Football Media

“FIFA World Cup(TM) Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola” To Arrive in Houston on May 2nd, 2010 As Part of Nine-Month 134,017 Kilometer Journey

Coca-Cola to Provide Tickets to Fans in the U.S. For a Chance to See the Authentic FIFA World Cup Trophy

World soccer’s greatest prize will spread excitement in Houston on May 2nd, 2010 when the FIFA World Cup(TM) Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola takes an unprecedented journey around the world in anticipation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM).

The Coca-Cola Company and FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, recently announced details of the route which will span 86 countries during the 225-day tour and allow thousands of fans around the globe to see the real solid-gold trophy in person.

The Trophy Tour, which will begin its journey from the FIFA Headquarters on September 21, 2009, will travel around the world before arriving in the host country of South Africa on May 4, 2010. The total distance the tour will travel is 134,017 kilometers (83,274 miles) or more than three times the circumference of Earth. The Tour was developed through an exclusive partnership between FIFA and Coca-Cola, a FIFA Partner and one of the organization’s longest-standing corporate partners.

During the Trophy Tour, fans will be given the chance to enjoy a rare close-up view of the authentic FIFA World Cup(TM) Trophy. Free tickets to the 2009/10 Trophy Tour will be made available to consumers via Coca-Cola promotions in countries on the route. At events in each city, fans will have the opportunity to have a souvenir photo taken of themselves with the trophy, view a special 3-D movie showcasing memorable moments of the FIFA World Cup, participate in interactive displays and enjoy other entertainment. Countries and dates of the route are subject to change.

“Fans will have the opportunity to personally experience part of football’s biggest event when we bring the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola back to the U.S.,” said Reinaldo Padua, assistant vice president, Hispanic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “Due to the growth of the Hispanic population and the popularity of soccer in the U.S., the 2010 FIFA World Cup provides Coca-Cola with a unique opportunity to connect with the new multicultural America, from Hispanic males to Soccer moms. The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is the beginning of a very exciting 2010 FIFA World cup U.S. program.”

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Coca-Cola again to stage the FIFA World Cup(TM) Trophy Tour,” said Jerome Valcke, FIFA Secretary General. “This year’s tour will excite and inspire even more fans by allowing them to get closer to the greatest prize in world football.”

The 2009/10 FIFA World Cup(TM) Trophy Tour draws on the huge success of the first global Trophy Tour held in 2006. In 2006, the tour visited 31 cities in 29 countries, covering 102,570 kilometers (63,734 miles) with millions of fans around the world enjoying the chance to have a closer look at football’s most famous prize.

The authentic, FIFA World Cup(TM) is awarded to the winning nation at each tournament. The iconic trophy measures 36.8 centimetres (14.5 inches) high, weighs in at 6,175 grams (13.61 pounds) and is made of solid, 18-carat gold. The winners retain it until the next tournament and are awarded a replica that is gold-plated, rather than solid gold. The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite, whiles the bottom side of the Trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974.

The Coca-Cola Company has had a formal association with Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 1974 and an official sponsorship of FIFA World Cup(TM) that began in 1978. Coca-Cola has had stadium advertising at every FIFA World Cup(TM) since 1950 and is a long-time supporter of football at all levels, from grassroots to the FIFA World Cup(TM).

Coca-Cola North America’s 2009-2010 FIFA World Cup program will offer consumers the opportunity to experience the World Cup up close and personal. From in-store activations and special packaging to the Trophy Tour and all the way to South Africa, Coca-Cola will play an essential role in helping fans enjoy the excitement of the World Cup. The Coca-Cola World Cup program is designed to provide occasions for fans to celebrate and refresh themselves after every goal and every victory.

These efforts are part of the Company’s continuing commitment to revitalize the U.S. sparkling beverage category by sharing moments of happiness through each of its marketing programs. The 2009-2010 FIFA World Cup and FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola will be supported by a fully integrated marketing and advertising campaign featuring both traditional and non-traditional media, including television, radio, digital, out-of-home, and point-of-sale.

Source: The Coca-Cola Company

On 24 and 25 June 2009, the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa will provide the platform to deliver a clear statement once again to the world about football’s united stance against racism. Thus, the two semi-final matches of the “Festival of Champions” will be dedicated to the fight against all forms of discrimination.

A few minutes before kick-off, the two team captains will read a declaration to encourage players, officials and fans around the world to say “no to racism”, not only in football but also in society in general. Both teams and the match officials will also pose together with a banner displaying the unequivocal “Say no to Racism” message as part of the official match protocol.

“Football is a mirror of society and unfortunately, even in this modern age, our game is still blighted by scourges such as racism. However, football has the power to unite players and coaches, binding them together through the values of discipline and mutual respect. We say no to racism but equally we say yes to solidarity, respect and tolerance, the basic values of our game. There is no place in football for racism,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.

Although discrimination of any form should be rejected 365 days of the year – as underlined in FIFA’s Statutes – the FIFA Anti-Discrimination Days seek to highlight this message in front of a global audience of millions.

“It is as a South African and as an international freedom fighter that I have accepted the challenge to make a common cause with FIFA’s fight against racial intolerance. It is clear that this initiative will not solve the problem in general but it sends a clear message,” said Tokyo Sexwale, Minister of Human Settlements, South African human rights activist and member of the FIFA Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility.

FIFA recognises the unique role it has in coordinating opinions and expertise from all corners of the globe to share experiences and to find effective solutions to tackle racism and other forms of discrimination.

