Carlsberg gets behind Wembley Stadium in £6m deal

LONDON - Carlsberg has signed up as one of the four founding partners of the new Wembley Stadium in a four-year deal expected to be worth 拢6m.

The Danish beer brand joins clothing giant Umbro and Microsoft in signing the 拢1.5m-a-year deals and will have exclusive pouring rights at the stadium at all events, except those sponsored by rivals such as the Carling Cup.

The final partner is expected to be announced over the coming weeks, with Pepsi being tipped as one of the final bidders.

To celebrate the partnership, Carlsberg is producing 90,000 limited edition Official Beer Wembley Stadium bottles, one for every fan that the stadium can hold, which will give drinkers an opportunity to own a piece of history.

Gareth Roberts, sponsorship controller of Carlsberg UK, said: "We are absolutely delighted to be founding partners of what is probably the best stadium in the world.

"This partnership will allow us to offer Carlsberg drinkers unique opportunities to experience world-class events at this fantastic stadium."

Michael Cunnah, chief executive of Wembley Stadium, said: "Carlsberg has played an important role in English football for many years and we are thrilled that it now has a major role to play in the operation of the new national stadium."

Carlsberg is also the official beer of the England team, sponsors of the FA Cup and club sponsors of Premiership club Liverpool.

The 拢750m Wembley Stadium is due to open for the FA Cup Final on May 13, although it has been widely reported that it will not be finished by that date, with contractor Multiplex admitting that there only a 70% chance that the stadium will open in time. Work on the stadium had been expected to finish in March 31.
 
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .