Philips has activated its option to become an Official Partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. The agreement also includes the FIFA Women’s World Cup China PR 2003.

This announcement was made today by FIFA and Philips at a media conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The two companies were represented by Gottfried Dutiné, Executive Vice President and member of Philips’ Board of Management, and Guido Tognoni, FIFA Director of Competitions, Marketing & TV.

The agreement confirms Philips long-term involvement with the game of football. Philips joins nine Official Partners – adidas, Avaya, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Deutsche Telekom, Gillette, McDonald’s, Toshiba and Yahoo! – for the 2006 FIFA World Cup*.

The product category of Philips, Europe’s largest electronics company, includes television, video, audio and lighting. The renowned Eindhoven, Holland-based company has a long-standing history of supporting the FIFA World Cup* and has been an Official Partner since the 1986 FIFA World Cup* in Mexico.

This clearly shows that despite the constantly changing environment of today’s world, the FIFA World Cup* represents strong values and a very attractive platform for effective marketing. The FIFA World Cup*, which was first staged over 70 years ago, provides a model for modern and integrated sports sponsoring, offering the Official Partners the possibility to target a large audience with individual tailor-made solutions.

‘We are very much looking forward to continuing the fruitful cooperation that we have enjoyed with Philips over the past 16 years and to offering them a great marketing platform on a global level in the future too’ said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. ‘Long-lasting partnerships like the relationship with Philips help FIFA to provide a great service to the worldwide football community on a consistent and ongoing basis’.

For further information please contact:

FIFA Communications Division
Andreas Herren
T: +41 1 254 9800
F: +41 1 384 9696