"China did not qualify for the World Cup, but the country is still making an appearance in South Africa. An ambitious Chinese solar company, the country's first World Cup sponsor, has placed advertising in all the stadiums in a bid to give its brand a worldwide boost”, reported by Associated Press.
"The World Cup is a very good platform that can immediately boost our brand awareness in every potential market around the globe," said Yingli Solar Vice President Jason Liu.
Currently, most of the FIFA sponsors are consumer-goods makers, such as Mcdonald's and Budweiser Beer, while Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited is the first renewable energy sponsor. Analyst says, it sounds that solar-cell panel has nothing to do with football, but the sponsor will facilitate to shape brand reliability and satisfy the requirements of the investors. Stuart James, the Asia-Pacific director of Helios, said:” Certainly everyone in China, if not everyone around the world, now knows a company like that exists."
These years, the Chinese companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on sponsoring International Sports Events, exploring the overseas market with great ambition. There are more than 20 companies cooperated with Beijing Olympic Games, among of which include Lenovo computer.