The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has been the general sponsor of the national football teams of Azerbaijan and AFFA since 2003.
In addition to supporting the national teams for 12 years SOCAR has sponsored Caspian Cup Tournament, U-14 League, Grassroots tournaments and other tournaments and leagues organized by AFFA. SOCAR considers a healthy lifestyle as one of their main goals and always supported AFFA’s such campaignes.
On 17.05.2013 the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) has announced with great pleasure to be one of the general sponsors of the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship and qualifying round matches of this tournament. The cooperation between SOCAR and UEFA will make a great contribution to the football tournament which the firstly was held in France in 1960 and be held every four years, and which is the world's most prestigious national team championship and collects the mass audience.
Commenting on the partnership, SOCAR Vice-President on Marketing and Investments Elshad Nasirov said: "We are happy to join this forward-thinking project, and would like to announce that SOCAR is proud to cooperate with the world of sport. This is our second experience in the international sponsorship after the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup held in Azerbaijan. SOCAR is actively supports the development of football in the country as the general sponsor of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. Sports sponsorship is a very important factor, and it is very significant for us to support such a large and exciting competition. In our view, this sponsorship is a unique opportunity to raise the international profile of the company and reflects our position in the establishing a premium brand in the energy sector. "
UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said, expressing his views on the cooperation: “We are pleased to welcome SOCAR among the official sponsors of UEFA national team competitions including UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying matches and European Championship qualifying matches holding in 2014-2017. The sponsorship platform is given SOCAR a unique opportunity to promote their brand and to expand their target audience. Socar's aim is to become a global energy company and our collaboration will be a great opportunity to introduce the European football to a wider audience”.
