Budweiser unveils 2016 winner of national Dream Goal competition
Winner revealed as Warren Byrne from Durham
Warren beats thousands of hopefuls in Budweiser’s hunt for the UK’s greatest amateur goal
Warren to receive £50k prize fund to support the non-league club of his choice
The winner of Budweiser Dream Goal, a hunt for the UK’s best amateur goal of the season, has officially been revealed as 33 year old Warren Byrne from Durham. Warren has beaten thousands of players from across the UK to be crowned Dream Goal winner, and has the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having his screamer analysed on national television by Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp and Ed Chamberlin. He also takes home an impressive £50k grant from Budweiser Club Futures to support the non-league club of his choice.
Warren’s incredible winning goal for his team, South Shields FC, South Tyneside, will be revealed on national television during Sky Sports’ main halftime slot on the afternoon of May 15th, as a dramatic finale for the nationwide competition. His goal will then be given the star treatment that professional goal scorers enjoy, and be analysed and celebrated on TV by some of Sky Sports’ best pundits – Carragher, Redknapp and Chamberlin.
In addition to being crowned winner of Dream Goal 2016, Warren has also won a remarkable £50k grant to support a non-league football club of his choice – a new addition to this year’s prize package provided by Budweiser Club Futures.
Warren says of his win: “I’m still in shock that the pundits chose my goal, especially given there were so many great contenders shown on Sky Sports over the last few weeks! My club, South Shields FC, are completely made up with my win and have already started making big plans for the £50k prize. Getting a call from Carragher, Redknapp and Chamberlin was also an absolute highlight, and one I won’t forget anytime soon – thank you Budweiser Dream Goal!”
Jon King, Manager at South Shields FC, says of Warren’s win: “It’s about time Warren did something for the club. I mean, banging in dream goals is all good and well, but who’s going to pay to fix the showers? Just kidding – we’re delighted with the windfall, and we’re grateful to Warren for scoring an absolute belter. That goal was certainly worth the prize money. He’s now under enormous pressure to do the same next season.”
Warren’s goal came during a nail-biting game against Tow Law Town in the Northern League Division 2.
Jamie Carragher says of Warren’s win: “I was delighted to be asked to join Jamie and Ed on this year’s Dream Goal pundit panel, getting to see some amazing amateur goals from the British public, and having a lot of fun along the way. The standard of entries this year has been so high it’s incredible – it certainly made picking the winner that little bit harder. We deliberated for a long time, but in the end we all agreed that Warren’s goal had that special something to ultimately win Budweiser Dream Goal 2016.”
Jamie Redknapp says of the Dream Goal competition: “I’ve loved being part of Budweiser Dream Goal for the second year running, and having the new prize fund this year has been a great addition to the competition; it’s a fantastic opportunity to support grassroots football in the UK, and the £50k grant is definitely well deserved.”
Laura Salway, Senior Brand Manager at Budweiser, says of the campaign: “Budweiser Dream Goal got off to a flying start when we launched it last year, but this year has been even bigger and better. We’ve had even more goals submitted, more people getting behind the competition and – of course – our amazing new prize fund to support the amateur clubs of our winners and runners up via Budweiser Club Futures.
“Budweiser is a huge supporter of British football – from grassroots to glory – and we’re delighted that we have given Warren, and a number of other contenders, the chance to see their incredible goals celebrated how they deserve to be – on a national stage. Massive congratulations to Warren on being crowned this year’s Dream Goal winner!”
As part of this year’s new prize package, in addition to the £50k winner’s grant, Budweiser Club Futures is also awarding five £10k grants to runners-up for their outstanding goals. The official runners-up of the 2016 Budweiser Dream Goal competition are:
Chris Bacon – Wisbech Town FC
Raymond Westbrook – Portsmouth Amputees FC
Louis Webster – Home Rangers
Colm Coveney – Blackpool Celtic
Neil Clydesdale – Banbridge Rangers FC
The winner and runners-up will also receive FA training session for their teams.
All of this year’s new prizes have been granted as part of the Budweiser Club Futures programme – a grant scheme run in partnership with The Football Association and The Football Foundation to support grassroots football across the country. Last year, Budweiser announced a new long-term agreement with The FA, which will see the iconic brand become the Official Beer of The Emirates FA Cup until 2018.
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For more information contact Shauna or Sophie at 3 Monkeys at Budweiser@3monkeyszeno.com or 020 7009 3100
Notes to Editors
The Budweiser Dream Goal competition is only open to people of 25 years of age and above. T&Cs apply. Closes 25.04.16
About Budweiser and The Emirates FA Cup
In 2015 Budweiser announced a new long-term agreement with The FA, which will see the iconic brand become the Official Beer Partner of The FA Cup until 2018.
Budweiser is a long-standing supporter of football around the world. It has served as the Official Beer of the FIFA World Cup since 1986 and most recently ran a hugely successful campaign in Brazil during the 2014 tournament.
About Budweiser Club Futures
The Budweiser Club Futures programme is a grant scheme for non-league clubs in steps 1–7 of the English football pyramid funded by The FA Cup official beer sponsor, Budweiser. Budweiser has invested £1m into non-league football as part of the scheme over two seasons to 16 different football clubs across the UK, reinforcing its ongoing commitment to supporting grassroots British football as part of its global association with the sport.
Those grants helped clubs to become more financially sustainable by improving their facilities. Some of those projects included installing new spectator stands, renovating clubhouses facilities and restoring changing room facilities. This helps clubs to grow and play an even larger role in their local community. In 2016, Budweiser are continuing to show their commitment to enhancing grassroots football by investing another £100,000 into club futures of which six clubs from across the UK will be eligible to win.
About AB InBev
AB InBev UK Ltd is the UK trading subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/ NV, a Belgian-based public traded company (Euronext: ABI) and global top 5 consumer goods company. In the UK, AB InBev employs nearly 1,000 people in our two breweries and local headquarters. We are proud to offer the UK’s leading premium beer and cider brands, including global brands Budweiser®, Corona® and Stella Artois®; international brands Beck’s®, Leffe®, and Hoegaarden®; and local champions Bass® and Boddingtons®. We are a founding member of the Portman Group, member of the British Beer and Pub Association, supporter of the Drinkaware Trust, have partnered with the Alcohol Education Trust and are a signatory to a number of pledges as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal. We have set ourselves the goal through our people, products and work to be the Best Beer Company Bringing People Together for a Better World. Learn more at www.ab-inbev.co.uk or on Twitter through @ABInBevUKI_News.
For more information about Anheuser-Busch InBev, please visit www.ab-inbev.com.
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