Budweiser become new sponsors of FA Cup

Manchester City celebrated success in this year's FA Cup (Reuters)

The Football Association today confirmed Budweiser as the lead partners of the FA Cup for the next three years.

The world's oldest knock-out competition will be officially known as 'The FA Cup with Budweiser'.

Budweiser, owned by American parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, have been the official beer of the FIFA World Cup for the last 25 years.

FA General Secretary Alex Horne believes the partnership with Budweiser can help take the FA Cup "to the next level" in its global reach.

Horne said: "We are extremely pleased to have secured an iconic brand such as Budweiser to be the lead partner of the FA Cup.

"Like the FA Cup, Budweiser has a proud heritage and a long history of being involved in football.

"Furthermore, given the global reach of this sponsorship we will see the FA Cup promoted around the world like never before, which is great for the fans and the players.

"The FA Cup is already a much-loved competition around the world and we look forward to building on that passion with Budweiser.

"It is very important to take the FA Cup to the next level. It is a massively cherished competition.

"We believe it has a real global reach. That is why we are so pleased to have signed up with a global partner."

Budweiser replace E.on as the lead sponsors.

In a new initiative, Budweiser have agreed with the FA for fans to vote for the official man of the match, a role usually reserved for commentators.

Budweiser will dedicate a portion of sponsorship funding to working with the FA to develop "a bespoke programme promoting responsible drinking to football fans".

They will also partner the FA on a community initiative that will provide essential equipment to teams in the early rounds of the competition.

Jason Warner, Budweiser global vice-president, said: "We're looking forward to sharing our passion for the beautiful game, bringing the FA Cup closer to fans around the world through an exciting programme of activity."

Last season's FA Cup final, won by Manchester City, was played on the same day as a full Premier League programme.

FA chairman David Bernstein is hopeful of avoiding that situation next May.

"We want to get the competition back to having a day to itself and we are in talks with the Premier League to make sure that happens. We are hopeful that will be the case," said Bernstein.