Nissan Rides On With City Football Group, Signs Guardiola as Ambassador

Japanese car brand Nissan and City Football Group have extended their global partnership that will see the car maker continue to be the Official Automotive Partner of the group and its football teams in the U.K, U.S. and Australia.

The announcement comes as City Football Group’s Premier League team, Manchester City, prepares to arrive in Japan for the last leg of its preseason tour of Asia. The tour culminates with a sold-out July 27 match at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, where the team will take on the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos, which is owned by Nissan and in which City Football Group holds a minority stake.

City Football Group and Nissan have been partners since 2014. The carmaker was City Football Group’s first multi-club partner, working with Melbourne City FC and sister-clubs, Manchester City and Major League Soccer’s New York City FC.

As part of the extended partnership, Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola has been named a Nissan ambassador. Guardiola is one of the world’s most decorated and highly acclaimed coaches, most recently presiding over his club’s record-breaking “Fourmidables” season, in which Manchester City won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield.

Nissan will continue its high-profile presence at all Melbourne City FC’s matches at AAMI Park in addition to Manchester City men’s and women’s games at the world-famous Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium and at New York City FC’s games at Yankee Stadium.

“Nissan was the first ever partner of City Football Group in 2014,” said Damian Willoughby, the CFG’s Senior Vice President of Partnerships. “It was the first global business to understand our vision and our objectives and see the value of using our multi-club model as a way to engage their audience in different key markets around the world. It is a great endorsement of our partnership that we are extending our relationship and will continue to work closely together. Nissan is a world-class brand and has set an incredibly high standard in sports marketing. Just as Nissan stands for innovation that excites, which has run through our partnership, we are excited to see what we can create together next.”

Roel De Vries, Nissan senior vice president and global head of marketing, customer experience and brand strategy, said: “With teams all over the world, City Football Group is the perfect partner for Nissan. We share an ambition to excite people everywhere, whether it’s through world-class football or world-leading automotive technologies. Pep Guardiola’s innovative strategies have kept Manchester City at the top of their game, so he’ll be the ideal ambassador to elevate the story of our innovative Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision.”

Guardiola added: “I’m looking forward to working even more closely with Nissan. Nissan has been a great partner for Manchester City, and I know there are lots of exciting plans ahead. I’m particularly looking forward to visiting Nissan Stadium in Yokohama this Saturday.”