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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today announced its partnership with dairy giant Yili for the 2021 to 2024 rights cycle. Yili joins the AFC family as the first Official Global Partner of the AFC national team competitions from China and will be the exclusive sponsor in the dairy products category, the water category, and other selected beverage categories.
The agreement encompasses all major AFC national team competitions, including but not limited to the final round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar featuring the Continent’s top-12 football nations, and Asia’s flagship national team competition – the 2023 AFC Asian Cup – China, which will be played in 10 state-of-the-art venues across China, as well as the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup – India and the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup – Uzbekistan.
As one of the top five dairy brands globally and the leading dairy company in Asia, Yili is committed to producing high quality dairy products and to promoting a healthy lifestyle for consumers through its contribution to the development of football in Asia.
As part of its comprehensive physical and digital activation rights, Yili will become the exclusive presenting partner of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 opening ceremony and enjoy prominent brand exposure through the provision of the official flag bearers of the tournament. Fans will be able to enjoy unique content like the Top Scorer Award presented by Yili in all AFC national team competitions, starting with the final round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar in September 2021.
Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said, “The AFC is delighted to have entered into a global partnership with Yili from 2021 to 2024.”
“Today’s agreement represents a partnership between two world-class brands. The AFC’s competitions have continued to grow in stature, and I am confident that this collaboration will promote the long-term objectives of both the AFC and Yili in forging stronger relationships with our fans and consumers respectively.”
“We thank Yili for their confidence and trust in Asian football and we look forward to working with Yili to ensure we continue to strengthen the game for all our stakeholders across the Continent.”
“We are delighted to become the AFC’s first official global partner from China,” said Zhang Jianqiu, CEO of Yili Group.
“In line with our corporate belief – ‘Yili means the best quality’ – Yili has pledged an unwavering commitment to producing quality products and being the most trusted global healthy food provider. Since 2005, Yili has been a proud partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, providing high-quality healthy products for athletes and consumers and actively promoting a healthy lifestyle.”
“Today, Yili is one of the world’s top five dairy producers and has been ranked as Asia’s leading company in the dairy sector for seven consecutive years. Yili has been servicing millions of global consumers with world-class quality nutrition products, which strongly resonates with the AFC’s ambition to promote a healthy lifestyle through football among millions of fans.”
“Together with the AFC, Yili is devoted to supporting the development of Asian football by bringing professional nutritional support for athletes and providing fans with high-quality, diversified and healthy products, as well as by promoting healthy lifestyles. We believe that deep collaborations enable stronger collective outcomes. In the future, we look forward towards working closely with the AFC to inspire, nourish and light up the football dream of everyone!”
The partnership was secured by the AFC’s exclusive commercial partner Football Marketing Asia (FMA) who will manage the rights delivery and work closely with Yili and the AFC on launching a range of activation campaigns to bring fans a truly unique and exciting experience.
Patrick Murphy, Board Member and CEO at FMA, commented, “We are proud to welcome Yili as an Official Global Partner of AFC national team football. Yili is highly experienced in sports sponsorship, and it is safe to say we share huge ambitions, especially with regards to the continued growth of Asia’s number one sport in China.”
“We also share a commitment to bring exceptional experiences to the millions of fans of AFC football. We are looking forward to collaborating with Yili’s teams through the cycle, starting immediately with the preparation for the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar and culminating in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup – China.”
