Emirates ups bet on soccer with Fifa partnership
April 19, 2006
By Alex Duff
Dubai - Emirates, the largest Arab airline, has agreed to become the sixth and final marketing partner of the world's soccer ruling body from 2007 to 2014, increasing its bet on the world's most popular sport.
Dubai-based Emirates, which joins the likes of Coca-Cola and Visa International, will display its branding at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and at all tournaments sanctioned by Fifa.
The company said it was "by far" its biggest sponsorship accord. Emirates had agreed to pay $195 million (R1.2 billion) to become Fifa's sixth and final major sponsor, soccer's governing body said yesterday. The airline was already among Fifa's 15 commercial partners for the June 9 to July 9 World Cup in German
Adidas-Salomon agreed last year to pay $351 million in a similar transaction.
"We believe sport is an ideal vehicle to communicate with our passengers," Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said in a statement.
"This partnership will enable us to achieve global awareness of our brand."
Companies are increasingly switching to sponsorship from advertising to link their brands with popular events. The sports sponsorship market doubled in value in seven years to $43 billion, according to SponsorClick. - Bloomberg
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