Philips becomes the tenth official partner of the 2006 tournament, which will take place in Germany, joining adidas, Avaya, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Deutsche Telekom, Gillette, McDonald's, Toshiba and Yahoo! in sponsoring the competition.
Philips, whose deal also includes sponsorship of next year's Women's World Cup in China, will hold product category exclusivity for television, video, audio and lighting.
Gottfried DutinC), executive vice president and member of Philips’ board of management stated: "This is an ideal fit for Philips in light of the 'digital' revolution that will change the way people experience television. Through this FIFA World Cup we will be able to demonstrate many advantages of digitalization of TV like wide screen, better picture quality but also interactive use of TV like watching more matches at the same time, choosing your own camera angle and getting player data while watching a match."
Philips has been a World Cup sponsor since the 1986 tournament in Mexico.
Electronics brand Philips will continue its long-term association with soccer after agreeing a sponsorship deal with FIFA for the 2006 World Cup.
