• Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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BusinessDay

Stage set for blockbuster Champions League semi-final crackers

UEFA Champions League

Following a captivating quarter-final round which saw Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain beat their respective counterparts, the UEFA Champions League semi-finals set up two must-see encounters as Chelsea maintained a slight edge over Real Madrid in a 1-1 draw on April 27 and Manchester City staged a controlled comeback to beat PSG 1-2 on April 28.

The semi-final round of the prestigious Champions League kicked off following week-long assertions with regards to the connective nature of football.

The situation could not have been timelier for sponsors, Heineken. This season, the brand launched the ‘Never Watching Alone’ campaign, to signal the unifying quality of the beautiful game of football.

As part of activities for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the sponsors set out to elevate the experiences of fans and consumers, including launching a UCL-themed sleek can to compliment match-viewing occasions. The brand seeks to build on this momentum in the semi-final with the launch of the Heineken UCL Challenge, involving influencers, Nancy Isime, Uti Nwachukwu, and VJ Adams.

“Now, more than ever, we need to ramp up the experiences of our fans and consumers as they enjoy the best of football,” Sampson Oloche, Portfolio Manager, Premium, Sessionable & 0.0 Portfolio, said. “The activities planned for the next stages of the competition and campaign fill us with excitement as they perfectly capture the connective theme of the Never Watching Alone campaign.” he continued.

As victory in the semi-final remains within reach for all four clubs, the second leg is set to be the most talked-about activity in the coming weeks, with millions of fans holding their breaths.

Heineken is a global beer brand first brewed in Amsterdam, with a presence in over 192 countries. It is the official long-standing sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for over 27 years which has seen the international premium brand become one of the most recognisable brands in European football.