Local Barca fans to benefit from Castle deal

WINDHOEKSPORT REPORTER Fans of Spanish powerhouse club FC Barcelona are in line to draw numerous benefits from a deal Castle Lager managed to strike with the team that made the 'tiki-taki' brand of football famous. During this week, Castle Lager announced that it had agreed a three-year partnership with Barcelona. This partnership makes Castle Lager the official African beer of Barcelona in Namibia and 10 other countries on the continent, and for any activity that the Spanish club engages in across these markets. “This partnership will result in benefits for Castle Lager consumers and Barcelona fans in Namibia through a number of local promotional activities and will also quickly boost the team's popularity in Namibia and on the continent,” commented the managing director of Castle Brewing Namibia, Cobus Bruwer. This is the first time that Barcelona has signed a partnership agreement with an African based company and this thus opens the fans of the club in Namibia and other select countries across the continent to have easier access to their favourite club's merchandise and memorabilia. “We are delighted about signing this partnership with a world renowned brand such as Castle Lager. We identify with [their brand] which, similar to our club, holds more than 100 years of history and great tradition. We also share with them our passion for football and supporters in a very important market such as Africa,” said Javier Faus, vice president of the Economic and Strategic area at Barcelona. This is not the first time that Castle Lager has got involved in football in Africa, as the company currently sponsors various football leagues in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho. In addition, Castle Lager is also a sponsor of two regional football competitions, namely the Cosafa Cup held in Southern Africa, which was staged in Zambia, and Cecafa held in East Africa.