Press & Media

 
Canadian Soccer Association
Media Release

For Immediate Release
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Canadian Soccer Association and Del Monte Canada Announce National Partnership

OTTAWA, 19 July 2011 – The Canadian Soccer Association and Del Monte Canada Inc. are pleased to announce their national partnership through to 2013. The agreement will see Del Monte become the official fruit snack for the association.

“This is a very exciting time to be involved with the Canadian Soccer Association”, said Richard Parkinson, Director of Marketing for Del Monte Canada. “The Canadian National Teams are preparing for a crucial fall and winter season and garnering a lot of attention, especially just following the Women’s National Team participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™. We look forward to supporting the national teams as well as the nearly 850,000 grassroots players across the country.”

As part of the agreement, Del Monte will become an associate level sponsor for the association, its national teams as well as the Nutrilite Active Start Soccer Fests. The festivals - an internationally recognized youth development program targeted at children under the age of eleven - is the largest national grass roots soccer program in the country, connecting hundreds of clubs and communities whose purpose is to introduce the sport of soccer through a fun-filled event for both children and their parents. Del Monte will have a presence at these festivals as well as provide product for its participants.

“We would like to welcome Del Monte to the Canadian Soccer Association and thank them for their commitment to the growth of soccer in this country,” stated Peter Montopoli, General Secretary for the Canadian Soccer Association. He added that “it is the support of companies such as Del Monte and their recognition of the sport’s importance to Canadians through the placement of the Canadian Soccer Association logo on up to 10 million products that will grow the brand of soccer in this country.”

In addition, Del Monte Canada is proud to announce that it has signed world class athlete and Women’s National Team captain Christine Sinclair as Del Monte Canada Athlete Representative.

“Christine Sinclair demonstrates, in her athletic and personal life, qualities such as hard work, leadership, team work and perseverance that make her such an inspiration for all Canadian youth”, said Parkinson. “She is the perfect embodiment of a healthy and active lifestyle that is so important to Del Monte.”

To celebrate this new partnership, Del Monte Canada is holding a sweepstake where consumers have a chance to win a soccer clinic for their club or school team with Sinclair. This promotion is already running in all Nutrilite Active Start Soccer Fests and will be hitting stores across the country in mid-August.

Del Monte Canada is committed to providing healthy, nutritious, natural foods that are convenient, easy to use and soccer provides an excellent platform to reach out to parents and support them in attaining and maintaining a healthy active lifestyle for their family. Parents want to know what is in their foods and they want real foods with real ingredients that they can pronounce. They are looking for convenient, easy, single serve items that are “school safe”, from trusted brand names like Del Monte.

About Del Monte Canada
Del Monte Canada Inc., is the market leader in canned fruit, refrigerated fruit, and canned tomatoes, and is #2 in canned vegetables sold under the Del Monte and Aylmer brand names. The company recently launched Del Monte 100% Fruit Snacks and sublicenses the Del Monte name to Nestle Canada for frozen novelties. For further information on Del Monte Canada and its products, please visit delmontecanada.com. To find out more on the soccer clinic with Christine Sinclair sweepstake visit the Del Monte Canada Fruit Snack microsite at delmontefruitsnacks.com.

About the Canadian Soccer Association
The Canadian Soccer Association, in partnership with its membership and its partners, provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer, both at the national and international levels. The Canadian Soccer Association not only strives to lead Canada to victory, but also encourages Canadians to a life-long passion for soccer. For more details on the Canadian Soccer Association and its National teams’ schedules and results, please visit CanadaSoccer.com

Additional Information
Unfortunately, as fast as soccer is growing, so is obesity and nutritional deficiency-related diseases in Canada, especially amongst our youth. Over the last 25 years, obesity rates among children and youth in Canada have nearly tripled! In fact, Statistics Canada reports that in 2004, 59% of adults and 26% of children were obese or overweight.

Consumers’ needs for convenience and snacking also continue to rise:49% of Canadians eat in between meals at least once a day1, 45% of Canadians say that they’re busier than they used to be1, 36% of Canadians are routinely skipping meals; four in ten say their snacks are becoming less healthy.1

Source:
1. Environics Convenience Shopper Canada 2009