China's hope of qualifying for next year's World Cup in Russia was shattered in September, but Chinese companies are still hoping to use the global soccer showcase to spread their brands internationally.

The latest is Vivo, one of the nation's leading smartphone providers, which grabbed some of the spotlight at Friday's 2018 World Cup draw at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

On behalf of Vivo, the tournament's official smartphone sponsor, brand director Deng Li presented FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura with a new X20 smartphone - the first of batch to being sent to world soccer's governing body.

Vivo, the nation's third-largest smartphone provider, signed a six-year deal with FIFA in May to sponsor the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments as part of its strategy to boost global exposure.

Vivo is also sponsoring the FIFA Confederations Cup until 2022.

"Football and technology are getting closer by the day, on and off the pitch," Samoura said.

"It is a great moment to start a partnership of this nature with a leading global smartphone brand. We are very excited to be working closely with Vivo and keen to see their involvement in the next editions of the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup."

Under terms of the deal, Vivo's logo will appear during every match on pitch advertising boards, tickets, media releases and other key promotional platforms.

The deal also includes special marketing activations such as the right to select guests to be a Vivo phone photographer during player warm-ups.

The X20, Vivo's flagship smartphone, was launched in China in September and will be introduced to the Russian market this month, thanks to the partnership with FIFA.

Vivo's previous involvement in sport included title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League cricket competition and a strategic partnership with the NBA to become NBA China's official mobile handset sponsor, with Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry endorsing the brand in China and the Philippines.

According to Sino Market Research Company, in the first quarter of 2017 Vivo sold 7.28 million units, ranking the Shenzhen-based company second in the Chinese market.

It also reached 13.16 billion yuan ($2 billion) in sales in the first quarter to rank third among all brands in China.

The International Data Corp showed Vivo shipped 69.2 million units last year, taking a 14.8 percent share of the domestic market, up 96.9 percent year-on-year, placing it third in China.

(China Daily 12/03/2017 page12)