SKF renews partnership with Gothia Cup global youth football tournament

SKF has signed an agreement to remain as the main partner to the Gothia Cup, the world’s largest youth football tournament, for an additional three years. SKF will also continue to run the ”Meet The World” qualifying tournaments held in around 20 countries globally. “Meet the World” was a programme started by SKF when it became the main partner to the Gothia Cup in 2007 and it has proved to be very successful. The winning team from each country taking part in this tournament travels to Gothenburg to take part in the Gothia Cup. 

-We are delighted to continue this partnership with the Gothia Cup. We share the same values inherent in the Gothia Cup; teamwork, responsibility, equal opportunities, an enjoyment in what we do and a commitment to the future. The Gothia Cup and the Meet the World tournaments complement the many other projects we undertake locally in the area of Community Care and plays an important role in raising the visability of SKF to the youth of today. Through this partnership with the Gothia Cup we will continue to provide help and support in developing youngsters' interests in football and in supporting them to come together and meet in Gothenburg, our home city, says Tom Johnstone, SKF President and CEO.

-The purpose of Gothia cup is to create a meeting place for youth worldwide, regardless of their culture, religion or social background. The partnership with SKF gives us a secure financial base, to ensure that we can continue to provide young people throughout the world a meeting point and a positive experience, says Dennis Andersson, General Secretary for the Gothia Cup.

This year more than 35,000 boys and girls from 70 countries will come to Gothenburg 17 to 23 July, to compete in the annual Gothia Cup. From its start in 1975, the Gothia Cup has had almost 950,000 participants from 127 countries.

About Meet the World
SKF has been organising its local Meet the World tournaments around the world since 2007. The idea is to give more young people, irrespective of their culture, gender, religion or colour, the opportunity to travel to Gothenburg, to take part in the Gothia Cup and meet young people from other countries.

SKF has a presence in all countries where the local tournaments take place, and so far 58 Meet the World tournaments have been held in 28 countries involving around 12,000 participants. 1000 young people have been to Gothenburg as members of winning teams to compete in the summer events.

Gothenburg,  22 March 2011

Aktiebolaget SKF
(publ)

For further information, please contact:
PRESS: Ingalill Östman, SKF Group Communication, tel: +46 31-337 3260, mobile:
+46 706-973260, e-mail: ingalill.ostman@skf.com
IR: Marita Björk, SKF Investor Relations, tel: +46 31-337 1994, mobile: +46 705-181994, e-mail: marita.bjork@skf.com

SKF is a leading global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training. SKF is represented in more than 130 countries and has 15,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2010 were SEK 61,029 million and the number of employees was 44,742. www.skf.com