SHAH ALAM, Jan 16, 2013 – Football fans and Carlsberg lovers can rejoice! Carlsberg has entered into a three-year partnership with the Premier League as the Official Beer Partner of the Barclays Premier League. The partnership kicks off with the upcoming 2013/2014 season beginning in August and will continue until the end of the 2015/2016 season.

As the newly appointed official beer, Carlsberg is set to take the event to new levels worldwide and that includes in Malaysia, where football fans can expect a memorable and uniquely Carlsberg Premier League experience that include all-expense paid trips for local fans to their favourite clubs to watch matches live.

The partnership with Premier League is yet another landmark in the brand’s long standing association with football. With four decades of football history, the ‘beautiful game’ has become central to Carlsberg’s identity.

Soren Ravn, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia, said, “Football and beer go hand in hand and Carlsberg is the game’s beer of choice. Given the international stature of the iconic Premier League and Carlsberg being one of the world’s most renowned beer brands, this partnership is well-suited. The obvious passion which Premier League fans demonstrate when rooting for their clubs is very much like the loyalty displayed by Carlsberg consumers for our beer.”

“Carlsberg will have the opportunity to tap into the Premier League’s fan base of 4.7 billion people from more than 200 countries worldwide. Known as the ‘world’s local league’, the Premier League is supported feverishly outside of the U.K. and Malaysians are definitely in the big leagues when it comes to being ardent football fans. Carlsberg, as the country’s most preferred beer brand, has plans to make the upcoming season one that our consumers will remember.”

“Once Carlsberg activates our consumer contests in August, it will be an exciting time for fans. Besides the all-expense paid trips to watch matches live and viewing parties, our Malaysian fans can also look forward to premium match footage, hospitality packages, access to tickets for Premier League matches and player signed merchandise.

Ravn added that Carlsberg’s association with football dates back to when the Danish brewery became the first sponsor of the Danish national team in the 1970s. Over the years, Carlsberg’s love affair with the sport has resulted in its sponsorship of Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, Stoke City and West Ham United football clubs. It is also the official beer for several major national and international tournaments, including the UEFA EURO Championships which began in 1988. For UEFA EURO 2012, the brand in Malaysia took 100 2/4 die-hard fans on a football trip-of-a-lifetime to catch the championship semi-finals live in Ukraine.

Football fans do not have to wait till August for a Carlsberg-style Premier League experience. Carlsberg has kicked off a series of viewing parties for the 2012/2013 season, starting with the first one in 2013 for the much-anticipated match between old rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

At the recent viewing party at Movida’s at Scott Garden, fans wholeheartedly rooted for their respective clubs while being treated to the full Carlsberg football experience. Besides beer pong and foosball, there were penalty goal video simulations with prizes for correctly predicting the outcome of the match.

Ahead are viewing parties for the Liverpool v Norwich match on January 19 at Pandan Malim Food Court in Melaka, Lucky TCT Restaurant in Johor Bahru and Marmolade Food Court in Johor Bahru. The Chelsea v Arsenal match on January 20, 2013, can be caught at viewing parties in GP Food Court in Ipoh and Lau Yew Hawker Centre in Penang.

For more information on the Carlsberg’s Premier League viewing parties and other activities, visit www.facebook.com/Carlsberg or www.carlsberg.com.my