FOR MANCHESTER UNITED AND AIG, WEST IS EAST

The recent successes of Manchester United in the English football league have helped New York-based AIG, which signed a sponsorship deal with the club in the close season, to extend its brand in Asia, according to Chris Winans, a New York-based spokesman for the company. “The major purpose of the sponsorship is to drive revenue, as well as to further globalise AIG’s brand recognition, particularly in Asia”, he said. Total premiums in Asia for AIG, excluding Japan, grew by 16% last year, compared with growth in the range of 3% to 4% in the US and the UK. Mr Winans noted that Asia was AIG’s most important life market outside the US, contributing up to 65% of non-US premiums. Manchester United has long been the most well-known English football club in Asia, with David Beckham, now at Real Madrid, one of the most recognised western faces. The game is China’s most popular televised sport, although viewer ratings in China put the English premier league in fourth place behind the Italian, German and Chinese leagues.