- October, 15 2009 -
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First Digicel-sponsored team ever to make it to the World Cup
Kingston, Jamaica - Thursday 15th October 2009. In an exciting match in San Salvador last night, the Digicel-sponsored Honduras team beat El Salvador (also sponsored by Digicel) 1-0 to put itself on the road to World Cup glory in South Africa next year.
This is the first time ever that a Digicel-sponsored team has made it through to the World Cup – and the first time in 28 years that Honduras has qualified through to the World’s greatest football tournament.
Digicel has sponsored the Honduras football association since August 2008 and was responsible for bringing the Copa de Naciones Digicel to Honduras for the first time ensuring that the teams could benefit from more international match exposure.
In fact, Digicel is the proud sponsor of three of the final six teams in the qualifying rounds – and with Costa Rica among them and still in with a shout with its playoff match against Uruguay in November – Digicel could be set to celebrate double World Cup qualifying success.
Fans across the Caribbean will be able to enjoy all of the action as it happens from South Africa as Digicel is also the regional broadcast sponsor for the FIFA World Cup 2010 thanks to a deal with IMC/Sportsmax.
In total, Digicel sponsors 16 national football associations – and has also just wrapped up this year’s hugely successful Digicel Kick Start Clinics across both the Caribbean and Central America.
The Digicel Kick Start Clinics saw eight Under 16 players from the Caribbean training for a week with Sunderland AFC and six players from Central America training for a week with Manchester City with the potential of securing contracts to play for the English Premiership clubs. An announcement from both clubs is expected shortly.
Kieran Foley, Group Director of Marketing for Digicel, comments; “We’re absolutely thrilled that Honduras has made it through to the World Cup and we would like to say a massive congratulations and thank you to the players, coaches and staff at FENAFUTH.
“As the main sponsors of football across the Caribbean and Central America, we do everything we can to ensure that the players are well looked after and supported – and that the fans get as much interaction with them, and the game in general, as possible. The atmosphere in Honduras last night was fantastic with tens of thousands of football fans hitting the streets late into the night to celebrate their teams’ great achievement and the President declaring a national holiday today to mark the occasion. Football fans across the Caribbean and Central America can look forward to a great eight months in the run up to the FIFA World Cup 2010 as Digicel will be bringing football fever to the masses in loads of exciting and fun ways.”
For more information on Digicel and football, please visit www.digicelfootball.com
ENDS
ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
After eight years of operation, Digicel has 8.6 million customers across its Caribbean and Central American markets and is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services and state-of-the-art handsets. By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand in the Caribbean and has placed the region at the cutting-edge of wireless communications – the company is also a new entrant to the Central American and Pacific markets.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and now has operations in 32 markets world-wide. Its Caribbean and Central American markets comprise Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos. The Caribbean company also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barths. Digicel Pacific comprises Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
In total, across its 32 markets, Digicel has over ten million subscribers.
Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean and Central American sports teams, including the West Indies Cricket Team and Special Olympics teams throughout the region. Digicel is also title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Championships and the Copa de Naciones Digicel, which are the Caribbean and Central American qualifiers to the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information on Digicel.
