August 11 – Emirates will sponsor Paris Saint-Germain until 2019, the Dubai-based airline confirmed it will honour its agreement to the end of its term, notwithstanding the Gulf crisis that has seen the United Arab Emirates sever links with Qatar.
“Emirates has a sponsorship contract with the French football club PSG until 2019,” said a spokesman for the airline. “So far the club has fulfilled its full obligations and we see no reason to terminate the contract.”
The UAE government owns Emirates, but the airline is a top tier sponsor of the Parisian club, Qatari-owned since 2011. The name of the airline has adorned the PSG jersey since 2006.
Early June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar over accusations of sponsoring terrorism. Those countries also alleged that the Gulf emirate was too close to Shiite Iran. Qatar has staunchly denied all the allegations, but remains isolated in the region.
Emirates’ announcement comes a week after PSG acquired the services of Brazilian star Neymar from Barcelona in a world record transfer of €222 million.
The 25-year-old is set to make his debut this Sunday away at Guingamp. Last week the Brazilian was unveiled at the Parc des Princes before PSG’s game with Amiens, but Neymar was sidelined from the match over registration details.
Today the French Football Federation, the FFF, confirmed that they have received the international transfer certificate, which would pave the way for Neymar’s debut.
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