The new partnership will see ThaiBev’s subsidiary company, Bia Saigon, become Thai-owned Leicester City’s Official Sleeve Sponsor, with Bia Saigon’s logo adorning Leicester City shirts in every fixture throughout the 2018/19 football season.
“To work with ThaiBev’s globally recognised brands has obvious commercial advantages, while many of their business and community values are consistent with those of Leicester City and King Power,” said Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, vice-chairman of Leicester City.
“We’re particularly excited to learn from ThaiBev’s outstanding community strategy and by the opportunity that will bring to develop our club’s relationship with the people of Leicester.
“Over the last eight years, we have built a series of important relationships in East Asia and this latest partnership only strengthens Leicester City’s already significant connection with the region.”
Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, president and CEO of Thai Beverage PLC, added: “Our recent acquisition of SABECO in Vietnam has also added Bia Saigon into our beer group. We have a long-standing relationship with the King Power Group in Thailand and we are pleased to see our partnership extended to the English Premier League,” added Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, president and CEO of Thai Beverage PLC.
Bia Saigon: sleeve sponsor
Bia Saigon is the leading Vietnamese beer brand and produces 1.59bn litres of output per year. The export beer’s branding will also appear throughout Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, and across interview backdrops and digital advertising boards.
The brand will also seek to engage with the club’s fan base through match day activations.
As part of the deal, throughout the season, supporters who want their shirt to match the one worn by The Foxes on the pitch will have the option of adding the Bia Saigon sleeve badge to replica shirts at no additional charge.
Supporters who have already purchased a 2018/19 replica shirt can also have the sleeve badge added free of charge at the Foxes Fanstore at the King Power Stadium.
Chang beer: stadium partner
Meanwhile, ThaiBev’s signature premium beer, Chang, will become the Stadium Beer Partner at the King Power Stadium, and will provide the match day beer offering from refurbished branded kiosks, many of which will be cashless in order to reduce queueing time for fans throughout the season.
Chang, Thailand’s fastest growing beer, produces over 1.5bn litres of beer every year, which is globally distributed to 50 countries.
ThaiBev, one of Asia’s premier beverage producers, has 192 subsidiaries and an international presence in over 90 countries.
Leicester City is a club rich in history, and won its first championship in 2016.
“Leicester City’s achievement in winning the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season was truly outstanding and against all odds, gaining tremendous support and following from Thai football fans,” said Sirivadhanabhakdi.
He added that Chang had also been the official sponsor of the Thai national football team for more than 10 years, as well as many clubs in the Thai Premier League, and they are committed to supporting the development of football in Thailand with their own ThaiBev Football Academy.