THE world’s longest-running professional sport partnership between Ford Australia and the Geelong Football Club just got longer.

The pair have announced they have signed up for another five years, taking the partnership to 105 years.

Geelong Cats CEO Steve Hocking and Ford Motor Company executive chair Bill Ford solidifying the partnership extension before the Cats win against the Demons on 4th April

The announcement was made at last Friday night’s game against Melbourne Football Club, in front of a Cats home crowd at GMHBA (Geelong Medical and Hospital Benefits Association) Stadium.

In Australia for Ford Australia’s 100th anniversary, company executive chair Bill Ford was reported as personally pledging the five-year extension of the partnership, along with Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic, Geelong Football Club president Grant McCabe and CEO Steve Hocking.

Ford Australia has been elevated to principal partner of the Geelong Cats for all men’s and women’s programs from the 2026 season. It will continue its prominent front-of-guernsey placement across the AFL and AFLW teams and will now appear on the VFL and VFLW teams’ guernseys.

Ford said it marks the continuation of a unique partnership, where Ford has held the front-of-guernsey position for the Club’s VFL/AFL team since the inception of sponsorship on Geelong guernseys, with Ford first featuring in Round 15, 1977 when the Cats faced Hawthorn.

Ford Australia’s partnership with the Cats began in 1925, with this extension further solidifying the connection between the Cats and Ford and their ongoing commitment to the Geelong community.

Geelong Football Club CEO Steve Hocking highlighted the significance of the partnership.

“Together over the course of a century, the Geelong Football Club and Ford Motor Company have shared people and place, ideas and aspirations, 10 premierships and countless more achievements,” Mr Hocking said.

“We are united by a fundamental passion for high performance and a relentless pursuit of progress. While we have 100 years of history at our back, it’s the next evolutions of our organisations and our partnership that excite us more than anything else.

“We’re proud of being the longest, and we’re committed to going the furthest. We’re driving forward together and there’s nothing more unmistakably Geelong than that.”

Ford x Geelong 1986 – May 25. Round 9 v Hawthorn at Kardinia Park

President and CEO Ford Motor Company Australia and New Zealand Andrew Birkic said:“The partnership with the Cats is one we are so proud of, with the past 100 years being a testament to the strength and shared values of community, commitment and respect between our two organisations.

“While a lot has changed in Australia over the past century, Ford’s commitment to the Geelong Football Club has not. We’re excited to build on this rich legacy and raise the bar for what’s possible with this extraordinary partnership – on and off the field.” 

As part of the game-day celebrations, a motorcade of eight Ford cars completed a lap around GMHBA Stadium before the game, showcasing a star-studded representation of the Geelong Football Club, with all 10 Geelong V/AFL Premiership Cups in Ford Rangers.

Among those travelling in the cars alongside the premiership cups were 2022 premiership players Zach Tuohy, Tom Hawkins and Joel Selwood, as well as 1963 premiership captain Fred Wooller and 2009 premiership hero Paul Chapman.

Geelong’s inaugural AFLW captain Melissa Hickey (relative of Geelong legend, 1931 premiership captain and 1939 premiership captain-coach Reg Hickey) and current player Georgie Rankin (great-great-granddaughter of club legend Teddy Rankin, whose son Cliff was captain-coach of Geelong’s 1925 premiership team) were also part of the motorcade, as were family members of the late Bill McMaster OAM and Bob Davis.

To further demonstrate Ford’s involvement in the Round 4 match, Bill Ford officiated the coin toss to commence the game, and in an incredible display of spirit, several hundred people also gathered pre-game to form a huge Ford logo, adding to the excitement and atmosphere of the night.By Neil Dowling