA, the deal also promotes Heineken and Amstel as the beers of choice for midweek football fans through Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and continues HEINEKEN's strong support of football around the world.
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About HEINEKEN
HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, the Group has a powerful portfolio of more than 250 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business and delivers value for all stakeholders. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We employ 81,000 people and operate more than 160 breweries in 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY). Most recent information is available on HEINEKEN's website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com and follow us via @HEINEKENCorp.
About Amstel®
The Amstel Brouwerij, producing the beer of the same name, was founded in Amsterdam in 1870. It was one of a handful of breweries producing the increasingly popular Bavarian-style 'lager' beer. In 1968 HEINEKEN acquired Amstel. The distinctive, golden, Amstel® beer with its mildly bitter taste and excellent quality has become widely known around the world. Alongside its continued popularity in its native Netherlands, it is currently available in more than 60 countries worldwide. The first Amstel brand extension arrived in the 1980s when Amstel Light was developed for the US market. Following this success, today the Amstel portfolio range has grown to include Amstel Lager (Africa), Premium Pilsener, Amstel Radler and Amstel Malta.
