Curacao - Friday, 4th June 2010. On the back of a number of emails and communications that have been being sent out across the island with regard to the broadcasting of the FIFA World Cup 2010 from South Africa, Digicel would like to issue the following clarifications:

• Digicel is the Official Regional Broadcast Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010.  This essentially means that Digicel acquired a package of advertising rights around the coverage of the matches.

• FIFA owns all the rights relating to the World Cup which includes the broadcast of the matches.  In the Caribbean, IMC has a contract with FIFA to distribute the broadcast coverage from South Africa.  IMC in turn has done deals with broadcasters in each country to display the matches.  In Curacao, the deal is between IMC and TeleCuracao. 

• As such, Digicel’s advertising will be shown during the matches on TeleCuracao where we will receive recognition as the Regional Broadcast Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010.  

• This is Digicel’s only level of involvement in the broadcast of the World Cup.

• As such, Digicel has no control whatsoever over what station the FIFA World Cup 2010 is broadcast on – nor on what format that broadcast will take.

• The claims that have been made against Digicel are baseless and without merit

• To be clear, Digicel entered into this broadcast sponsorship deal for one clear reason. Namely that, as the largest sponsors of football across the Caribbean and Central America, we are always looking for ways to bring the excitement of the beautiful game to the fans.

• Our regional broadcast sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup 2010 allows us to connect with football fans and our valued customers across the region. To that end, we have been running a series of huge promotions to bring the football excitement to the fans – the most recent of which saw two lucky customers in Curacao winning the trip of a lifetime to see the big game in South Africa - courtesy of Digicel, the Bigger, Better Network.

Hans Lute, CEO of Digicel Curacao, comments; “As the biggest supporter of football across the Caribbean and Central America, we’re delighted to be the regional broadcast sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and to be helping to bring the football action to the fans, in partnership with TeleCuracao. Our customers have been loving the excitement and hype that we have been building around the football, and we would like to take this opportunity to assure them that there is plenty more excitement to come as we look forward to a summer of football fever.”

Digicel has been involved in a wide range of football initiatives designed to support the development of football in the Caribbean and Central America over the last six years. Digicel, which has operations in 32 countries worldwide, sponsors 17 Football Federations and Leagues, as well as the Digicel Caribbean Cup and the Copa de Naciones Digicel in Central America.

Digicel also spearheads the Digicel Kick Start Clinics in the Caribbean and Central America, which offer young footballers the opportunity to train with renowned footballers such as Liverpool legends, John Barnes and Ian Rush, as well as spend one week with UK Premier League Clubs, Sunderland AFC and Manchester City. For more information, please log on to www.digicelfootball.com