Brett Foote
The Conmebol Libertadores championship is underway São Paulo, Brazil, but unfortunately with no fans in attendance due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, Ford recently gave fans the chance to attend the games, albeit virtually, to cheer on their favorite team.
The first match to receive the virtual fan treatment, or Torcida Ford as the automaker calls it, was the matchup between Flamengo and Independiente Del Valle. Just yesterday, 40 Palmeiras fans also appeared to support the team in their showdown with DelfÃn, at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo. The program will continue on in other games in the ongoing 16-round championship.
The fans in “attendance” are able to participate virtually in the form of a videoconference shown on screens inside the stadium and, during the break, chat with Denilson, sports commentator and former world champion player with the Brazilian team in 2002.
“With Torcida Ford we get even closer to our customers, uniting two great passions of the Brazilian: football and cars. With social isolation, fans have not been to the stadiums for several months and the objective of this action is to rescue the emotion of being together to boost the team, without neglecting safety,” said Mauricio Greco, Ford’s Marketing Director.
Ford is a major sponsor of Conmebol Libertadores, which is South America’s largest sporting event and the highest level of the continent’s club football (or soccer, for Americans) competition. The tournament has taken place each year since 1960, though it has gone through several format changes during that time.
Once the dust settles and the tournament wraps up, the winner of the Copa Libertadores becomes eligible to play in the FIFA Club World Cup and the Recopa Sudamericana.
We’ll have more on Ford’s sports involvement and other sponsorships soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
