Castle Lager, one of the oldest commercial breweries in South Africa, has expanded its current agreement with Spanish football giants, FC Barcelona. The newly expanded regional sponsorship agreement will see beer brewer able to leverage the partnership with FC Barcelona in even more countries within Africa.
Castle lager’s sponsorship agreement sees it designated as the official beer of the popular La Liga club and despite having the contractual freedom to leverage its relationship in many parts of the African continent, the expansion of the agreement will see Castle Lager able to market its relationship also in Kenya and Nigeria, both listed among the leading markets for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Africa.
The newly modified deal suggests that Castle Lager have so far adjudged the relationship to be worth its weight in media and leveraging mileage giving the massive popularity of not just FC Barcelona but also football in most African countries. Having elected to add Kenya and Nigeria, the lager brand is likely eager to explore the strategic advantages of tapping into the passion of soccer-mad fans in both countries in a bid to raise its brand strength and share in the fiercely competitive alcohol drinks markets.
Already, the initial agreement between SAB Miller, parent company of the Castle Lager brand and FC Barcelona, was a landmark of sorts as it was the first sponsorship agreement that Barcelona had signed with an African company. Previously, FC Barcelona had appeared in local marketing communications campaigns of telecommunications company Etisalat in Nigeria but this was simply an offshoot of a deal with the parent company in the Middle East which allowed Etisalat market the association in Nigeria.
Perhaps, FC Barcelona is also weighing leaving more footprints on the African continent like clubs in England have done in the past. Last summer, FC Barcelona played a friendly watched by thousands in Morocco and the mass appeal of football on the continent will most likely have caught the company’s interest.
Signalling its increased recognition of the African market, FC Barcelona’s Chief Commercial Officer, Laurent Colette expressed delight with the deal saying it brings the prestigious club closer to its millions of fans in Africa.
“Africa is becoming a very important player in the world of football, with millions of fans following the best players around the world, and also thanks to the continent’s fabulous talent,” said Laurent Colette,
“Through our association with Castle, we are getting closer to Africa and providing more communication platforms between FC Barcelona and African fans.”
Castle lager have an extensive history of sport sponsorship as they are Premier Sponsor of the South African Football Team (Bafana Bafana), Team Sponsor of the South African Cricket Team (Castle Lager Proteas), Associate Sponsor of the South African Rugby Team (Springboks), Official beer supplier to the HSBC Sevens World Series Leg: Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, Official beer supplier to the Vodacom Super Rugby Tournament and Official beer supplier to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
