Clube de Regatas do Flamengo has just signed a partnership with Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus. The company will provide the bus for transporting the club's players starting next season. Flamengo will use the Volksbus 18.320 EOT, equipped with all the comfort features for its occupants.

Starting today (24/11), fans can choose the paint job for Flamengo's bus. Through the hot site www.vwcofutebol.com.br, participants will vote for one of the three available options.

Internet users will also be able to participate in the Craque de Idéias cultural contest: fans create a sentence with the word “Volksbus” and the name of their team, competing for autographed shirts – there will be five shirts from the Most Beloved in Brazil.

"Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus will, in addition to guaranteeing media exposure, link the club's symbol to the Volksbus brand, which offers the market products for passenger transportation," explains Roberto Cortes, president of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus.

A major advertising campaign also begins today, with advertisements in newspapers, radio stations, and online. The buses will be presented to teams and the press in January 2009.

Tailor-made comfort

The bus's interior layout is customized, as Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus worked with the club's soccer department to develop a vehicle tailored to Flamengo's needs. From the seating arrangement to the maximum seating capacity, everything was designed in conjunction with the club to ensure maximum comfort for the athletes.

The Rubro-Negro bus features a minibar, air conditioning, LCD TVs, and a bathroom. The bus will also feature state-of-the-art technology, including an automatic transmission imported from Belgium.

"Thanks to this pioneering initiative by Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, partner clubs now have access to transportation resources equivalent to those of European clubs," says Cortes.