PUMA will in the coming four years strive to strengthen its strong position in Africa. PUMA estimates the potential turnover in Africa at four times higher than today’s turnover and it will considerably tap into this potential over the next five to six years. With an impressive portfolio of more than ten PUMA-sponsored African national teams, PUMA is already indisputably the most visible football brand in Africa.

On the occasion of his visit to Africa, PUMA CEO Jochen Zeitz was delighted to start the PUMA countdown to 2010 today at a press conference in Johannesburg. “Only 1,295 days left until the 2010 World Cup. PUMA is very proud to be the official kit supplier of over 10 African teams and is already certain to make a strong mark at the first World Cup ever set on African soil.”

“The World Cup 2006 might not be over yet – but the work on our part is accomplished. We have not only reached, but surpassed our aim for this year’s World Cup. Now, it is time for us to move on to the next project: the World Cup in Africa”, says Zeitz.

Economic interests alone do not drive PUMA’s long-term commitment on the African continent. PUMA actively supports the development of African football with aid projects such as football camps. To deepen ties, PUMA announced two months ago its cooperation with the charity campaign United for Africa, the most significant aid organization for Africa in Germany, with whom PUMA will jointly gather donations and awareness.

PUMA has gained brand visibility throughout 56% of the tournament, making PUMA the most prominent brand in terms of visibility – that being, in 36 out of the 64 games at least one PUMA team was present, equating to 54 hours of on-pitch action.

PUMA was also among the top three brands in terms of player presence on the field, with 18% of all players wearing the most innovative speed proposition product line v1.06, which has received an outstanding response from players and teams alike. Exceptional sell through reports in all markets led to the football performance turnover rising by approximately 40% compared to 2005.

“Not only have we reached, but by far surpassed our goals for our brand at the World Cup. We have significantly strengthened our strong position as one of the worlds leading football brands and made unparalleled impact with our innovative performance products”, comments Jochen Zeitz.

Off the field, PUMA’s activities during the World Cup have been centred in Berlin at their specially created CAFÉ MOSKAU headquarters. The venue has offered public viewing for every match and a showcase of live entertainment ranging from underground music acts to international stars such as AKON and Basement Jaxx who are set to perform on 9 July. Since the start of the tournament the CAFÉ MOSKAU has been noted as the alternative place in Berlin to watch football and described by The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” as being the “football cathedral chosen by the in-crowd of Berlin” (FAZ, June 22, 2006).

PUMA’s leading position in African Football has been underlined with the charity campaign with UNITED FOR AFRICA, an organisation that supports over 30 charities and 5000 projects. With a transparent amount of funds directly benefiting the African people, PUMA launched an entire charity collection of clothing and lifestyle products and integrated the charity campaign in all German Concept Stores. The creation of a unique UNITED FOR AFRICA charity tram surprised locals and visitors in Berlin with it’s entertainment and retail offering and cooperation with the GOETHE INSTITUTE which hosted an onboard African film festival.

PUMA’s partnership with German national airline DBA saw a total of 27 aeroplanes prominently display the brand message “WILLKOMMEN ZUM FUSSBALL” and has been clearly visible in the airports of each of the twelve host cities. The Spree river in Berlin hosted the PUMA boat, a floating football pitch and beach bar which, with the hot summer weather has been a huge success among all fans who wanted to view the games outdoors.

WILLKOMMEN ZUM FUSSBALL is the biggest global marketing campaign in the company history with Pelé as the figurehead character of the advertising campaign. Overall, PUMA is highly satisfied with the results achieved at the World Cup.

“We have once again proven that PUMA is deeply embedded in the world of football. We intend to continue this course, starting on Sunday at the final with Italy, and carrying on through the European Cup in 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both guest hosts being sponsored by PUMA, pushing through until the World Cup 2010 in South Africa where we will once again be the most dominant brand in African Football. With the Italians as one of the top favorite teams we will enter the world cup in South Africa with either a world champion or a runner up”, says Jochen Zeitz.

PUMA previously announced that preparations are already underway for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. With an impressive portfolio of more than ten PUMA-sponsored African national teams, PUMA is already indisputably the most visible football brand in Africa.

