Vivo scores a winner with World Cup Sponsorship

As part of its My Time, "My FIFA, My World Cup" campaign, smartphone manufacturer Vivo launched its Vivo Super Fan Photographer program at Beijing's Olympic Forest Park on May 22.

The company, an official sponsor of the upcoming tournament in Russia, will invite 128 football fans from all over the world to take part in the program to document extraordinary moments thanks to unprecedented close-up access to the action.

For instance, during the warm-up before each of the 64 matches of the World Cup, Vivo Super Fans will have the chance to visit the football field to record and share photos and videos of the teams and themselves experiencing the atmosphere.

Portrait photographer Xiao Quan, football commentator He Wei, and former Dutch national football team player Ruud Gullit are also invited as part of the group.

Gullit says there were no smartphones when the Netherlands won the European Cup back in 1988, so he didn't have the chance to record how he and his teammates celebrated the victory.

"Now, though, I'll be able to show people the place I work and how I prepare for matches as a commentator in Russia, as people want to see things behind the scenes," says Gullit.

To mark its status as the official sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Vivo has donated a special X21 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Extraordinaire Edition phone to be displayed at the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland.