"Kumho Tyre has been a global player in tyre production for many years and, with their ambitious targets, perfectly suited to an internationally ambitious club like Bayer 04. We are very much looking forward to this exciting and multifaceted partnership," said Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who at this point would like to thank the Werkself marketing partner Lagardère Sports for their support in bringing about this business.
Jun Ro Song (pictured left), managing director of Kumho Tyre Europe GmbH, explained the reasons for the link-up: "We are happy to enter this new partnership with Bayer 04 Leverkusen as the club stands for reliability, ambition and international prestige. Those are decisive criteria for our partnerships in sport. Following our sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, we are now happy to have found another top European club in Bayer 04 Leverkusen. We hope to significantly increase our brand recognition with the help of this partnership."
As an official Premium Partner, Kumho Tyres will have a comprehensive presence on the digital hoardings along the whole side of the pitch over the course of their two-year contract. In addition, two Kumho branded 3D-cam carpets will be visible at the BayArena in the TV-relevant area, and from the new season the digital scoreboard will also bear the Kumho Tyre logo. The sponsorship package also includes premium hospitality allocations and a comprehensive, international incorporation into club media activities (website, social media etc).
Info on Kumho Tyre:
The Kumho Tyre Company with its headquarters in Seoul was founded in 1960 and is now one of the leading tyre manufacturers worldwide with 60 million tyres sold and an annual turnover of over €2 billion. Over 10,000 employees worldwide develop, produce and sell Kumho tyres for cars, vans and trucks. As a global player, Kumho has production facilities in Korea, Vietnam, China and the USA. In addition, Kumho has research and development centres in Korea, China, Europe and North America. In the summer of 2018 the Chinese manufacturer Doublestar Tire, one of the biggest tyre manufacturers in China, took up 45% of the shares in Kumho Tyre and is now the most important and biggest shareholder at Kumho. All tyres for the European market are developed in the European development centre in Mörfelden-Walldorf, near Frankfurt am Main.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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