Guinness Ghana over the weekend captivated fans by announcing its exciting partnership with the English Premier League (EPL) as official beverage sponsor, sending waves of ecstasy throughout the football community.
Guinness signed its first global partnership in football with the EPL with a four-year agreement starting from 2024/25. As ‘Official Responsible Drinking Partner (ORDP)’ of the league, Guinness will be using its global rights to promote and encourage responsible drinking during the season.
Guinness will also use its distinctive marketing, creative advertising and history of activating world-class sports sponsorships to create fun and engaging fan experiences. The partnership will look to support and uplift the football community – on and off the pitch – and inspire new connections between its own consumers and passionate Premier League fans around the world
The announcement in Ghana was celebrated with a thrilling live viewing event at Bandoor Beer Gardens in Nyaniba Estates-Osu Accra, where football faithfuls gathered with great anticipation to witness the clash between Chelsea and Manchester City.
Guinness has over the years been a proud sponsor of football around the globe in various forms, but to deepen the experience it has been offering football fanatics the global beverage giant has entered an official agreement with the EPL – becoming the official beverage sponsor.
Brand Manager at Guinness, Wilma Amoo-Osae, highlighted that even though this is the first year of official partnership with the EPL as official beverage partner, Guinness Ghana for the past four years has been bringing a high-value viewing experience to the doorsteps of fans – which will be intensified this football season.
“When you talk about football, then you are talking about Guinness. We are synonymous with football, and this time Guinness is official beer sponsor of the EPL. So, we have been doing match viewing days but this time around it is even much special.
“We are thrilled by being able to give the general epic experience that is crafted by football – and I must say that this is definitely the crème de la crème and we hope the next events will even be more fantastic.
“We will be hosting these big viewing events we dubbed ‘platinum editions’ four times from now to December; also, every weekend Guinness activities will be taking place at bars in local vicinities and even at the big shopping centres,” she said.
She added that to take this exhilarating experience for the fans even a notch-higher, Guinness has introduced the fantasy premier league (FPL) challenge and will reward the ultimate winner with an all-expenses paid trip to England next season for the opening game.
Additionally, weekly and monthly prizes will be given to winners – including Guinness souvenirs, gift vouchers, branded team jersey and airtime, among others.
The Live Viewing Experience
The atmosphere was electric even before commencement of the actual match as supporters immersed themselves in bantering as to which team is in the best form to carry the day.
The euphoria was overwhelming when the referee blew his whistle for kick-off, as heart-pounding action on the pitch coupled with passion for the beautiful game drove fans crazy with excitement on witnessing their favourite game’s return to the big screens.
The first-half ended with Manchester City in the lead by a lone goal netted by Erling Haaland, who scored from apparently no chance. With the Chelsea faithfuls dominating the fanbase space, hopes were high of bouncing back harder in the second-half to win the game; but, unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
The citizens got a second goal through a thunderstrike from Mateo Kovacic, who intercepted a ball in the middle of the pitch and weaved his way through the Chelsea midfielders and defenders to edge of the 18-yard box before delivering a powerful strike to seal a 82nd minute winner for the Citizens.
It ended 2-0 in favour of the Citizens and their fanbase as well as the supporters’ union (ASU) could not hide their excitement.
