Carlsberg redirects sponsor money from golf to soccer

Carlsberg A/S is moving its sponsorships away from golf and skiing and over to soccer, a company official said Friday.

"We get more value for the money there," sponsorship manager Keld Strudahl said. "When it comes to values, beer fits better with football than golf, for instance. The social element in it is important."

Since the late 1980s, the Copenhagen-based brewery has been sponsoring major international soccer tournaments. The current sponsor of the UEFA Cup is also one of the main commercial contributors to the European Championship, which starts June 7.

Carlsberg had been sponsoring international golf tournaments and events like the Alpine World Ski Championships in Are, Sweden, in February.

However, "we are stopping golf on an international level," Strudahl said.

He declined to disclose the size of Carlsberg's sponsor budget but said no extra funds had been freed to support soccer.

"Resources are being moved around and we will spend more resources on football," Strudahl told The Associated Press.

Carlsberg had bid against Dutch brewer Heineken NV for the Champions League sponsorship.

However, Heineken paid more to UEFA for the three-season sponsorship of Europe's top club competition until 2012, allowing them to sign a deal earlier this month. It was not disclosed how much Heineken will pay.

"We felt it was too expensive," Strudahl said, adding the Danes would be bidding again next time.

Carlsberg's sponsorship includes the Champions League in 1993 and 1994, and the 1990 World Cup.

The brewer supports the national teams of Denmark, England, Ireland, Switzerland and Serbia, and clubs including Liverpool.

Its soccer sponsorship began in the 1970s, when the company became the first financial contributor to Denmark's national team and the then-amateur domestic league. Internationally, the company has supported soccer through sponsorships since 1988.

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