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
Gurobi Defines Its Role as the Technology Behind Better Decisions in the AI Era7.4.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, today announced a renewed brand identity that reflects its role in empowering organizations to make better decisions in complex, high-stakes environments. As organizations increasingly rely on optimization to put their AI-driven insights into action, the Gurobi Optimizer is a foundational component of decision intelligence systems, where different approaches to AI—from prediction to optimization—work together to guide business outcomes. “AI has transformed how organizations generate insight, but insight alone does not drive outcomes—decisions do,” said Duke Perrucci, CEO, Gurobi. “We see optimization as the GPS for AI, enabling users to determine the best possible course of action in complex environments. Those decisions are what drive real outcomes, and we’re proud to be the technology behind them.” Across industries such as energy, supply chain management, manufacturing, and finance, organizations trust Gurobi
Poland's Galaxy Systemy Informatyczne Becomes First Private Enterprise to Buy Quantum Computer from IQM7.4.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
IQM Quantum Computers, a global leader in superconducting quantum computing, today announced a commercial milestone to deploy a hybrid integrated quantum computer at GalaxySystemy Informatyczne Sp. z o.o., marking its first deployment in a private enterprise worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407351934/en/ IQM Radiance quantum computer Galaxy has been implementing innovations in security, digitisation, and hardware infrastructure while providing IT solutions, supporting HPC infrastructure to shape Poland’s economy based on data and artificial intelligence. The 54-qubit Radiance system will also be the most advanced quantum computer in Poland, and Galaxy, a provider of technological solutions, will become the first private company in the world to own and operate such quantum infrastructure. The system, which will be installed at Galaxy’s headquarters in Zielona Góra in the fourth quarter of 2026, wil
Cessna SkyCourier Strengthens Mission Versatility With New In‑Flight Operable Door Option7.4.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced a new In-Flight Operable Door option for the passenger variant of its twin-engine, large-utility Cessna SkyCourier turboprop, expanding the aircraft’s Special Mission versatility for military, humanitarian and commercial operations. The functionality is expected to be available as a Special Mission factory-installed option in 2028. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407228562/en/ Mission flexibility starts at the Cessna SkyCourier door “An In-Flight Operable Door builds on the Cessna SkyCourier’s reputation for reliability and adaptability, reinforcing its role as a purpose-built solution for high-demand missions,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Missions Sales. “The option opens new opportunities for customers worldwide, including armed forces, smokejumpers, disaster relief groups and commercial skydiving operators.” The Cessna
Peruvian Army Selects Beechcraft King Air 360C for Multi-Mission Operation7.4.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
The Peruvian Army has signed an agreement to purchase a cargo door equipped Beechcraft King 360C aircraft, which is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, to deliver critical services for communities across the country. With its generous payload, the twin-engine turboprop will enhance the Army’s capability to perform medical evacuations, transport patients and provide rapid humanitarian aid during disaster relief efforts. The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2028. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407176246/en/ Beechcraft King Air 360C supporting the Peruvian Army’s emergency response, medical evacuation and disaster relief missions This order follows the delivery of two multi-mission, air medical equipped Beechcraft King Air 360CHW aircraft to the Peruvian Air Force. The King Air 360CHW is cargo door equipped and fitted for operation at higher operating
Variational AI Releases Enki 4: Major Update to Foundation Model for Small-Molecule Drug Discovery7.4.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Variational AI today announced the release of Enki™ 4, a major update to its generative AI platform for small-molecule drug discovery. The release of the fourth generation of Enki™ delivers significant improvements in algorithmic performance and target coverage through platform architecture design, as well as extending its application to degraders, PROTACs, glues, and novel payload design for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and related modalities. “Enki 4 is a massive step forward for our platform,” said Ali Saberali, Co-Founder & Head of Platform at Variational AI. “We’ve re-architected Enki and improved the underlying algorithms to expand target and modality coverage, while operating faster to deliver even better performance for our partners.” Enki 4 now supports the rapid generation of novel, potent, selective, and synthesizable lead-like structures pre-trained on 760 drug targets, a 28% increase over the previous Enki version’s 592 targets, with more to be released soon. The update
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