England: Budweiser becomes the official beer of the FA Cup from 2015-16 to 2017-18

The American beer brand Budweiser has become the official beer of the FA Cup for three seasons (2015-16 to 2017-18), announced the FA (English Football Association) on 05/03/2015.

The brand, which belongs to the Belgian-Brazilian group AB InBev had previously ended its partnership with the competition at the end of 2013-14 season. It then announced plans to focus on its partnership with FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) for the World Cups in 2014 (Brazil), 2018 (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar). Budweiser was the main sponsor of the FA Cup from the 2010-11 edition. The contract generated €9.75m in revenue per year for the FA.

As well as visibility on advertising boards and the possibility of promotions, the partnership includes the extension of the Budweiser Club Futures programme (see below), in which the company has already invested £1m (€1.37m) into amateur football in England.

• The FA reported a turnover of £209m (€254m) for the 2013 financial year.