Ford Sponsoring Arena Football

CHICAGO--The Arena Football League (AFL) and arenafootball2 (af2) have named Ford Truck as the “official and exclusive automotive and truck partner” of the two leagues through the 2002 season, AFL Commissioner David Baker and af2 executive director Mary Ellen Garling jointly announced.

“This Ford partnership represents the cornerstone of our sponsorship efforts going forward as the AFL can deliver to blue chip partners, such as Ford, a national marketing umbrella and activate throughout our 47 AFL and af2 markets in North America,” said AFL Properties President Glenn J. Horine.

The partnership agreement is two-tiered. On a national level, Ford Truck and the AFL/af2 are in development in creating unique opportunities for both players and fans throughout the entire 2001 and 2002 seasons. On a local level, Ford regions and dealers will be involved in not only helping to promote the partnership, but in creating exclusive promotional packages for local teams and fans as well.

“The AFL represents the true meaning of toughness,” said Al Giombetti, truck and SUV group marketing manager for the Ford Division. “The players, the fans, the entire concept of the AFL and af2 leagues personify our entire concept of what ‘Build Ford Tough’ really means.''

The AFL will kick off its 15th season in April, with a record high of 19 teams, including new markets Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Long Island and Toronto, Ontario, the AFL’s first Canadian team. Last year, twice as many fans watched games than ever before, with the AFL exceeding one million fans for a fifth straight season, and arenafootball2 surpassing 800,000 fans in its inaugural season.

The NFL holds an exclusive option to acquire an equity interest of 49.9 percent in the AFL, subject to the approval of NFL owners. Currently, four NFL owners, including the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, Washington Redskins’ Daniel Snyder, New Orleans Saints’ Tom Benson and Detroit Lions’ William Ford Jr. (with partner, Palace Sports & Entertainment) have been approved for teams.