The chief of Carlsberg’s Baltika division said Wednesday that the company is considering applying to become one of the main sponsors of the 2018 soccer World Cup that will take place in Russia, where it is a market leader, and that the brewer will start marketing preparations now.
“We can’t say yet if we’ll become a sponsor. We’re looking at it,” Baltika chief executive Anton Artemyev said at a Copenhagen presentation. Carlsberg’s brands “will be very, very visible” at the tournament, and the Denmark-based company will “certainly capitalize on the event,” he said. ?
Carlsberg’s Baltika unit has about 40 percent of the Russian beer market, which is the world’s fourth-largest, according to the Danish brewer’s web site. Russia will hold the world’s most-watched sporting event, FIFA, football’s world governing body, said Dec. 2.
“It’s certainly very positive news for Carlsberg,” Artemyev said.