August 19 – More detail of the Concacaf deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is emerging with new Saudi airline Riyadh Air, which will begin operations in 2025, taking over from Qatar Airways as the confederation’s official airline partner.
The agreement will Riyadh Air branding across all of the Confederation’s national and club competitions, including the Gold Cup and Nations League where Qatar Airways logo was locked up with the event logo.
It is unclear whether the agreement is part of the overriding PIF deal or whether it is a separate sponsorship to support the PIF-owned airline’s launch. No financial details have been announced for either sponsorship.
PIF’s sponsorship, announced at the end of last week, emphasised regional youth and grassroots development programmes throughout Concacaf’s member associations, in particular in the Caribbean and Central America.
Riyadh Air will start flying in 2025 and says it will fly to more than 100 destinations worldwide by 2030, with the aim of positioning Saudi Arabia as a global hub for business and leisure travel. All of this ahead of its proposed hosting of the 2034 World Cup which is expected to be rubber-stamped by FIFA’s Council later this year. Saudi Arabia’s bid is unopposed and its bid book was submitted to FIFA in Paris earlier this month.
Riyadh Air is putting a lot of emphasis on its enhanced ‘digitally native’ experience and the Concacaf partnership will be “instrumental in driving awareness for the airline, which aims to shape transformative travel experiences led by seamless digital integration.”
Osamah Alnuaiser, SVP, Marketing and Corporate Communications at Riyadh Air, said: “In Riyadh Air we connect communities and build bridges across cultures, languages and experiences. As one of the Kingdom’s most beloved sports, our partnership with Concacaf will bring passionate football fans closer to thrilling games and action where we reach all over the globe, especially in countries and territories in the Concacaf region.”
The Concacaf partnership is Riyadh Air’s second football sponsorship, having begun a reported €40 million shirt sponsorship of Spain’s Atlético de Madrid in August 2023.
Philippe Moggio, General Secretary of Concacaf, said: “This partnership with Riyadh Air marks an exciting new chapter for Concacaf. Their global vision will support us in elevating all aspects of football in Concacaf, from grassroots programs to our world-class tournaments.”
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