In another blow to major local brewery SAB, Anheuser-Busch has sought assistance from rival Brandhouse, and will be supplying Heineken alongside Budweiser at the stadiums.
"It was not an easy decision to make," global brand manager for Anheuser-Busch, Alfrayd Poolis said this morning, 1 April 2010. "We were hoping to import enough Budweiser into the country but considering the magnitude of the event, and without a local brewery, we are afraid will not be able to meet the demand.
"As people coming from Europe, the UK and Americas are very familiar with Heineken, and it is synonymous with the UEFA Champions League, we have decided to enlist the help of Brandhouse."
Brandhouse has negotiated full branding rights to be included at all venues, unlike a similar agreement between an unnamed food concessionaire and main food sponsor McDonald's. Although McDonald's earlier this week reported it would not be supplying the stadiums with food and another supplier will be stepping in, the international franchise would still retain its branding rights, and only unbranded food could be sold.
This is bound to be met with further disatisfaction from SAB as per its agreement FIFA, which states it is only allowed to pour unbranded beer at the 10 fan parks countrywide.
See the official statement here.
