Already an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016, this new agreement gives the Hannover-based company a wide-reaching promotional presence.

It includes touchline advertising at European qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 2016, as well as European qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and a presence on the official website.

Continental will also enjoy a significant rights package at the UEFA Under-21 Championships in 2015 and 2017, UEFA Women's Euro 2017 and UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 and 2016 tournaments.

"This move sees us extending our commitment to 2017 as we continue to focus squarely on football as a strategic communications platform for our premium brand Continental," said Nikolai Setzer, Continental Executive Board member responsible for the tyre division.

"Our ongoing promotional presence at major football tournaments - from the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil -has already taken us a long way in terms of raising international awareness of the brand.

"And we are keen to continue this success on the road to the next two major tournaments in France and Russia and further strengthen the emotional bond between our brand and Europe's best footballers."

Continental is the official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016
©Getty Images



Through UEFA's new "week of football" concept, in which games are spread out from Thursday to Tuesday, fans will enjoy the opportunity to watch more matches than ever before, with around 33 per cent of matches taking place at the weekend.

This in turn will give Continental a more visible TV presence across the European Qualifiers - largely through pitch-side advertising at away games of the leading European nations such as England, France, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

It also covers home and away games of teams including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

"It is fantastic that Continental have chosen to endorse UEFA's newly centralised European qualifiers platform," said Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA.

"As a long-standing partner of the UEFA European Championship, this rights package provides an ideal bridge for the company to firmly establish itself across European national team football.

"By also coming on board as sponsor of our other national team tournaments - under-21, women's and Futsal Euros - we can now look forward to working with Continental throughout the four year cycle and providing them with a strong platform to promote their brand and engage with their target audience."

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