A Soccer Goal Worth Thousands: Budweiser Kicks in Extra $28,000 for Scholarships to Mark 145th and Final Goal of 2010 FIFA World Cup™

ST. LOUIS, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For each goal scored during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser pledged to donate $500 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). But with only 145 goals scored in South Africa, the lowest total since the tournament switched to a 64-game format, the King of Beers was not satisfied.

To mark Spain's first-ever FIFA World Cup trophy, Anheuser-Busch announced today that it will donate $28,000 for the single goal scored during the championship match – bringing the final support as part of this special program to $100,000.

"When Spain defeated the Netherlands with a single goal, it marked the tournament's 145th goal, one of the lowest totals in recent years," said Margarita Flores, senior director of community relations at Anheuser-Busch and a member of the board of directors for HSF, adding that the first 144 goals were worth $72,000 to the HSF. "But because the HSF is such a worthy cause, we made Spain's goal in the championship match worth an extra $28,000 – bringing the grand total of Budweiser's support to $100,000."

This is the latest in Anheuser-Busch's longtime support of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. The company began supporting the HSF in 1982.

Frank D. Alvarez, President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, said money from Anheuser-Busch will help support Latino students who attend nearly 2,000 colleges and universities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

During the past three decades, more than 20,000 students have received an education because of Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser's support of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Flores said.

Anheuser-Busch has been the largest corporate contributor in fundraising efforts for HSF, with the company and its 600 wholesalers nationwide contributing more than $24 million since 1982. The Budweiser FIFA World Cup™ program this summer continues this support.

For more information, become a fan of Budweiser at Facebook.com/BudweiserLatino, where readers also can find a link to make an individual donation to HSF.

Budweiser has been a FIFA World Cup™ partner since 1986 and will continue its support of the FIFA World Cup in 2014.

About Anheuser-Busch

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.9 percent share of U.S. beer sales to retailers. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer. Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and has been a leading aluminum recycler for more than 30 years. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

About HSF

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund's (HSF) mission is to strengthen America by advancing the college education of Hispanic Americans. The organization delivers a range of programs to Hispanic families and students through community outreach and education, affordability via scholarships, college retention and career opportunities. HSF supports a successful path for Latinos to attain a college degree − creating an increasingly valuable asset for a stronger more competitive America in the 21st century. Celebrating its 35th year, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has awarded over $300 million resulting in close to 100,000 scholarships to students in need. For more information, please visit HSF.net.

SOURCE Anheuser-Busch