5 June saw Hyundai Motor UK launch ‘Hyundai FC’: a new nationwide programme leveraging its partnership with Chelsea Football Club which supports football at all levels.
The global automotive brand teamed up with local Hyundai dealerships and the London club teamed up to offer a range of experiences for clubs, players and fans working with boys and girls teams from 11 grassroots clubs across the UK.
Running under the brand’s ongoing ‘For The Fans’ initiative the new programme – which runs from (from under-8s to under-16s) – was promoted by a PR launch which saw the debut of a spearhead spot called ‘Welcome to Hyundai FC: Chelsea Pitch Day’.
The film focused on a participatory event which saw players, families and coaches from the 11 teams invited to Stamford Bridge to launch the programme.
This saw them taken on a behind-the-scenes stadium tour, and put through an on-pitch skills session run by Chelsea FC coaches, before each club was presented with a set of bespoke training plans to help their team develop over the upcoming months.
Plus, during the visit, the teams and the local Hyundai dealers, were also treated to a meet and greet with the Blues’ legend and FA Cup winner Gus Poyet, and Chelsea FC’s beloved mascots, Stamford and Bridget.
The project offers unique football experiences, elite coaching sessions from Chelsea FC UEFA qualified Foundation coaches, plus new playing and training kit and a set of Chelsea FC benefits all aimed at inspiring the next generation of aspiring footballers.
Throughout 2019, Chelsea coaches will visit all lf the 11 teams to implement their training programmes, while each Hyundai FC club coach also has an opportunity to visit the Blues’ training base in Cobham to participate in a hands-on coaching experience with Chelsea Academy coaches and teams.
The full list of Hyundai FC teams:
Anstey Nomads FC (Loughborough, Leicestershire)
Barnoldswick Town Juniors FC (Barnoldswick, Lancashire)
Bishop Auckland St Mary’s (Bishop Auckland, Durham)
Byfleet Village (Slough, Surrey)
Cleethorpes Town (Grimsby, Lincolnshire)
Crofton Juniors AFC (Wakefield, Yorkshire)
Kilgetty AFC (Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire)
Marston Green FC (Birmingham)
Whiteley Wanderers (Southampton, Hampshire)
Willaston White Star FC (Nantwich, Cheshire)
Woodley Saints Wolves (Sonning, Berkshire)
“One of the key aims of For The Fans is to put fans first – supporting and enabling all fans from grassroots to elite level across the country,” commented Hyundai UK marketing director David Pugh.
“With the help of our dealerships and Chelsea’s top-class Foundation coaches, we are committed to inspiring the next generation of players and fans through Hyundai FC. We are looking forward to giving the 11 teams involved a season they will never forget.”
While Simon Taylor, Head of the Chelsea FC Foundation, added: “It is fantastic to see companies like Hyundai investing in football from the elite level right through to the grassroots. The Foundation is looking forward to working with the players and coaches, helping to deliver a programme that will stay with the clubs for years to come and creating a legacy for the Hyundai FC coaches, their teams and football in their communities.”
Comment:
This grass roots initiative, one of the more comprehensive sponsor/club grassroots programmes in recent years, is a fresh strand of Hyundai UK’s ongoing ‘For The Fans’ football brand platform.
Earlier in the year #ForTheFans came to life when Hyundai penned a sleeve partnership with Chelsea and celebrated the tie-up with a fan-focused, comic Supporter/Fan photo shoot campaign (see case study).
‘For the Fans’ has previously seen Hyundai reward fans who have gone the extra mile to follow the Blues and surprised fans with Chelsea match tickets and merchandise and will continue to support fans during this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup with ticket giveaways, travel and exclusive player content.
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer and transport brand based in Seoul with more than 110,000 employees worldwide.
It has a strong football sponsorship pillar within its marketing mix and is a top tier partner of both FIFA (see our case study on Hyundai’s Russia 2018 activation) and UEFA (see our case study on its Euro 2016 FanDome), as well as a local market football sponsor in several other nations including Australia where it supports the national teams and the A league (see our case study on its June 2019 ‘Thank You Letters’ campaign for the Matilda’s ahead of the Women’s World Cup).
In the auto sports space it is active is in the Hyundai Motorsport World Rally Championship, while some of the other major sponsorships in the car company’s partner portfolio include the NFL (see our case study of its April 2019 ‘Rolling With The Rookies’ Draft activation) and a partner of the 2018 IOC Winter Olympics in its home country (see our case study on the Hyundai Pavillion).
Links:
Hyundai
https://www.youtube.com/user/HYUNDAIMOTOREUROPE
https://twitter.com/hyundaieurope
https://www.facebook.com/www.Hyundai.News/
Chelsea FC
https://www.facebook.com/chelseafc
https://www.instagram.com/chelseafc/
https://www.youtube.com/chelseafc
https://www.chelseafc.com/news/blogs/boilerplate-allincfc/allincfc/the-story-on-snapchat.html
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