Heineken have launched this years UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, an initiative aimed at bringing football fans from around the world the opportunity to see the Champions League trophy, along with a host of famous names from the competition’s illustrious history – and this year, it’s headed to Asia.
Heineken have continued their sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League this season, seeing it as a premier-sporting event, viewed globally, and fits perfectly with the Heineken brand which is enjoyed in almost every country in the world. This year, Heineken will take the their Trophy Tour to Asia for a second time in the Tour’s history, visiting destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong.
The Tour has a number of UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour ambassadors. Former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly won the Champions League in 1993 for Marseille, and in the following season for AC Milan, scoring in the memorable 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona. He is joined in the Heineken team by another double Champions League winner, former Real Madrid midfielder Christian Karembeu, as well as former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman who won the Cup, also with Real Madrid, in 2000, and 2002. Winner in 2006 for Barcelona, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, is joined by two of the great entertainers of the Premier League, in former Chelsea ace Gianfranco Zola, and Bolton’s flamboyant attacker Jay Jay Okocha.
Throughout the Trophy Tour, fans will get the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Champions League trophy, and to meet and the ambassadors. There will also be a collection of historical UEFA Champions League memorabilia, and opportunities to win tickets to the final of this year’s Champions League, at Wembley Stadium in London.
Hans Erik Tuijt is Heineken’s Brand Activation Manager, and he is excited by this sixth consecutive edition of the Trophy Tour: “For Heineken to be able to bring the excitement and inspiration of the UEFA Champions League Trophy directly to the fingertips of fans in Asia is extremely rewarding. Heineken provides football fans with extraordinary experiences, which will continue to entertain and amaze as we get closer to the UEFA Champions League Final in London.”
Last time the Trophy Tour hit Asia, in 2007, more than 50,000 fans turned up, a figure that will likely increase this time around.
The Trophy Tour
The schedule of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken is:
February 17 – 27: Kuala Lumpur
March 5 – 6: Penang
March 11 – 12: Kuala Lumpur
March 16 – 17: Bangkok
March 19 – 20: Chiang Mai
March 25 – 27: Kon Kaen
April 6 – 9: Seoul
April 15 – 17: Hong Kong
