Soccer: No plans to sponsor Premier League, say Budweiser

Brewing giants Budweiser emphasised today they are more concerned with sponsoring the World Cup than the Premier League.

And they denied they had been involved in the final round of bidding for England’s top competition.

The Premier League are searching for a new title sponsor after Carling pulled out of negotiations to renew their deal, which runs out at the end of the season.

Kerry Bebe, marketing director of Anheuser-Busch, Europe, said: ‘‘Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, is committed to supporting football on a global scale.

‘‘Contrary to rumours and speculation we were not involved in the final bidding process for Premier League sponsorship.

‘‘The FA Premier League is an outstanding sports property. However we feel it is important to focus our energies and activities into making the upcoming FIFA World Cup the best ever for fans across the world.

‘‘In the UK we will be promoting Budweiser’s sponsorship with an exciting variety of programmes over the next two years, which will appeal to all football fans.’’