NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ - Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, 2007/11/24 - Satyam Computer Services Limited to sponsor world’s biggest sporting event [NYSE: SAY]. [NYSE: SAY]

Satyam Computer Services Ltd, a leading global consulting and information technology services provider, announced today that it signed up as FIFA World Cup Sponsor and Official Information Technology (IT) Services Provider to the FIFA World Cup. The relationship covers two event cycles – the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 edition in Brazil – and each cycle includes the FIFA Confederation Cup tournament.
Satyam is one of four FIFA World Cup sponsors announced for the 2010 event and is the sponsor in the IT services category.
“Our sponsorship recognizes the sport’s universal appeal and its tradition of skill, speed, competitiveness and teamwork – attributes that reflect Satyam’s own qualities.” said B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder of Satyam. “Over the last two decades Satyam has become an established global company and this sponsorship will serve to further increase Satyam’s global expansion and accelerate its growth,” he added.
“I am very proud that Satyam has chosen the FIFA World Cup for this historic move. Satyam’s commitment is a testimony to the immense appeal of FIFA as a superior marketing platform for transporting a brand far and wide around the world. It is a big advantage for all those involved in the events to have such an experienced IT service partner on board,” said FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, who added: “We look forward to working with such a dedicated partner who shares our ideals and mission to use football as a tool to develop the game, touch the world and to build a better future.”

Each FIFA World Cup is the culmination of a two and a half year preliminary competition involving approximately 200 national teams. The 2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast more than 76,000 hours of coverage over 376 channels worldwide, cumulatively reaching more than 26 billion viewers - more than any other sports event in the world.
“This sponsorship represents a long-term, strategic investment by Satyam in its brand and significantly strengthens Satyam’s ability to reach markets across the globe and demonstrate our leading-edge technologies and practices,” said Hari Thalapalli, head of global marketing and communications for Satyam.

As the Official IT Services Provider to the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, Satyam, which already enjoys a business relationship with FIFA, will play a crucial role in developing the core IT event management system for FIFA and its Service Partner for IT, Accommodation and Hospitality - MATCH AG, as well as Local Organizing Committees during the next seven years. With a presence in more than 57 countries, Satyam can fully leverage its global expertise and therefore enable FIFA not only to deliver world-class events but also focus on generating a long-lasting legacy for the host countries through hiring and educating local event staff.
“We are pleased with the confidence that FIFA has placed in Satyam to deliver key, mission-critical business and technology services to the world’s foremost sporting event,” Thalapalli continued.
The sponsorship also builds on Satyam’s fast-growing presence in South Africa and across the region. Satyam’s business in South Africa doubled this past year, and the company will soon be opening offices in Ghana and Kenya. Satyam is a significant investor in South Africa and leads a skills development initiative for South Africans under the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) program. Currently, more than 80 South African students are enrolled in a year-long technical training program at the company’s campus in Hyderabad, India.
“Our involvement with Satyam has proven very strategic. We are encouraged by the shared vision between Satyam and the Republic of South Africa to invest in the people of South Africa,” said Her Excellency Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa. “This kind of partnership is one we wish to have with even more companies wishing to do successful business in South Africa. Satyam have realized that to lead, they have to invest in the most valuable resource: human resource. We congratulate Satyam on being named Official IT Services Provider to the FIFA World Cup and we are confident that Satyam will help deliver the games to the world,” Her Excellency added.

About Satyam

Satyam (satyam.com), a leading global business and information technology services company, delivers consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing solutions to clients in 20 industries and 57 countries.
Satyam leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance. The company’s 42,500* professionals excel in engineering and product development, supply chain management, client relationship management, business process quality, business intelligence, enterprise integration, and infrastructure management, among other key capabilities.
Satyam development and delivery centers in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia serve 570* clients, including one-third of the US Fortune 500.

*As of June 30, 2007

About FIFA

For more than 100 years, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA, has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter guides the organisation today with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic association. The basis of the world’s football family is formed by FIFA’s members. From the founding seven, the family has today grown to 208 affiliated football associations, also organised into six confederations spanning the globe.
FIFA’s worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions, such as the world’s biggest single-sport event, the FIFA World Cup™. In football development projects such as the FIFA GOAL Programme as well as in corporate social responsibility activities (including the Football for Hope movement to support through football social and human development) FIFA makes material, financial and promotional contributions to develop the game and make the world a better place. For the Game. For the World. To find out more about FIFA and its initiatives please check out FIFA website.

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