July 4 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed dairy giant Yili as an Official Global Partner of the its national team competitions for the 2021 to 2024 rights cycle.
It is a significant deal for the AFC as while China is an AFC member nation, Yili is the confederation’s first Chinese global sponsorship partner. Chinese companies have generally invested their sponsorship dollars with FIFA and more recently UEFA.
Yili will be the exclusive sponsor in the dairy products category, the water category, and other selected beverage categories. The agreement covers all major AFC national team competitions, including the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup as well as 2023 Asian Cup that will be hosted in China. Also included are the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 and the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022.
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. Yili will also be the presenting sponsor of all Top Scorer across AFC competitions
AFC general secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “The AFC is delighted to have entered into a global partnership with Yili from 2021 to 2024. The 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.”
Yili ranks among the top 5 global dairy companies worldwide and has been ranked number one inAsia for seven consecutive years. Yili is also China’s largest dairy producer, offering the largest number of products.
“We are delighted to become the AFC’s first official global partner from China PR,” 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.
“… 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!”
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