(FILA Brazil) - With a long and iconic history in tennis, FILA has expanded its presence in the sport with the sponsorship of the biggest tennis tournament in South America: Rio Open 2017.
In February, FILA will serve as the official sports brand of the Rio Open 2017. The ATP 500 tournament, held in Rio de Janeiro, will take place from February 20-26 in the Jockey Club Brasileiro. FILA’s top tennis athletes will represent the brand throughout the Rio Open competition.
On December 8, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, the tournament sponsorship was first announced with a celebration that featured FILA and other event partners. On that day, FILA also introduced a collection designed especially for the event. The line was inspired by FILA’s Italian heritage, with unmistakable style and high performance features, suitable for both professionals and amateurs.
FILA has also invested heavily in the creation and development of new footwear models. Through its Dass Creation Center (Brazil), the largest footwear development center in Latin America, FILA has created high-performance tennis shoes called the Cage Delirium. The brand is already working on updated models for next year.
According to Felipe Rosa, marketing manager for FILA in Latin America, the sponsorship of a tournament at the level of Rio Open, is an important and strategic step in the growth of the brand:
"Fila has a long history and tradition in the sport and to become the official sports brand of the biggest tennis tournament of South America, gives us a unique opportunity to increase our development in the category, by delivering products with high quality and performance to tennis lovers,” explained Rosa.
FILA announced a variety of major partnerships in 2016. The brand resumed its partnership with Fernando Meligeni, current ambassador for tennis in Brazil, and FILA signed sponsorship agreements with athletes including Karolina Pliskova (#6 WTA), John Isner (#19 ATP) and Croatia’s Marin Cilic, who is currently the number #6 ranked player on the ATP World Tour. FILA is also a sponsor of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the Rogers Cup and Coupe Rogers, the Brazil Open, the Brazil Open Series, the Argentina Open, and the FILA Cup Buenos Aires. In addition to event partnerships, FILA is also an official supplier to Tennis Canada.
To learn more about FILA and its athletes: http://www.fila.com.br/atletas
Rio Open is an ICT realization; promotion IMM.
About FILA
FILA is an Italian brand, created in 1911, present in more than 50 countries. In Brazil, it offers performance products for sports such as Running and Tennis, and an exclusive line for functional training called Fila Cross Training (FXT), which gathers performance, technology and style. It also has lines that talk to Lifestyle, inspired in the brand's origins, besides mixing style to sportswear.
The brand sponsors events in their main modalities such as Brazil Open, ATP Challenge Tour Finals, Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Toronto and Montreal Masters 1000 and Orange Bowl in the tennis market and the International São Paulo Marathon and International Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon in the street running segment. Besides Fila Running Team, Fila sponsors the African high performance running team.
About Grupo Dass
Specialized in sports Brands Management and Industrial Solutions, Grupo Dass annually produces 12.5 million pairs of shoes and 5 million clothing pieces, and counts on more than 12 thousand employees acting in Brazil and Latin America. Besides FILA, the company manages other sports brands.
About Rio Open 2017
Rio Open is the first ATP World Tour 500 series of the history of Brazil and it is part of the restrict group of 13 tournaments called ATP 500 in 2017, one of the 22 most important in the ATP calendar. This turns this tournament into the largest annual sporting event in Rio de Janeiro and one of the only ATP 500 held on a clay court in the world, along with Barcelona and Hamburg.
Top tennis athletes have already participated in the tournament. The Spanish Rafael Nadal, former world number one and one of the biggest tennis idols, won the first edition in 2014. His countryman David Ferrer was the champion in 2015. The Italian Fabio Fognini, the Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the American John Isner have also participated of Rio Open.
In addition to games and practices that take place in the nine clay courts, one of those, the central stadium with seating for 6,200 people, there is an interactive area, called Leblon Boulevard, with many attractions for the public, stands, shops and dining area. In all, it is expected that around 50,000 go through the complex in 2017.
All games of the event will be broadcasted of the center court in HD on Channel SporTV, and the international broadcast will reach over 160 countries.
The fourth edition will be held between February 20th and 26th, 2017 at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, with the prize of R$ 4.5 million. Ticket sales begin in December.
MORE INFORMATION FOR THE PRESS
NR-7 Comunicação
Gefferson Eusébio (gefferson@nr-7comunicacao.com.br)
Julyana Castro (julyana.castro@nr-7comunicacao.com.br)
André Mendes (andre.mendes@nr-7comunicacao.com.br)
