We will have an exciting news announcement this week with one of the world’s leading soccer clubs. A comment from a team official that prematurely named Herbalife as a new team sponsor was posted online, and we’ve seen from emails today that this news has reached some of our Distributors. It's my great pleasure to tell you that not only will Herbalife be a new sponsor, we will be the Official Nutrition Sponsor of FC Barcelona. We have global rights for the team’s logo and image usage, on-field advertising and signage and access to players for various activities. We will also be the main sponsor for FC Barcelona’s 2010/11 pre-season friendly match schedule, which will include the Herbalife logo appearing on the left sleeve of the team’s shirt in all international friendly matches. Our worldwide press announcement later this week will include this information and all the exciting details so get ready to celebrate as we associate our brand with FC Barcelona's shining reputation and global appeal in the world's most popular sport.
One of the reasons this deal is so appropriate for us is that we share many similar values: FC Barcelona is "more than a club," and Herbalife is more than a company. Our Herbalife brand stands for great nutrition as part of a healthy active life and FC Barcelona is recognized for the importance it places on nutrition as part of its training. We believe that our portfolio of products can play a key role in further enhancing that program. FC Barcelona also shares our commitment to making our communities better places and we will strengthen our relationship through our respective charitable foundations, the FCB Foundation whose XICS Centers benefit children at risk, and the Herbalife Family Foundation’s Casa Herbalife program around the world.
In order to maximize our press coverage, we were holding the news until closer to our worldwide media announcement later this week. You will be receiving much more detailed information as planned prior to the news announcement. We hope that all of you share our excitement about this new global relationship -- we're taking it to the next level!
Michael