/PRZWT/Shanghai, May 24, 2024 - On May 17-18, the third edition of the Wolfsburg United Cup, hosted by Wolfsburg Football Club, was successfully held at the Shanghai Jing'an Sports Center.
Volkswagen China, SAIC Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen, Volkswagen Anhui, Audi FAW, SAIC Audi, Linglong Tire, Junlian Zhixing, Xinwangda Power, Anji Logistics, Minshi Group, Lida Electric, Qingjian Guoxuan Football United, Ningbo Huaxiang, Huayang Group, Giant One Technology, Horizon, Yuanoak Technology, Deloitte, and EDAG participated in a total of 20 teams. They contributed many exciting matchups to this event, and finally FAW-Volkswagen won the championship. This event also received strong support from SAIC Volkswagen, Fitter, Baolixing, Wuhan Jiachen, Chengmai Technology, Seiko Automobile, and Kaiyuan Youyou.
The curtain is lifted, the event is upgraded
The third Wolfsburg Union Cup officially kicked off at the Shanghai Jing'an Sports Center.
At the opening ceremony, Liu Na, general manager of Wolfsburg Football Club China, delivered an opening speech, welcoming the guests and participating teams on behalf of the club, and introducing the basic situation of this year's event.
"In the first tournament three years ago, 14 teams participated. At that time, we made a promise with our friends - the Wolfsburg Union Cup, and we will definitely continue to hold it!" Liu Na said that the three-year precipitation has allowed the Wolfsburg Union Cup to continue to rise in the industry's influence, constantly "breaking the circle", and the scale of this year's event has reached a new high.
Sascha Scholz, senior director of brand and user operations at Volkswagen (SAIC Volkswagen), said that Wolfsburg Football Club is constantly having a positive impact on society through the power of football, and the Wolfsburg Union Cup is an excellent platform to help us build and deepen our connections, and let football return to its happy essence.
During the kick-off ceremony, the guests at the scene took the stage together and opened the giant wooden ******der the packaging of the event together to reveal the championship trophy of this event, which also announced the official opening of the third Wolfsburg Union Cup.
Afterwards, each team appeared on the stage in their robes, gearing up for the official showdown. The summer was hot, and the war was about to break out.
Passionate confrontation, the champion is out
This year's United Cup has been fully upgraded, whether it is event service guarantee, hardware facilities or event promotion, etc.; at the same time, new executive competitions and other links have been added to enhance the overall richness of the event.
In terms of competition system, the Wolfsburg Union Cup adopts a five-a-side system. The first stage is a group round-robin competition to qualify the top two, and the second stage is determined by knockout and qualifying.
Futsal has fast attack and defense conversion, complicated tactics, and unpredictable victory and defeat. Each team took turns to fight, and presented a wonderful game.
Of course, the highlight of the game was still the final, with FAW-Volkswagen against Linglong Tire. The former passed all the way without losing, defeating Volkswagen China and defending champion Anji Logistics in the knockout round; the latter staged a miraculous reversal in the semi-finals, leveling at the last moment, and winning through a penalty shootout, successfully advancing.
After the opening game, Linglong Tire scored a goal first, and then the competition between the two sides became heated. Just when everyone thought the game would end, the following trend was almost the same as the plot of Linglong Tire's semi-final, but the team that leveled in seconds became the opponent FAW-Volkswagen. The two sides entered the penalty shootout with a 1-1 score, and the atmosphere reached a climax!
Under the pressure, the players showed extraordinary psychological quality, and the shooting rate of both sides was amazing. It was not until the 8th round that they decided to play. FAW-Volkswagen finally won and won the crown!
Linglong Tire and Audi FAW won the runner-up and third place respectively, while Anji Logistics, Xinwangda Power, SAIC Volkswagen, Deloitte and Volkswagen China ranked 4-8 respectively. In terms of individual honors, Liu Zesen of Xinwangda Power and Wu Jiawei of Huayang Group tied for first place in the shooter list and jointly won the Golden Boot Award; FAW-Volkswagen goalkeeper Xie Tian won the Golden Glove Award.
It is worth mentioning that in the first executive competition held this year, the Volkswagen United team defeated the partner team 3-1. Executives from major companies gathered on the green field to enjoy this joyous feast and set off another climax in the matchday atmosphere of the 3rd Wolfsburg Union Cup.
Meet friends with the ball, add new friends
Outside the stadium, friendship endures. At the post-match awards dinner, the players gathered together to celebrate the successful conclusion of the third Wolfsburg Union Cup.
Andreas Kruse, Senior Vice President of International Sponsorship of Wolfsburg Football Club, Tim Jägeler, Executive President of Wolfsburg Football Club China, Holger Santel, First Deputy General Manager and Commercial Executive Deputy General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen, and Dr. Martin Hofmann, Executive Vice President of Volkswagen Group (China) and Head of Human Resources, Organizational Development and Information Technology Processes, delivered speeches.
In the awards session, each winning team and individual took the stage to receive the award in turn. The organizing committee of the event also awarded commemorative trophies to all participating teams; individual souvenirs were prepared for all participating players to recognize their hard work and teamwork in the competition.
FAW-Volkswagen received the championship trophy in cheers, and the joyous atmosphere infected everyone present. At this moment, the joy of football was released to the greatest extent, and everyone applauded for the championship and football. As far as you can see, the former opponents in the game have also become new friends who cherish each other, and I believe that their story will continue beyond the green field.
Football is a shared passion and a bond of cooperation. At the awards dinner, Wolfsburg Football Club announced a number of blockbuster news.
As the highest-level sponsor of Wolfsburg Football Club in the world, Linglong Tire officially announced that it will renew its contract with the club for three years! Wang Feng, chairperson and president of Linglong Tire, took the stage to deliver a speech and shared the feelings of cooperation in the past ten years. He said, "Both parties have experienced many highlights in the past, and Linglong Tire will continue to cooperate with Wolfsburg Football Club in the future. Looking forward to the development of cooperation between the two parties to a higher and deeper level!"
Junlian Zhixing also announced a two-year contract renewal with Wolfsburg Football Club! The two sides will work together for four years and look forward to the future. Chen Yuan, Chairperson of the Asian Management Committee and Chief Sales Officer of Junlian Zhixing, said, "We will continue to work together with Wolfsburg Football Club, continue to hold a variety of online and offline activities, and spread the concept of environmental protection to a wider range of people."
In addition, Ningbo Huaxiang will continue to deepen cooperation with Wolfsburg Football Club through a one-year contract renewal. Sun Yan, general manager of Ningbo Huaxiang, said that this contract renewal is not only an affirmation of the past cooperation between the two parties, but also a trust and expectation for the future potential.
That night, coinciding with the 34th round of the Bundesliga match between Wolfsburg and Mainz, the guests present watched the game together, cheered for Wolfsburg, toasted to the competitive spirit, and drew a successful conclusion to the third Wolfsburg Union Cup.
With the expansion of the scale of the event year by year and the continuous improvement of its influence, the Wolfsburg Union Cup has become one of the most important activities of the club in China. In the future, Wolfsburg Football Club promises to continue to invest in the organization of the Wolfsburg Union Cup, meeting friends with the ball and conveying love through the game. The club always adheres to the promotion of sportsmanship and conveys happiness through football. Through the opportunity of the Wolfsburg Union Cup, it enhances relations with partners, expands "Moments", and plays a positive role in promoting more and closer cooperation and win-win development in the future.
