Kia continues its support of the worlds most popular sport by sponsoring UEFAs flagship national team competitions until 2017 as the official EUROTOP Sponsor of UEFA
The view from the Summit
Here at metro Detroit Kia dealer Summit Place Kia, we wanted to make you aware of Kia’s European sponsorships or, as we like to put it, what Kia Motors is doing “across the pond.”
Earlier this year, Kia announced that it was continuing its sponsorship of the world’s most popular sport – football or, as it is known by here in the U.S., soccer. UEFA, for those of you unfamiliar with it, stands for the Union of European Football Associations and represents the national football associations of Europe while running the Europe-wide national and club competitions.
UEFA is the biggest of six continental federations of FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association or International Federation of Association Football) and it is also the strongest of the federations both financially and in terms of talent at the club level, due to the high salaries paid to players in Europe.
UEFA EUROTOP are the competitions that include the upcoming UEFA EURO 2012™ and UEFA EURO 2016™, the finals tournaments of UEFA’s flagship national team competition that are held every four years.
And so with that bit of background information, here is the official news release from Kia Motors in Korea:
Photo caption: (left to right) Steve S. Yang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, Michel Platini, President of UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, and Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation.
(SEOUL) – Kia Motors Corporation will serve as the official sponsor of the UEFA EURO 2012™ and UEFA EURO 2016™.
“As the official EUROTOP Sponsor of UEFA, Kia will make the utmost efforts towards the success of UEFA professional national team events until 2017,” said Mong-Koo Chung, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman, before the signing ceremony. “Our commitment and support of UEFA will help raise awareness of the Kia brand and fortify our position as a global company.”
A strategic sponsorship agreement with UEFA was signed today by Hyoung-Keun Lee, Kia Motors Corporation President, and Michel Platini, President of UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, extending the company’s sponsorship to cover the 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Football Championship.
“We are truly happy to extend the sponsorship agreement with the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, one of the world’s most promising companies. We will closely cooperate with Kia’s efforts to advance its presence through football sponsorship,” added Platini.
The UEFA European Football Championship final tournament, the most prestigious football competition in Europe, is held every four years, featuring 16 countries drawn into four groups of four teams. Poland and Ukraine were selected to co-host the UEFA Euro 2012™ competition.
The UEFA EURO 2016™ final tournament will feature 24 countries, up from the 16 nations at UEFA EURO 2012™. France, Italy and Turkey have submitted their bids to host the UEFA EURO 2016™.
Kia began its official sponsorship of FIFA in 2007, for the FIFA 2010 World Cup™. For UEFA EURO 2008™, Kia was one of UEFA’s EUROTOP Partners and today’s ceremony further continues its reign as one of the most visible brands in football, the world’s most popular sport.
Under the agreement signed today, Kia Motors will enjoy main sponsorship rights for all UEFA EURO events, including the rights to use logos, emblems as well as signage display in the stadiums. Kia will also provide vehicles from its exciting young-at-heart line-up to be used during the tournament.
With an estimated audience of 750 million people in Europe alone and the competition attracting a worldwide audience, the benefits of Kia’s EUROTOP partnership with UEFA are tremendous.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship was shown in a total of 200 countries, with accumulated viewers reaching approximately 6.6 billion people. Visitors to the football stadium numbered over one million.
As a result of its sponsorship of the UEFA EURO championships and the FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa™ and FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil™, Kia is firmly on track to meeting its goals of raising its brand awareness among core consumers who are young-at-heart. Kia will continue its wide variety of marketing programs leading up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa™.
No games, just sports
Although we’re interested in sports, we don’t play games when it comes to selling you a Kia. To schedule an appointment, or for more information on the entire line-up of high quality, fuel-efficient, affordable Kias, you can contact us at our Waterford store by calling 248-682-6002 or by dialing 734-397-9900 for our Canton store. You can also check us out on the web at www.summitplacekia.com. If you just want to stop in for a visit, our two dealerships located at 2200 Elizabeth Lake Road in Waterford, just behind the Summit Place mall and in Canton at 41840 Michigan Avenue, just west of I-275. Once you’re there, you’ll see why everyone at Michigan and metro Detroit’s sales leader, and Proud Automotive Sponsor of Michigan Athletics, would “Love to see ‘ya” in a Summit Place Kia!
