Volkswagen Group Rus sets up a friendly match between Zenit and FC Bayern. Audi Russia becomes the FC ‘Zenit’ Official Partner
On May, 18th in Saint-Petersburg the legendary football clubs Zenit (Saint-Petersburg) and FC Bayern (Munich) will meet. The friendly match, organized by Volkswagen Group Rus, will initiate the cooperation of Audi Russia with the distinguished club of Saint-Petersburg. On the threshold of the match Audi Russia and Zenit signed a partnership agreement.
The battle between two teams will be held at Petrovskiy Stadium in St. Petersburg. The teams already met on this arena — ‘Zenit’ won Bavarians with an impressive score of 4:0 in the UEFA Cup semi-final. The friendly match is expected to be a spectacular event: the teams lists consist of main players.
The choice of the rivals is not accidental. AUDI AG, which belongs to Volkswagen Group, supports football club "Bavaria" (Munich) since 2002 and is today the exclusive automobile partner of the team.
"It can be said that football is the most popular sport for us at Volkswagen Group. In Germany we support several clubs, including VFL Wolfsburg, city club where the group headquarters is located. In Kaluga, where we produce cars since 2007, we also support the football club of the city. We have a special program called Junior Masters which allows young football players from the different countries of the world to battle for the title of the champion. With this game between Zenit and Bavaria we at Volkswagen Group with our nine brands want to demonstrate our commitment to Russia. We have invited the top management of the group, our partners and the best dealers. And also we have presented a considerable part of tickets to clients who can share the joy of the watching the game with us", — the general director of Volkswagen Group Rus Markus Osegowitsch sais.
On the threshold of the match Audi Russia (Russian division of Audi Group, part of Volkswagen Group) and FC Zenit signed a partnership agreement, according to which Audi cars will become official cars of FC Zenit, and Audi Russia will be granted the status of the Club Premium Partner. In accordance with the agreement 34 Audi cars will be given to the St. Petersburg Club for organizational purposes.
"The agreement with FC ‘Zenit’ is an important step in strengthening brand’s development in Russia and reinforcement of Audi leadership positions in the North-West region, — Audi Russia Head Elena Smirnova says. — Football is the most popular sport in Russia, and citizens of the Northern capital and region on the whole give their preference in general to ‘Zenit’, several times winner of the national and European cups. The success of the team is based on hard work, technical mastership and desire to demonstrate its best achievements to fans. This approach echoes with the Audi philosophy. I’m sure that jointly we will achieve important victories — each in his field."
"The FC Zenit was always carefull choosing its partners. We are sure that it was impossible to have better partners, than the company Volkswagen Group Rus and the brand Audi. We see effective management, professionalism, high quality of work at all levels, — general director FC Zenit Maxim Mitrofanov sais. — Volkswagen Group which includes Audi is the largest European automobile company, and for us it is important that Zenit was the first of the Russian clubs to sign a cooperation agreement with such a known and big world brand".
