SUZUKI RENEWS ITS TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF AFF CUP

The AFF Suzuki Cup is Southeast Asia’s biggest football event and ratings leader. This year’s competition, featuring the region’s top eight teams, will be co-hosted by Indonesia and Vietnam from December 1st to 29th.

Suzuki has been a title-sponsor of the AFF Cup since 2008.

“It is an honor for us, Suzuki Motor Corporation, to support the AFF Cup, an event which we have proudly title-sponsored since 2008. The AFF Suzuki Cup is the biggest, most exciting event in ASEAN, uniting its people through a common passion – football,” said Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer, and Chief Director of Overseas Sales.

“We believe that through our sponsorship of this event, fans will have the opportunity to feel and experience a unique connection with Suzuki automobiles, motorcycles and outboards; products which are very much part of households in the region.

“ASEAN is a key market for our stylish and reliable cars and motorcycles, and we believe that our sponsorship of the AFF Suzuki Cup will continue to reinforce our brand values and provide an important platform to generate tremendous visibility and exposure for our brand and its products across this region. We also wish to thank the AFF for continuing to grow this event from strength to strength,” added Suzuki.

“We are delighted that the ASEAN Football Federation will be continuing to work together with Suzuki as our title sponsor for the AFF Cup 2010. We welcome Suzuki’s continued commitment to ASEAN’s best national team football competition and with their support we can continue to develop the beautiful game in the region,” said HE Tengku Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Rithaudeen, President of the ASEAN Football Federation

“The popularity and strength of the AFF Suzuki Cup has continued to grow since its conception and we will be making sure that this edition of the tournament will be the best yet,” he added.

The agreement was sealed by the Singapore-based World Sport Group, the exclusive marketing partners of the ASEAN Football Federation and organizers of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

“Suzuki’s partnership will be a key driving force behind the continued growth and success of this competition. We are also confident that in turn, this event will deliver the brand’s broader marketing and sponsorship goals in the region,” said Ian Mathie, Senior Vice-President, Football – South Asia, ASEAN and Australia.

The top two teams from a qualifying round to be held from October 22nd to 30th this year in Vientiane, Laos will join the top six seeded ASEAN nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – to make up the final field of eight nations.

The official draw will be held in Hanoi on September 15th. The semi-final and final matches will be played on a home and away format. All games will be broadcast on ESPN Star Sports and on terrestrial stations across the region.

About AFF Suzuki Cup

The AFF Cup is a biennial football competition organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), accredited by FIFA and contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia and Vietnam have been chosen as co-hosts for the group stage of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010. Indonesia has previously co-hosted the tournament twice – in 2002 and 2008, while Vietnam were hosts in 1998, and co-hosts in 2004.

A qualifying round will be held from 22 to 30 October 2010 in Vientiane, Laos. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and Timor Leste will compete in a round-robin tournament for the two remaining spots in the tournament proper.

A total of eight teams will vie for the AFF SUZUKI CUP trophy and US$100,000 in prize money from 1 to 29 December 2010. The top two teams from the qualifiers will join the top six seeded ASEAN nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to make up the final field of eight nations.

The semi-finals and finals will be played on a home and away format.

About World Sport Group

Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group is Asia’s leading sports marketing, media and event management company, with a roster of football, golf and cricket events. The company has been at the forefront of Asian sport since 1992, featuring almost 600 days of sports events and more than 1000 hours of sports programming annually, across more than 30 countries in the region.

World Sport Group is the exclusive marketing partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The company is also a major stake-holder in Asian golf as organizer of some of the region’s top events including Barclays Singapore Open, the Australian Open and the Mercedes-Benz Tour. It is also the global marketing and media partners of OneAsia and the exclusive global media partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

About Suzuki Motor Corporation

The Suzuki Motor Corporation is one of the rare manufacturers in the world to produce both motorcycles and automobiles. The company designs and manufactures passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs and outboard motors. Its motorcycle products range from scooters to large motorcycles to meet the diverse demands of its customers around the world.

Suzuki’s automobile business has a large share of the Japanese mini car market and develops a range of unique products such as SUVs and mini-vans for the global market, focusing on the compact car market in response to increasing concerns for the good of the environment.

The company vigorously promotes technical cooperation through numerous joint ventures overseas and its main production facilities are located in 23 countries and regions overseas, enabling Suzuki to operate as a global organization serving 196 countries and regions.