Spanish and European football champions Barcelona on Tuesday sealed a three-year partnership with a major Asian brewer in a bid to increase the club's regional brand image and fan base.
SINGAPORE: Spanish and European football champions Barcelona on Tuesday sealed a three-year partnership with a major Asian brewer in a bid to increase the club's regional brand image and fan base.
The partnership with Tiger beer, made by Singapore-listed Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), will see the Catalan club undertake major promotional activities to reach out to new fans in Southeast Asia.
Asian fans will have the chance to win paid trips to watch Barcelona games at its Camp Nou stadium, along with jerseys and other club memorabilia.
"Tiger is now the official partner of Futbol Club Barcelona in the Southeast Asian markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos," the club's international business director, Javier Munoa, said.
"This is going to be a very ambitious programme ... what we want to do is create many moments of contact between the fans and Barca," Munoa told AFP.
The Spanish champions won the domestic La Liga title for the second straight year and were crowned European champions in May when they beat Arsenal.
Southeast Asia is a key market if Barcelona is to be regarded as one of the world's five leading football clubs.
"We think there is room for up to five and we think in Asia, Southeast Asia is key," Munoa said, citing regional fans' good knowledge of the game.
"Compared to other regions like South America where they follow mainly their domestic league, here the fans follow their domestic leagues but they also follow the international leagues."
Munoa acknowledged English clubs Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are ahead in terms of building their brand image with Asian football fans but he sees the gap closing with such stars as Ronaldinho, FIFA's World Player of the Year who played for Brazil during the just-concluded World Cup.
"It helps a lot. Ronaldinho has become a global icon," said Munoa. "He's the best player in the world and he is also the most popular ... It's a good combination."
Asia Pacific Breweries owns interests in 26 brewery operations in 10 Asian-Pacific countries. The company is a joint venture between the Fraser and Neave Group of companies and Heineken of Holland.
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