Heineken Hosts Biggest UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour in Africa
11.5.2022 09:59:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
In its continuing effort to bring the UEFA Champions League (UCL) experience closer to more football fans around the world, Heineken has staged its most elaborate Trophy Tour in Africa yet. The 10-day tour, which ended on April 13 in Abuja, Nigeria, ahead of the 2022 final match on May 28, included several public events that featured the UCL trophy at major stops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. Fans from Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville also attended the tour in Nigeria and DRC respectively.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220509006222/en/
Clarence Seedorf on tour with the UEFA Champions League trophy in Ethiopia, as part of the pan-African tour, courtesy of Heineken.
The events around the tour included open-truck city parades, novelty matches with local celebrities, UCL quarter final match viewings, fan meet and greets, photo sessions, media rounds, Afrobeats concerts, and visits to government ministries in charge of football.
Heineken, sold in 192 countries around the world, has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 2005 and the company’s leadership said its Africa-wide trophy tour for the 2021/2022 season was structured to reach 50,000 Africans directly while an estimated 10 million more are reached via media coverage.
A highlight of the trophy tour was a Heineken-sponsored football match in Lagos, Nigeria. It pitted Nigerian music superstars and football legends against senior staff of Nigerian Breweries, which is the local Heineken brewer, and the Trophy Tour Ambassador, professional coach and former Dutch international midfielder, Clarence Seedorf.
BET Awards-winning Afrobeats star Davido captained Team Nigeria, which had ex-Nigerian internationals Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, and Taribo West. Also on the squad were rapper M.I. Abaga, R&B singer Darey, and Nigerian Breweries Marketing Director, Emmanuel Oriakhi. Seedorf led Team Heineken, playing, among others, Nigerian Breweries Finance Director, Rob Kleinjan; and the company’s Supply Chain Director, Martin Kochl.
The novelty match preceded an Afrobeats concert that was headlined by African superstar, Davido and Peruzzi, another topflight Nigerian singer. Members of the Heineken management team and Seedorf then met with the Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, at the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja, the country’s capital.
The Union of European Football Associations, the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe, organizes the Champions League as an annual competition among top-division football clubs. The 2022 final match is slated for May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris.
“The goal of the Trophy Tour is to inspire a new generation of African footballers and appreciate fans for their love of the UEFA Champions League and Heineken,” said Heineken’s Senior Global Director, Bram Westerbrink.
The continent’s importance to the growth of football and the UCL is evident, Bram also noted. Several European clubs in the English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German leagues have notable African following, with many of the fans organising meetups and celebrations when their favourite teams record tournament successes. With more than 100 Africans currently playing professionally, over 25 Champions League winners from Africa, and about 300 million African fans, football has taken hold as the most popular sport on the continent.
“This is why Heineken is proud to celebrate its association with the UEFA Champions League,” said Hans Erik Tuijt, Director, Global Heineken Sponsorships, adding that Heineken has the highest awareness on the continent as a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220509006222/en/
Contact information
Enitan Kehinde
Enitan@bhmng.uk
+447899410249
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Crimson Moon Available Now, Bringing Heavy-Metal Gothic Action to Solo and Co-op Players on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S1.9.2026 20:00:00 EEST | Press release
ProbablyMonsters, an independent video game company creating original AA games with AAA sensibilities, today launched Crimson Moon on PC via Steam and Epic Game Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for $19.99 USD. A $29.99 USD Deluxe Edition is also available and includes an exclusive armor set, weapon cosmetic, and upcoming game expansion. Watch the official Crimson Moon launch trailer on YouTube to see the game’s gothic heavy-metal power fantasy, crafted for both solo and co-op players, in action. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901064893/en/ Crimson Moon is a gothic high renaissance action-adventure RPG built around intense, replayable missions that blend brutal precision with deep character progression. Players take on the role of the Nephilim, powerful human-angel hybrids bound to a dark prophecy and charged with reclaiming the besieged city of Gildenarch from a horde of demons, undead, vampires,
Rigaku Launches CT Lab HR160 High-Resolution X-ray CT System1.9.2026 18:00:00 EEST | Press release
Rigaku Corporation, a global solutions partner in X-ray analytical systems and a group company of Rigaku Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Akishima, Tokyo; President and CEO: Jun Kawakami; “Rigaku”), today announced the launch of the CT Lab HR160, a high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) system for battery, semiconductor devices, electronic components, and advanced materials analysis. The system is developed in collaboration with Excillum AB, the global source for X-ray innovation (Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden; CEO: David Lindblom; “Excillum”). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901074099/en/ Photo: CT Lab HR160 High-Resolution X-ray CT System CT Lab HR160 combines Rigaku’s X-ray CT imaging expertise with Excillum’s NanoTube N3 X-ray source. Operating at up to 160 kV to support a wide range of sample types, the system achieves true 250 nm spatial resolution — an industry-leading level for CT syste
Vivax-Metrotech Partners with Oaktree to Accelerate Strategic Growth1.9.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
Vivax-Metrotech Corporation (“Vivax-Metrotech”), a leading manufacturer of precision locating and inspection devices for utility infrastructure, and Oaktree’s Power Opportunities strategy, today announced a partnership to accelerate Vivax-Metrotech’s growth trajectory and strengthen its leading position. For more than 60 years, Vivax-Metrotech has delivered best-in-class solutions for the utility industry with a focus on underground infrastructure. From its origins in California, the company has expanded across the United States and internationally, developing and supplying locator systems, inspection cameras, and associated digital solutions that help utilities, municipalities, and service providers safely build, maintain, and manage their assets. Today, Vivax-Metrotech is firmly established as a leading player in the U.S. and Global utility locator equipment and inspection device markets. The partnership with Oaktree’s Power Opportunities group will support Vivax-Metrotech’s continue
GigaDevice Joins the Zephyr® Project to Foster Global Open-Source Ecosystem1.9.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
GigaDevice, a leading semiconductor company specializing in Flash memory, 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), sensors, and analog products, has officially joined the Zephyr® Project, one of the world’s leading open-source real-time operating systems (RTOS). Hosted by the Linux Foundation®, the Zephyr® Project welcomes GigaDevice as a Silver Member, making GigaDevice a dual Silver Member of both the Zephyr® Project and the Linux Foundation. Leveraging its comprehensive GD32 MCU portfolio, GigaDevice will actively participate in the Zephyr® community, promoting deeper integration between its MCU technologies and the global open-source RTOS ecosystem. This will provide customers and developers in industrial, IoT, consumer electronics, and other fields with a more open, standardized, and efficient embedded development environment, while continuing to contribute to the growth of the global embedded open ecosystem and broader access to technology. With the continued evolution of the Internet of
Mary Kay Unveils New Global Brand Platform – Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared™ – Reclaiming Beauty as a Shared Experience1.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Today, Mary Kay Inc., the iconic beauty and entrepreneurship brand founded by the bold visionary Mary Kay Ash, announced Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared™, its largest-ever global consumer-facing campaign and a long-term brand strategy designed to drive its next era of growth. Launching across 40 markets worldwide, the campaign reintroduces Mary Kay to a new generation of consumers by celebrating a timeless truth at the heart of the brand: Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared™ and bridging the love for Mary Kay across generations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901735460/en/ Mary Kay announces Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared™, its largest-ever global consumer-facing campaign and a long-term brand strategy designed to drive its next era of growth. (Image Courtesy: Mary Kay Inc.) “Beauty Is More Beautiful Shared™ is a reflection of who we are and what we have always stood for: women supporting women,” said Ryan Ro
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom