World Cup Beach Football Kicks off at Cannes Lions

International football will take centre stage at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival this month as the event hosts its very own World Cup.

As national teams compete for the game’s biggest prize in South Africa, 16 countries will be represented in the Cannes Lions Beach Football World Cup, sponsored by Eurosport Television.

The beach football will be played on the Plage du Palais, close to the Palais des Festivals, which will be transformed into a beach football pitch, complete with match officials, score board and crowd areas.

Cannes Lions delegates from Europe, South America, North America and Australia will compete for the advertising festival’s most prestigious sporting prize.

The competition will take place on Tuesday 22 June and Wednesday 23 June, with matches being played through the day on Tuesday from 9am to 6pm.

The knock-out stages will begin from 1pm on Wednesday 23 June.

The match schedule for the 16 teams, recruited by their respective national Cannes Lions representatives, features some mouth-watering contests. World Cup hosts South Africa face Brazil in Group 1, England face old rivals Argentina in Group 2 and Group 4 has neighbours USA and Canada going head-to-head.

Eurosport will also be broadcasting all the World Cup matches from South Africa on an HD screen in the central foyer of the Palais des Festivals during the Festival, enabling delegates to follow their team’s progress.

Heather Bowler, Global Director of Communications for Eurosport said: “The international nature of Cannes Lions created a great opportunity for us to support the Festival’s own beach football World Cup. As a World Cup broadcaster it was natural for Eurosport to be associated with this event which will see delegates compete for their own taste of World Cup glory. There is an impressive array of teams taking part from around the world and I am sure it will be a popular addition to the Festival programme.”

Philip Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival said: “Eurosport has been a supporter of the Festival for several years within the Palais des Festivals and when they came to us with the idea of a football competition we thought it was a great way to include football fever into the event. It’s a bit of fun that during the last world cup added to the competitive spirit of the Festival.”

The winning team in the Beach Football World Cup will be awarded their trophy at the Press, Design and Cyber Lions Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 23 June.

The Cannes Lions Beach Football World Cup groups are:

Group Play-Off Schedule:

Knock-out stages: Wednesday 23 June from 11:00

For information about the tournament at Cannes Lions contact:
Matt Horler, Eurosport press relations, 0044 7765 186 479 – [email protected]