Atletico de Madrid willpromote Baku’s staging of the inaugural European Games in 2015 as part of theSpanish Primera Division giant’s commercial tie-up with Azerbaijan’s tourismauthority.
Baku 2015’s official logowas revealed on Saturday and later in the evening was worn on the front ofAtletico’s shirts as the club thrashed Getafe 7-0 to retain second position inthe Primera Division. The new look kit is a part of the strategic sponsorshipthat Atletico signed with Azerbaijan last year. Atletico’s shirts hadpreviously been emblazoned with the words ‘Azerbaijan Land of Fire’, thecountry’s tourism motto, in order to promote the brand of Azerbaijan. Alongwith Atletico, the Baku 2015 brand will also be worn by Azeri-owned FrenchLigue 2 club RC Lens for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youthand Sport, Azad Rahimov, said: “For the first time Europe has its ownmulti-sport event and we want to spread the message to sport fans across thecontinent. There are few ways of doing this that is as impactful as on theshirt of a football team, the main identifying element of a club. Ourcollaboration with Atletico, with its players now wearing the Baku 2015 logowith pride, is built on a shared passion to bring people together in acelebration in sport. That’s what these Games – and our desire to host them inBaku – are really about.”
Baku 2015 will see morethan 5,400 athletes from the 49 Olympic nations of Europe compete in 18 sports,including new formats such as basketball 3×3. Beach soccer will also featurefor first time in a major multi-sport European event. The plans are said toboth reflect the hosting ambitions of Azerbaijan and be a blueprint for thefuture of major sporting and cultural events on the continent. The EuropeanGames will run every four years and are owned and regulated by the EuropeanOlympic Committee (EOC).
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