DILI (2 July 2021) – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced their partnership with dairy giant Yili for the 2021 to 2024 rights cycle. Yili join the AFC family as the first Official Global Partner of the AFC national team competitions from China PR 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 AFC Asian Cup China 2023 – which will be played in 10 state-of-the-art venues across China PR, as well as the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 and the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022.
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 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 health products for athletes and consumers and actively promoting a healthy lifestyle.
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. – www.the-afc.com