„Italy´s victory is the glorious final of an incredibly successful World Cup for us“, says Jochen Zeitz, PUMA CEO. „We assume, that the football performance turnover rose by approximately 40% compared to 2005”, he comments. The brand visbility at this Word Cup not only strengthened, but cleary expandend PUMAs position as one of the top 3 football brands in the world.
PUMA will now produce new kits with four World Cup Stars, which will be available in PUMA Concept Stores starting next Monday, July 17. Furthermore, PUMA will start an international advertisement campaign, congratulating the Italian team to their World Cup victory. The ads will be printed in high profile newspapers such as the “Financial Times”, “Gazzetta dello Sport”, “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, “De Telegraf”, “L´Equpe”, “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” or “The Times”.
„This is a great starting position in terms of the European Cup in 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both guest hosts being sponsored by PUMA, pushing through until the World Cup 2010 in South Africa where we will once again be the most dominant brand in African Football. With the Italians as one of the top favourite teams we will enter the World Cup in South Africa with a World Champion”, says Jochen Zeitz.

“The announcement of the long-term partnership with the Cameroon Football Association underlines PUMA’s commitment to support African football. Africa will be the center of attention with the African Cup of Nations in 2008 leading up to the 2010 World Cup™ in South Africa”, says Jochen Zeitz, CEO of PUMA AG.

With an Olympic Gold from Sydney 2000, crowned African Champions four times (1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002) and the first ever African team to qualify for the World Cup™ quarterfinal in Italy in 1990, Cameroon is a powerhouse in African football as well as in the World of Football.

With an impressive portfolio of ten PUMA-sponsored African national teams, PUMA is already indisputably the most visible football brand in Africa.

“We are proud to be sponsor of the “Squadra Azzura” beyond the World Cup in 2014. The long-term strategic partnership with the Italian Football Association underlines PUMA’s reinforced commitment to further strengthen its position as one of the leading football brands,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG.

With the victory of the Italian “Squadra Azzura”, for the first time in company history, a PUMA sponsored National Team has won the World Cup in 2006.

The agreement further consolidates PUMA’s strong brand identity with the excitement and passion of African football. Adding another African national team to the long list of PUMA-sponsored teams Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, Togo, Morocco, Mozambique, Angola and Botswana, puts PUMA squarely at the forefront of African football for the 2008 African Cup of Nations and the build-up to the 2010 World CupTM.

The Namibian Football Association was founded in 1990 and affiliated to FIFA and CAF in 1992.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman: “We support the aim of Peace One Day and want to make a contribution to the generation of global peace on one day. Within our commitment, we will develop a special charity football collection, available in 2008. We are delighted to be a strong and long-term partner of this exemplary initiative.”

PUMA has a proven track record in fundraising initiatives such as supporting the United for Africa charity during the World Cup. Peace One Day is another important charity organization that PUMA can help by offering its expertise in Sportlifestyle and creating desirable products to benefit the cause.

On September 21st, 2007 PUMA will announce plans for its Peace One Day football collection, which will be unveiled at the African Cup of Nations in January 2008. PUMA’s already established relationships with its African football teams ensures this exciting football collection will be seen on some of Africa’s leading players throughout the tournament – during which a key part of shooting the second Peace One Day documentary takes place. An exclusive press screening of the first award-winning documentary will be organized by PUMA prior to the Royal Albert Hall event.

The PUMA Peace One Day collection consists of a specific designed Peace One Day football and accessories and will be sold world wide beginning in May 2008 – with the goal that all products related to this fundraising will ultimately be sourced and manufactured in Africa .

Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley states, “One thing I’ve learned is that football and other sports have the potential to bring people and communities together in a fun and meaningful way. With the help of Puma we will take the message of Peace Day to hundreds of millions of people over the coming years. Through One Day, One Goal we will work to create football matches in every country of the world on 21 September.”

“The fact that 20 of 24 games in the group stage of the African Cup of Nations will feature the PUMA logo is a statement we are proud to make,” says PUMA Chairman and CEO, Jochen Zeitz. “PUMA’s commitment to African football as the leading supplier runs deep, much like the passion that Africa shows for the game of football itself.”

Along with Ghana and Egypt, PUMA’s teams also include talented sides from Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, as well as African Cup of Nations first-timer Namibia. In fact, seven of the games in the group phase will be between teams wearing the Leaping Cat logo. Each PUMA team will wear PUMA’s new v1.08 products that launch in stores this week with a full collection of performance footwear, apparel and accessories.

In addition, PUMA will activate several activities on the ground during the tournament. Jochen Zeitz and the Peace One Day charity will co-host a youth exhibition game on January 19 in Accra on the eve of the opening game, together with African football legends Roger Milla and Anthony Yeboah. PUMA supports Peace One Day charity through the development of an own football collection, which will be presented at the tournament.

“This is an exciting kick-off for an extraordinary year in sports for the world and for PUMA,” said Zeitz. “We can’t think of a better way to kick it off then with our activities in Africa and the support of PUMA’s national teams at the African Cup of Nations. Then it’s on to EURO 2008™, where PUMA will be worn by the world champions Italy, the host nations – Austria and Switzerland – Czech Republic and EURO-newcomer Poland.”

