Heineken Renew Sponsorship of Rugby World Cup for 2015 Tournament

October 20, 2011

Europe’s biggest beer brewer Heineken is extending its sponsorship of the Rugby World Cup to the next tournament in England during 2015 to take the beermaker’s spend on rugby since 1995 to over 100 million euros ($138 million).

The new deal announced on Thursday will be the fifth world cup to be sponsored by the Amsterdam-based brewer and comes ahead of this year’s final between hosts New Zealand and France to be played in Auckland this Sunday.

Hans Erik Tuijy, the brewer’s global brand activation manager told Reuters: “Around 50 percent of our beer volumes is sold in the 20 nations that take part in the world cup, so rugby is a good fit for Heineken.”

The tournament attracts over 4 billion television viewers and claims to be the world’s third largest sporting event after the Olympic Games and the football world cup, and its return to Europe in 2015 will fit well with Heineken’s significant presence there.

The world’s third biggest distillery which makes around a tenth of the globe’s beer has strong positions in Europe’s rugby heartland, being the No 1 brewer in Britain and Italy and also No 2 in France, with operations also in Russia and Romania.

The brewer of Amstel, Sol, Birra Moretti as well as Heineken has sponsored each rugby world cup since 1995, apart from 1999, and Europe’s Heineken Cup club tournament since 1995 and up to 2013.

The deal will include promotional tie-ins, beer pouring rights in grounds holding matches, and digital content rights, and promotion is set to start in 2014 ahead of the kick off at London’s Twickenham stadium in late 2015.