LONDON, England, June 4- General Motors and Manchester United have signed a five year sponsorship contract to become the club’s official automotive partner.
The sponsorship will also cover the newly created Chevrolet China Cup, which is part of Manchester United 2012 Tour, delivered to the world by DHL.
According to the General Motors Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick, Chevrolet will become Man United’s official automotive partner.
“As Chevrolet continues to grow as a global brand, this is the right time to make a commitment and establish a presence in international football,” said Ewanick.
He added, “Our ambition is to connect with football in a fashion that transcends traditional sponsorship. We want to bring to life the deep appreciation we have for the game by celebrating the best that football has to offer and introducing uncommon opportunities for fans to immerse themselves in the game.”
Despite losing their status as Premier League champions to Manchester City, Manchester United still remain at the forefront of the world game.
Manchester United has a record 19 league titles and is arguably the most popular sports team in the world, with hundreds of millions of fans across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
In April Forbes magazine ranked it the world’s most valuable football team, worth $2.24 billion.
Addressing Journalists at the ceremony, United Chief Executive David Gill said, “Our preseason tour is an important process for the Club as it allows us to prepare for the season ahead as well as engage with our fans and partners in different markets.
We had a fantastic amount of support from our fans last time we played a pre-season game in China.
We were overwhelmed by the passion and excitement generated by the fans who came out to support us, and we hope that many more join us again this year.
This is the first time we will play for the Chevrolet China Cup and I think it marks a fantastic start to what we believe it will be a long and successful relationship with Chevrolet.”
Chevrolet China Cup will commence in July, and it will feature matches in Shanghai and another Chinese city.
This will be Chevrolet’s first global football sponsorship in the brand’s 101-year history centres on a commitment focused on enhancing the experience for supporters of the game.
“More than 3.5 billion people follow soccer and only about 400 million people follow the NFL,” added Ewanick, referring to the US National Football League, which controls the Super Bowl. “We have to go where the customers are,” he said.
Ewanick declined to put a dollar figure on GM’s support for Manchester United, but he said the Chevrolet brand, long identified with American sports, now sells 60 percent of its vehicles outside the United States.
