Football Legends Join Wembley FC on FA Cup Quest

LONDON, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wembley FC, an amateur football squad based in North London, today announced it has assembled a group of ex-international players including Claudio Caniggia (Argentina, River Plate, Boca Juniors), Brian McBride (U.S.A., Fulham, Chicago Fire), David Seaman (England, Arsenal), Ray Parlour (England, Arsenal), Martin Keown (England, Arsenal) and Graeme Le Saux (England, Chelsea), to help them go as far as they can in next season's FA Cup. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120621/CG28489)

The signings by Wembley FC were secured with the support of its sponsor Budweiser, the lead partner of The FA Cup, which earlier in the year recruited former England manager Terry Venables as the club's Technical Advisor.

The all-star line-up has been coaching the 34 player strong amateur squad for the past four months and will now add their experience on the playing field starting with the first kick of the new FA Cup 2012/13 Season – an extra preliminary round tie on August 11, 2012.

Jason Warner, Global VP Budweiser, said, "As a long-standing supporter of football at all levels, Budweiser is committed to championing the magic of The FA Cup and its ability to create unique memories that players and communities will never forget.  We are pleased to continue to support Wembley FC as they strive to achieve their dreams and we think their story will appeal to – and inspire – football fans around the world."

Budweiser is also announcing that it has partnered with Evan Weinstein, Co-Executive Producer of The Amazing Race and seven-time Emmy Award winner, to document Wembley FC's preparation and progress through the world's oldest domestic cup tournament in a new international TV show, Dream. On. The Journey of Wembley FC

The show will premiere in the UK on ESPN and will air globally with a variety of broadcast partners to be announced at a later date. 

Ray Parlour, former England and Arsenal player, said: "I've always believed grassroots football is essential to the lifeblood of the game so when I got the call asking if I would like to come out of retirement and help raise its profile I jumped at the chance. I'm looking forward to working with Terry Venables again and helping a group of talented footballers achieve their dreams of playing in The FA Cup and seeing how far they can go in the tournament."

Brian Gumm, Chairman of Wembley FC, comments: "We're not a big club but we have big ambitions. With Budweiser as our sponsor we now have a shot at making those dreams come true."

To stay in touch with Wembley FC and their progress with Budweiser visit http://www.wembleyfc.co.uk  and follow them on Twitter @WembleyFC

For more information on The FA Cup with Budweiser visit www.Facebook.com/BudweiserUK and http://youtube.budweiser.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

About Budweiser & Football

Budweiser and its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has  a vast heritage in football including partnerships with the FIFA World Cup, the Copa America, a number of local leagues,  tournaments across the world and, of course, The FA Cup.

About Wembley FC

Wembley FC was formed in 1946 and is part of the Combined Counties League playing their home games at Vale Farm – famously the training ground of England's 1966 World Cup winning team.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depositary Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies. Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years and our portfolio of well over 200 beer brands continues to forge strong connections with consumers. We invest the majority of our brand-building resources on our Focus Brands - those with the greatest growth potential such as global brands Budweiser®, Stella Artois® and Beck's®, alongside Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Bud Light®, Skol®, Brahma®, Antarctica®, Quilmes®, Michelob Ultra®, Harbin®, Sedrin®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, Chernigivske®, Hasseroder® and Jupiler®. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona® brand. AB InBev's dedication to heritage and quality originates from the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, with origins in St. Louis, USA since 1852. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, AB InBev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 116,000 employees based in operations in 23 countries worldwide. In 2011, AB InBev realized 39.0 billion US dollar revenue. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. For more information, please visit: www.ab-inbev.com.

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch InBev