By Mark Baber
July 25 – Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) have agreed a S$1.8 million ($1.4 million) sponsorship deal, including the cost of flights for the under-21, under-23 and senior national teams, as well as the National Football Academy’s age-group teams and women’s teams.
As part of the deal AirAsia, which operates at the lowest unit cost of any airline in the world, will also be offering travel packages for football fans travelling to away matches.
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said: “I never looked at the commercial aspirations… but to aim high and do something meaningful for Singapore football.
“Having AirAsia on the Singapore jersey is important, we want to put forward the message that we want to do better, that we want to dream. We hope to be part of that success; to help some of those young kids realise their aspirations.”
Fernandes added that “whatever the FAS comes up with and requires our assistance, we are ready to help.”
FAS President Zainudin Nordin said he is “absolutely thrilled to have concluded an agreement with an organisation of AirAsia’s calibre and reputation”.
“We are really thankful to Tony Fernandes and AirAsia for their staunch support for football and we are looking forward to working closely with them to further promote the sport in the coming years.”
AirAsia’s sports sponsorships have included the Malaysia National Football Team, Queens Park Rangers, the Lotus F1 Team, the ASEAN Basketball League and MotoGP. Fernandes owns QPR.
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