BANGKOK, Sept. 5--Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest Dutch global financial services company ING has signed a deal to become an Official Sponsor of the AFC Asian Cup 2007, the continent's premier national team competition. The sponsorship extends ING's involvement with football in Asia and follows its sponsorship of the AFC Champions League, the continent's premier club team competition. ING will be the exclusive Bank and Insurance sector sponsor and joins, Emirates, Epson, JCB, Konica Minolta, Maxell, Samsung, Toshiba etc. and Yamaha as Official Sponsors of the event. Explaining ING's decision to extend its association with Asian football, Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Member of the Executive Board and chairman of ING Insurance Asia/Pacific, said: "Through various arts and sports sponsorship, ING hopes not only to increase its brand awareness but also to contribute to cultural development in each of the markets where ING has a presence. I hope this sponsorship will have a positive effect on the further development of football activities in the Asian region." Ron van Oijen, CEO of ING Life Insurance Korea, expressed that"Our success in the 2005 AFC Champions League sponsorship has paved the way for our involvement in the AFC Asian Cup 2007. As a global financial institution, ING is active in many Asian countries. ING is proud to be associated with the Asian Cup 2007, which will attract viewers around the region of over a billion. Mohamed bin Hammam, President of the AFC, General, welcomed the partnership, saying: "The 2004 edition of the Asian Cup showed that interest in national team football in Asia has reached new heights. "Asia may be a vast and disparate continent but quality football helps bring the football family closer together. "The involvement of a respected and well known international institution like ING is a real boost to our sport and is further proof that Asian football is on the up." Welcoming ING to the family of blue-chip companies involved in Asian football, World Sport Group President Seamus O'Brien said: "We are delighted to welcome ING into the family of Asian Cup sponsors. ING's support of the Asian Cup will help us to build the competition in the long-term while serving their broader sponsorship marketing objectives. "We are confident that ING's long and historic sponsorship experience with football globally will be an added benefit for our sport in Asia." The Asian Cup 2007 will be held in the ASEAN region in July 2007. The 14th edition of the competition will, for the first time, be co-hosted, with Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia the venues. Twenty-four of Asia's top teams will begin qualification for the 16 spots available at the tournament in early 2006. The draw for the Qualifying Round will take place on January 4, 2006. The partnership was officially announced at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok.Present were: -- Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Chairman of ING Insurance Asia Pacific -- Ron van Oijen, CEO of ING Life Korea -- Jim Brown, CEO of ING Life Thailand -- Ian Mathie, Sr. VP - Asean and South Asia of World Sport Group About ING ING Group is a global financial services company of Dutch origin with 160 years of experience, providing a wide array of banking, insurance and asset management services in over 50 countries. Based on market capitalisation, ING is one of the 20 largest financial institutions worldwide. In Asia-Pacific, ING has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Thailand About World Sport Group World Sport Football is the Hong-Kong based subsidiary of World Sport Group, an international sports marketing, rights and sponsorship agency.Founded in 1993, the company owns the broadcast and sponsorship rights to the Asian Football Confederation club and national team properties. In 2003, Japan media conglomerate Dentsu became a minority share holder in the World Sport Group. The company has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Lebanon. About the AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the premier national team competition in Asia. The Asian Cup dates back to 1954 when seven teams took part. In 2004, a total of 40 countries entered the competition, which was eventually won by Japan in a final watched by a record Asian television audience for Asian football.Japan, the defending champions, Iran and Saudi Arabia have each won the competition three times apiece. About the Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for football in Asia, and the largest of FIFA's six confederations, representing over half of the world's football fans, with a population of 3.7 billion people within its 45 Member Associations. The AFC was formed in 1954 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Press enquiries: Chavalit Thongrom ING Life Thailand Tel: +66-0-2263-3900 Ext. 9008 Email: [email protected] Sheel Kohli ING Insurance Asia/Pacific Tel: +852-9100-8576 Email: [email protected] Polly Leung ING Insurance Asia/Pacific Tel: +852-2913-8792 Email: [email protected] James Scholefield World Sport Group Tel: +65-9125-1644 Email: j.scholefield@worldsportgroup.com.sg SOURCE: ING --Distributed by AsiaNet (www.asianetnews.net)--