United by their vitality and strong sense of commitment, Carrefour has signed an official partnership agreement with the Diables Rouges and the Union belge de Football for the 2014 World Cup. Carrefour Belgium is now the country’s only major football sponsor from the mass merchandising sector.
Building on its long history of sponsoring sporting events, Carrefour is proud to announce the signing of an official partnership with the Union belge de Football (URBSFA). Carrefour is now the organisation’s main sponsor and the only retailer of food and non-food products to enter into such an agreement with the URBSFA A key player in Belgium for many years, Carrefour shares with the Diables Rouges its love of country, vitality and positive attitude. They are also united by a strong sense of commitment and a competitive spirit in the field.
François-Melchior de Polignac, Executive Director of Carrefour Belgium gave a warm welcome to the partnership: “Our values of positive action, commitment and compassion are fully shared by the Union belge de Football. This partnership makes a lot of sense to us.” He went on to add: “We have decided to put our strong local roots and unique international profile at the service of the football community. A key player in the Belgian market, we also benefit from an excellent reputation and a strong presence abroad, particularly in Brazil. This partnership was certainly no coincidence!”
To all practical purposes, Carrefour Belgium has actually entered into two partnerships, starting with a one-off partnership for the 2014 World Cup. This will allow Carrefour customers to benefit from unique opportunities and exclusive events and, from March 2014, offer Diables fans the widest available selection of national team products, to be sold exclusively in Carrefour stores.
To support sport in Belgium over the long term, Carrefour has also decided to become a structural and active partner of the Union belge’s other activities. They will include specific actions in support of the national women’s team (Belgian Red Flames) and the Cofidis Cup (Coupe de Belgique). In practice, therefore, some 2,000 local football clubs will also stand to benefit from Carrefour’s support.
With 720 stores nationwide, Carrefour is part of the daily lives of all footballers and their families. Throughout the sporting year, the retailer will therefore organise competitions especially for football supporters, with lots of exclusive prizes related to the Diables Rouges and the Union belge de Football up for grabs.
Lastly, Carrefour will lay the foundations of a longer-term partnership by supporting the Diables Rouges in victory and - possibly - in defeat during the qualifying rounds, the European Football Championships in France in 2016, and the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Through its actions, Carrefour hopes to build the support of more and more Belgians for our national teams and to boost the growth of sport in Belgium over the long run.