“Ghana was one of the most inspiring stories of the 2006 World Cup™, capturing the world’s attention with their exciting style of play and passion for the game,” said Zeitz. “PUMA is proud to extend our partnership with them for many years to come and we wish The Black Stars the best of luck during the next three weeks in the African Cup on their home soil.” The Black Stars have been a dominant force on the African continent for the past half century, winning the African Cup of Nations™ four times (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982) and finishing second on three occasions.

They have previously hosted or co-hosted (with Nigeria) the African Cup on three occasions, winning twice as host in 1963 and 1978. In 2006, the team made its first-ever World Cup appearance, upsetting the Czech Republic and the United States in group play before falling to Brazil in a Round of 16 game in which Ghana controlled the pace of play for much of the first half. “We are proud to be partners with such a global brand that has made a commitment to football in both Ghana and the African continent on the whole,” said Federation President Nyantakyi. “PUMA has delivered on their promises to support us.”

As part of the partnership, PUMA has also helped secure a Mercedes-Benz bus for use by the National Team and will assist in construction of a turf training field for the federation. PUMA will be the Official Supplier of The Black Stars and all its associated teams including the Men’s ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘U21’, ‘U19’ and ‘Youth’ National Teams, as well as Women’s ‘A’, ‘U21’ and ‘Youth’ National Teams beyond the 2014 World Cup™. In 1992, Ghana’s Olympic Team won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics and, last year, Ghana’s Women’s National Team played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the third consecutive time.

“While we are still enjoying PUMA’s tremendous success at the African Cup of Nations, we are already kicking-off the countdown to the EURO 2008, our next big tournament”, said PUMA Chairman & CEO Jochen Zeitz. “The European Championships will be the next highlight in an extraordinary sports year and PUMA is proud to be worn on the pitch by a strong portfolio of five teams which clearly strengthens PUMA’s position as one of the world’s top three football brands.”

The event was hosted by actresses Simona Ventura of Italy and Franka Potente of Germany and included the Italian national team, FIGC President Guido Rossi and representatives from PUMA’s four other national teams that will be playing this summer at EURO 2008. The events were also photographed by world-renowned photographer Hubertus von Hohenlohe.

The presentation of uniforms in Zurich coincided with Italy’s friendly match against Portugal on February 6 in Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium, one of the stadium’s used for EURO 2008. Along with the shirt presentation, PUMA also presented its recently-launched “Until Then” ad campaign and new v1.08 product collection. The lightweight statement v1.08 shirt worn by Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland and Austria is made of two highly-breathable mesh fabric layers welded together in stitchless construction to help players physically – and psychologically – by making players and fans feel better about looking better.

The inner mesh layer includes small holes and is hydrophilic – thereby absorbing water and wicking away a player’s sweat. The outer layer has larger ventilation holes and is hydrophobic, keeping the player feeling dry and the two layers from sticking together. The unique welded technology means less fabric and no excess for a total weight of just 145 grams (size M). The shirt improves aerodynamics, minimizes weight and maximizes confidence.

The new international v1.08 statement performance concept is available in sports stores globally and Italy replica shirts can be found in PUMA Retail worldwide.

Under the agreement, PUMA will remain the technical sponsor of all on-field, sideline, training and representation apparel and equipment, incl. bags and ball, to all Swiss National Teams including the Men’s ‘A’, ‘U21’, ‘U20’, ‘U19’, ‘U18’ and Futsal national teams, as well as all Women’s National Teams. PUMA will be an active partner of various SFV grass roots and youth initiatives plus the SFV Football Academies.

“This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the partnership between PUMA and SFV and we are excited that the partnership will continue beyond two additional major Championships in 2010 and 2012,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA. “We have continuously been impressed with the development of Swiss football at all levels, shown not only through the National ‘A’ teams participation at both Euro 2004 as well as World Cup 2006 but also through the increasing number of Swiss players in the major leagues across Europe.”

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with PUMA and would like to thank them for the excellent collaboration in the past 10 years,” said Peter Gilliéron, SFV General Secretary. “PUMA is the perfect brand for Swiss football for the future and will be an integral part in the further development of Swiss football.”

The Swiss National Team endorses PUMA’s statement product concept – the v1.08 collection that was launched globally in January 2008, featuring lightweight moisture-wicking materials, mesh layers and welded-technology in its performance apparel pieces. The shirt provides improved freedom of movement and fit from older versions, including special back construction with two-piece mesh fabric. The inner mesh layer includes small holes and is hydrophilic – thereby absorbing water and wicking away a player’s sweat, while the outer layer provides the ideal smooth surface to print the player names and numbers.