Budweiser, the pale lager beer brand owned by Anheuser-Busch, will hold the 2008 Budweiser Football Cup (Bud Cup) six-on-six international final on May 5 in Manchester United’s Old Trafford. Budweiser has been organising this tournament every year since 2002, but this is the first time it is providing an opportunity to Indian football fans to participate and compete in the Bud Cup.
The beer company entered India in the middle of 2007 in a joint venture with Crown International. The Bud Cup is a 20 minute six-on-six (six players on each side) football tournament with 18 teams of amateur footballers from around the world. To be part of the tournament, participants need not be professional football players. Enthusiastic fans can form a team of six players and get themselves registered on www.livethedream.in between February 20 and March 14.
After the registrations, 25 teams from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and 200 teams from Goa will be chosen through a lucky draw and compete in the regional finals in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Goa on March 29 and 30. The regional winners will then compete for the title of national champions in Mumbai in the first week of April. The winning team will compete with 17 other teams from around the world at the Manchester United stadium at Old Trafford in Manchester, in the UK.
To promote the event, Budweiser has fabricated a special float-on-wheels that will embark on a 39 day journey across 10 cities in India. The float will have football games that will allow fans to interact with brand and the concept of the Bud Cup. Fans can register their teams on the float itself. Starting February 21, the float will go around cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Manipal, Mangalore, Sakleshpur, Mysore, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
Budweiser has tied up with Radio City and Radio Indigo to run contests and promos. The print and outdoor advertising campaigns will start on February 20. The Internet will also play a crucial role, through the Live the Dream website, in creating awareness about the Bud Cup in India. Budweiser has not hired an advertising agency in India for its promotion work. All the marketing initiatives are being taken care of in-house.
When asked about the potential of football as a game in India, Rob Newman, sales and marketing director, Crown Beers India, says, “Football is the most popular sport in the world. Despite cricket being very popular in India, football viewership in the country has been growing at a consistent rate since the last few years. Many Indian football fans may harbour the dream of playing with world class players in a world class stadium. With the Budweiser Cup six-on-six tournament, football fans can live their dream as they compete for the right to play at Manchester United’s Old Trafford. Budweiser has a strong legacy of supporting and promoting football around the world. We are thrilled to bring this one of its kind event to India.”
On being selected, the national winners will be trained at the Manchester United training facilities. Apart from India, other teams that will compete in the tournament are Cyprus, Norway, Sweden, England, Wales, Scotland, Paraguay, Ireland, South Korea, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Credits: Agencyfaqs
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