Castrol® Launches Castrol® U.S. Soccer Index

WAYNE, N.J., Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Castrol®, proud sponsor of the U.S. Men's National Team and 2014 FIFA World Cup™, announced its plan to expand the Castrol® Index to the U.S. Soccer Federation for the Men's National Team ahead of the team's January 29 match against Canada in Houston to open 2013. The launch of the Castrol Index for the U.S. Soccer Federation builds upon Castrol's success with the Castrol MLS Index and further demonstrates its long-standing commitment to soccer throughout the world.

The Castrol U.S. Soccer Index will debut the week after the USA's game vs. Canada and rank every player's contribution during the match in Houston.  The Castrol Index will be featured on ussoccer.com after each of the completed FIFA World Cup™ qualifying matches and friendlies in 2013. Friendly matches will receive their own Castrol Index performance ranking, while FIFA World Cup™ qualifying matches will receive a cumulative ranking.

U.S. Soccer is celebrating its Centennial in 2013 and the U.S. MNT continues its bid to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in the Hexagonal phase which opens February 6.  The U.S. MNT will also participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup scheduled to begin on July 7 with the final to take place on July 28.

"We are thrilled to expand the Castrol Index tool to the U.S. Soccer Federation," said Tracy Drelich-Knauer, Associate Promotions & Sponsorship Manager for Castrol. "Following two successful seasons as the official performance index of Major League Soccer, the Castrol Index will continue to engage soccer fans, players and coaches alike."

Castrol's team of performance analysts uses the latest technology to objectively analyze every match, logging an average of 1,800 player movements per match. The Castrol Index tracks every move on the field and assesses whether it has a negative or positive impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal. A key factor for all areas of performance on the Castrol Index is which zone on the pitch the action takes place. The Castrol Index operates on the philosophy that not all passes are created equal; a player's quality is more than just the goals and shots he generates and individual actions have their own merits.

Launched in 2008 with Castrol's official sponsorship of the UEFA Euro2008™, the Castrol Index further expanded and refined in partnership with FIFA for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and is now used around the world -- analyzing performances in the 5 major European Leagues.

"Castrol has a proven record of success in sports technology," said President of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati. "We look forward to bringing an official performance index to the U.S. Soccer Federation to further engage soccer fans in the World Cup dialogue – and beyond."

For over 100 years, Castrol has been the technology leader in motor oil with advanced proprietary formulas that exceed the world's toughest industry-agreed standards.

To view the full Castrol Index for U.S Soccer, visit www.ussoccer.com/castrol. Fans can also join the Castrol Index discussion on Castrol's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/castrolusa or on Twitter using #castrolindex. For information on where to watch the Men's National Team games visit ussoccer.com or fans can follow matches live online via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer.

About Castrol
BP Lubricants USA Inc. markets premium lubricants and business-building programs directly to independent lube operators, service providers, new car dealers and leading retailers. Our leadership brands include Castrol® GTX® -- a premium conventional motor oil; Castrol® GTX® High Mileage™ - a premium synthetic blend designed for vehicles with over 75,000 miles; the Castrol® EDGE ® line of advanced full-synthetic super premium motor oils that offer unsurpassed strength and performance; Castrol® Power RS™ – an advanced full synthetic motorcycle oil; as well as our range of commercial transport lubricants. To find out more about Castrol products and programs, please call 1-888-CASTROL or log on to www.castrol.com/us.

SOURCE Castrol