COLOGNE, Germany, March 10, 2014 – Ford Motor Company will put the all-new Ford Mustang in the spotlight at the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 24, 2014.
The expected 300 million television and online viewers in more than 200 countries will be treated to a special activation from Ford featuring the all-new Ford Mustang. The iconic sports car goes on sale across Europe in 2015 for the first time in its 50-year history.
Fans attending the UEFA Champions Festival in Lisbon May 22-25 will be among the first in Europe to see the all-new Ford Mustang, while those watching on television and via digital and social media will be able to share in a unique Ford Mustang experience.
Ford also confirmed the final in Lisbon will mark the end of its 21-year sponsorship of the UEFA Champion’s League.
“With the arrival of Mustang in Europe we are finishing on a high point our long-standing sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League,” said Stephen Odell, president, Ford of Europe, Middle East and Africa. “While both Ford and UEFA have benefitted from our partnership, now is the right time for Ford to move in a new direction as we accelerate our product launches in Europe with more than 25 new vehicles coming over five years.
“As Ford evolves in Europe with exciting new vehicles like the Mustang, the Edge SUV and the Ford Vignale line, as well as remarkable technologies like SYNC 2, we also need new and innovative ways to communicate with customers, for example, by dialing up digital and social communications,” Odell said.
Since Ford started its UEFA Champions League sponsorship at the inception of the tournament in the 1992-93 season, it has used its sponsorship to launch several key models. These have included the Ford S-MAX, Kuga, B-MAX, new generations of Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo, and the all-new Ford Mustang this year.
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 181,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information about Ford and its products worldwide please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 47,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 67,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities (13 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and nine unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.
