The ITF announced today that Telefónica, one of the worldwide leaders in the telecommunications market, will become the Official Telecommunications Sponsor of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and the ITF.
This multi-year agreement begins today with the opening round of Davis Cup, with eight World Group ties and 26 Zone Group ties being played in 34 nations worldwide. In addition to on-court banners, Telefónica will provide telecommunications expertise at Davis Cup ties around the world and advise the ITF and its member nations on new ways to develop their internet properties including the highly successful official websites of Davis Cup, Daviscup.com and Daviscup.com/es.
“This is wonderful news for both Davis Cup and the ITF,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “Telefónica is a very successful company, with over 260 million customers, and we believe that they will be an outstanding partner for Davis Cup. In a world where technology is one of the true growth areas, we are delighted that Telefónica and its brands have joined Davis Cup as the Official Telecommunications Sponsor.”
“Davis Cup is a perfect fit for Telefónica, both for its global reach and the passion it generates in our key markets. We will use our commercial brands Movistar and O2, as well as Telefónica” said Telefónica Global Marketing Director, Belén Amatriain. “The 257,000 professionals who work for Telefónica share a common team spirit, something which is the essence of Davis Cup: a unique competition that turns an individual sport into a nation’s competition. We look forward to the first round of Davis Cup starting today and to a long future with the competition.”
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in sport with 128 nations entered in 2009. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Turismo Madrid (Official Tourist Destination), Hugo Boss (Official Men's Fashion Clothing Sponsor), NH Hoteles (Official Hotel) and, from 2009, Telefónica (Official Telecommunications Sponsor). Follow all the action on www.daviscup.com and www.daviscup.com/es.
Telefónicais one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation. Its activities are centered mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with broadband as the key tool for the development of both.
The company has a significant presence in 25 countries and a customer base that amounts to close to 259 million accesses around the world. Telefónica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.
Telefónica is a 100% listed company, with more than 1.5 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4,704,996,485 ordinary shares traded on the Spanish Stock Market (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia) and on those in London, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.