FIFA Competitions

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The FIFA Confederations Cup was launched in 1992, and this years event marked its 8th tournament. Held from June 14 to 28, 2009, the tournament took place in the 4 venues of Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Tshwane/Pretoria, and Mangaung/Bloemfontein. The six confederation champions plus the host country and the FIFA World Cup™ defending champion participated in the heated 8-team tournament.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ champion, Italy, was upset and went home after the group league, while Spain, the number one team in the FIFA world rankings, was unexpectedly defeated 0-2 by USA in the semi-final. The final was played between USA and Brazil. Riding on the momentum gained from beating European champion Spain in the semi-final, USA stunned the world by taking a 2-0 lead over Brazil with aggressive offense and brilliant counter-attacks that are characteristic of their opponent. However, Brazil turned the match around in the second half, demonstrating their true power as they staged a huge come-from-behind 3-2 victory to capture their third cup title.

This event was the last international FIFA competition to be held in South Africa before they host the final tournament, which is only a year away. The organizing committee and the South African people gained a valuable experience from this test event. All those who witnessed the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa 2009 also felt the mounting excitement and expectations of the approaching 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Brand Exposure

LED pitch boards were used for the first time in a FIFA event. The boards would rotate every 15 seconds to display the logo mark of the Official Partners and local sponsors as well as a message from FIFA. There were moments when all the pitch boards, with the exception of the center location, were dominated by Sony. The Sony logo was beautifully set off by the "Football Colors" design.

Commercial Display

A "PlayStation® Home corner was set up at the commercial display area at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. This "new playground" for PS3 & provides a 3-dimensional high resolution space where users can meet and play games or communicate with each other. Visitors disguised themselves as an avatar wearing a Sony original FIFA Confederations Cup T-shirt and walked around in cyberspace to meet other avatars, enjoying this new communication experience. There was also a live camera set up at the middle of the booth from which visitors could send a message. Fans from different countries stopped by to express their unique messages and words of support.

Fan Photographer

Sony Ericsson carried out a special promotion called "Fan Photographer" during this FIFA Confederations Cup. Fan Photographers were selected by lottery from Sony Ericsson cell phone users, and they were allowed to take photos of the live match alongside professional photographers with a Cyber-shot cell phone. The lucky fans who won a seat as a Fan Photographer witnessed the world's top level football through the lens and experienced the excitement as they ecstatically took photos like a professional photographer.

Sony FEVA Pitch

A 5-versus-5 "Sony FEVA Pitch" futsal preliminary competition, hosted by Sony South Africa, was held at Johannesburg's Nelson Mandela Square. As the statue of former President Mandela looked on, teams took part in a heated competition that would decide who advances to the final round in December where the finalists from all over South Africa will meet. The legendary South African national team, led by former national team member Mark Fish, made a special appearance as the Sony All Stars team and pleased the crowd in an exhibition match.