“We have made tremendous progress in the fight against racism, but a great amount of work still needs to be done. There has to be a policy of zero tolerance towards racism, and a sense of collective responsibility among everyone involved. Football can be a wonderful vehicle to bring everyone together, and these Anti-Discrimination Days are a way of laying down a solid basis from which to move forward,” said Paul Elliott an Ambassador for the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, who played in England, Scotland and Italy during a twelve year football career.

FIFA held its first Anti-Discrimination Day on 7 July 2002 following a resolution against discrimination passed at the FIFA Congress in Buenos Aires in 2001.

CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) series kicks off on July 3 with live streaming and exclusive tournament mobile content available only on the Sprint Now Network(TM)

Mexican Soccer Legend Luis Roberto Alves ‘Zague’ joins Sprint at select games nationally

As an official sponsor of the popular 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) tournament, Sprint brings soccer fans closer to their favorite sport than ever before with exclusive mobile content, available only on the Sprint Now Network(TM). For the first time, fans can be a part of the action by experiencing full-length live streaming of the games directly on their Sprint TV-capable phones. Through their phones, subscribers will also have front row seats to follow CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) from the opening game kickoff in Los Angeles to the finals in New York with real-time game updates about their teams playing in the tournament, related news and tournament statistics, among other fun features.

Additionally, Sprint has teamed up with one of the most popular Mexican soccer legends, Luis Roberto Alves “Zague”, to provide a one-of-a-kind pre-game experience at select matches in some U.S. cities.

“Soccer is a way of life, not only for me but for all fans. It’s so exciting to see how Sprint has created the perfect synergy between sports and technology,” Zague said. “As a former soccer player, I am thankful to join a partnership where soccer fans are able to stay connected to the game by receiving up-to-the-minute information.”

At the games, fans can visit Sprint Mobile Experience to try firsthand how easy it is to enjoy real-time matches on the go on a wide range of Sprint phones.

Exclusive Sprint CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) content

Developed in partnership with Univision Movil, only Sprint subscribers will have exclusive access to CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) on their phones. Subscribers can visit sprint.com/copa on their mobile phones to enjoy:

• Live streaming of full-length games available for the first time ever on mobile devices
• Video highlights of goals, top plays and commentary! (1)
• Text alerts for results, game reminders and the latest team news
• Breaking news, photo galleries and TV schedules
• Ringers, screensavers and fight songs

“With the CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM), Sprint continues its commitment in solidifying partnerships that ignite our Hispanic subscribers’ passions, like soccer,” explained Kymber Umana, Hispanic marketing manager for Sprint. “Our ability to give our customers exclusive tournament content directly on their Sprint mobile phone is a sure bet that they will never miss a part of the CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) action this summer.”

Finally, Sprint’s sponsorship includes a national television spot during Spanish-language soccer broadcasts, as well as multiple US Hispanic-targeted online creative banners on soccer and social networking sites and a website, www.sprint.com/copa. Sprint pays tribute to soccer fans with an exciting and humorous commercial titled, “‘Life or Futbol’, with Sprint you can have both,” that can be seen via a 30-second TV spot featuring the Sprint exclusive Samsung Instinct(R) s30(TM)(2). Existing customers will also receive informative newsletters and emails detailing exclusive content available on the most popular Sprint phones.

For more information about the CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM) tournament and to get a list of all the upcoming games, visit http://concacaf.com/competitions/goldcup/2009/history.aspx.

Visit www.sprint.com/copa to learn about Sprint exclusive content available to subscribers.

The Arabic version of FIFA.com has been officially launched, becoming the fifth language of FIFA’s Official Website, alongside English, French, German and Spanish. The Arabic version of FIFA.com is presented by ART (Arab Radio & Television), one of FIFA’s long-term Broadcast Partners.

The move to include Arabic reflects the fact that it is not only the fastest-growing language on the internet (seeing a rise of 2,063.7 per cent between 2000 and 2008), but also that three FIFA competitions are taking part in the Arabic-speaking world during the course of the next six months.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup (Egypt), the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup (both in the United Arab Emirates) are all keenly anticipated events in the football calendar and, with Egypt and Iraq qualifying for the forthcoming edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, the desire for football information among the globe’s 350 million Arabic speakers is set to be significant.

“With the aim of “touching the world”, FIFA takes world-class football action to every corner of the planet and our broad range of competitions shows the many faces of football. I am delighted that we have emphasised this aim by adding another language to our website and providing a service for the Arabic-speaking world,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. “People in this part of the world are passionate about football and we are very much looking forward to the tournaments in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates this year. I am confident that the Arabic channel of FIFA.com will prove to be extremely popular.”

CEO of ART, Eng. Abed Alaziz Yamani, said: “ART are proud to be associated with the Arabic website on FIFA.com. It deepens our close relationship with FIFA and is recognition of football’s importance to our region. I’m sure it will be a huge success.”

The new version offers a full service for its users, with all of FIFA.com’s current features translated into Arabic. As well as reading the latest news, interviews and features on the site, people can also sign-up to the FIFA.com Club, a service which allows football fans from all over the world to communicate with each other, play games and also comment on the website’s articles.

There will also be exclusive content from FIFA.com’s Arabic editors, as well as news feeds which will ensure that the website offers comprehensive coverage of local and world football, 365 days a year.

The Arab Radio and Television (ART) network is the leading producer of premium Arabic and international sport, family programming and entertainment worldwide. ART has a key role to source, produce, and collate sport and entertainment solutions for the AMC groups, (Arab Media Corporation) which is arguably the largest single Arab media holding company in the world. ART produces over 6,000 live and recorded shows every year including sports programmes, family oriented dramas, series, plays, music videos, and documentaries.