Enabling 492 million Fans in Southeast Asia to Enjoy the Region’s Premier Football Tournament at Home

GUANGDONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 22 September 2021 - Midea, one of the world's leading home appliances producers, has announced its official sponsorship of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Football Championship, also known as the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020, on the day of the official draw. Through supporting millions of football fans to enjoy the matches at home, this partnership is the latest move from Midea to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to Southeast Asian markets.

"We are delighted to showcase our commitment to accelerating growth and development in Southeast Asia through enabling millions of football fans to enjoy the AFF Suzuki Cup, one of the most successful football tournaments at home. At Midea, we are committed to integrate the world and inspire the future. Apart from bolstering our brand presence around the region, we also look forward to igniting excitement and bringing people together during this unprecedented time," said Jackie Huang, General Manager of Asia & Pacific at Midea Group's International Business Division.

Fandi Ahmad, the Singapore football legend, at the Midea sponsored pre-draw show

Due to the pandemic, the tournament has been rescheduled from last year to take place between December 5, 2021 and January 1, 2022. The official draw took place virtually, which spilt ten qualified countries into two groups. Group A: Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and QR winner (Timor-Leste or Brunei Darussalam.) Group B:  Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos. Each country will host a minimum of two matches and a maximum of four if they are able to make it to the Finals. The top two teams from each group will advance to Semi-Finals and Finals.

As the official sponsor, Midea supported a short pre-and post-official draw show at the tournament. Fandi Ahmad, the Singapore football legend, shared his insights into the tournament history and made predictions for some of the upcoming matches in December.

In addition to the shows, Midea will have significant brand exposures and fan engagement opportunities across the region through the sponsorship. The Midea brand will be featured on a series of promotional collaterals and platforms, including the tournament's digital channels, official tournament materials, in-stadia TV commercials, and perimeter advertising boards in every stadium where a match is held. It will provide Midea with plenty of opportunities to showcase its brand and engage with millions of football fans across the ASEAN markets.

Major General Khiev Sameth, AFF President, shared, "We are thrilled to welcome Midea to join us in bringing the game to millions of football fans this year. AFF is devoted to supporting brands to expand their reach and exposure as we enable them to empower football fans with the spirit of unity and passion. We strive to support Midea in fostering connections to create an extraordinary viewing experience for fans around the region at the tournament."

About AFF Suzuki Cup

The AFF Suzuki Cup is a biennial football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), accredited by FIFA, and contested by the national 'A' teams of Southeast Asia.

In 2020, the 13th edition of the AFF Suzuki Cup will continue the format where 10 qualified teams will be split into two groups of five and play a round robin system, with each team playing four fixtures. The format of the knockout round remains unchanged, with semi-finals and the final played on two-leg format.

About the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)

The ASEAN Football Federation comprises 12 Member Associations. The main objectives of the ASEAN Football Federation are to develop football in ASEAN through its activities, courses and competitions, to continue to nurture the AFF Suzuki Cup as the premier Football Tournament in Asia and to foster closer relationships between Member Associations in ASEAN and the Regional Federations across Asia.

About Midea & Midea Group

Midea is one of over 10 brands within the home appliance business of Midea Group – a leading global high-technology company ranked #288 at 2021's Global Fortune 500. Midea Group's business goes beyond home appliances and comprises business pillars like Smart Home, Electro-Mechanical, HVAC & Building Technologies, Robotics & Automation, as well as Digital Innovation. All businesses of Midea Group are striving for one credo: #HumanizingTechnology.

Midea Home Appliances brand offers one of the world's most comprehensive product ranges in the home appliance industry, specializing in air-treatment (commercial and residential air conditioning solutions), refrigeration, laundry, large kitchen and cooking appliances, small kitchen appliances, water appliances, floor care and lighting.

Midea believes in providing surprisingly-friendly solutions by adopting a consumer-centric and problem-solving approach. Going above and beyond for the future, constantly exploring and inventing to meet the ever-changing demand of our consumers.

Midea is, among many others, the world's #1 Air Treatment Brand ^[1], the world's #1 Small Cooking Appliances Brand ^[2], the world's #1 Air Coolers Brand ^[3], the world's #1 Cooling Fans Brand ^[4], and the world's #1 Rice Cookers Brand ^[5].

Midea's globally 34 production centers and over 150,000 employees in more than 200 countries and regions generated an annual revenue of more than USD 41.4 billion in 2020. Midea's 28 worldwide innovation centers and the strong commitment to R&D have resulted in more than 62,000 authorized patents to-date.

^[1] "Midea – World's No.1 Air Treatment Brand"
Source:"Euromonitor International (Shanghai) Limited; Consumer Appliances 21ed, retail volume sales in units, 2020 data"

^[2] "Midea – World's No.1 Small Cooking Appliances Brand"
Source:"Euromonitor International (Shanghai) Limited; Consumer Appliances 21ed, retail volume sales in units, 2020 data"

^[3] "Midea – World's No.1 Air Coolers Brand"
Source:"Euromonitor International (Shanghai) Limited; Consumer Appliances 21ed, retail volume sales in units, 2020 data"

^[4] "Midea – World's No.1 Cooling Fans Brand"
Source:"Euromonitor International (Shanghai) Limited; Consumer Appliances 21ed, retail volume sales in units, 2020 data"

^[5] "Midea – World's No.1 Rice Cookers Brand"
Source:"Euromonitor International (Shanghai) Limited; Consumer Appliances 21ed, retail volume sales in units, 2020 data"

#Midea