T-Mobile to sponsor ITV's Soccer Aid event for Unicef

by Lauren Webb, Brand Republic 26-Apr-06, 11:00

LONDON – ITV has signed T-Mobile to as the sponsor of 'Soccer Aid', a football match involving celebrities and football legends, presented by Ant and Dec, to raise money for the charity Unicef.

'Soccer Aid' will feature an England team versus the Rest of the World. The match will be played at Old Trafford on May 27 in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup. An all-time record 76,000 fans are expected to attend.

The teams will comprise consist of 11 celebrities and five football legends with former England manager Terry Venables and Robbie Williams, who recently signed an 18-month partnership with T-Mobile, managing England. Former Dutch international Ruud Gullit and celebrity chef and former Rangers players Gordon Ramsey will manage the Rest of the World.

Phil Chapman, T-Mobile UK's director of marketing, said: "T-Mobile is proud to be associated with such a fantastic event, where celebrity and sport come together in the name of a great cause."

ITV is providing a sponsor package including broadcast, online and red button activity, mobile interactivity, and on- and offline marketing.

There will be a website containing news, gossip and video highlights selected from the show. Daily programmes from ITV1 and ITV2 will follow the teams, tracking the celebrities' and legends' progress, any gossip, training and socialising in a run-up to the main event.

Kevin Giles, senior sponsorship and brand content executive at ITV Sales, negotiated the deal with Chris Holdom at SponsorCom.

Giles said: "We are delighted that T-Mobile has come on board to sponsor Soccer Aid on ITV. Thanks to its support we can provide viewers with many more opportunities to interact with the programming, from red button and online to mobile interactivity."

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