February 3 – Qatar Airways has signed up as the latest sponsor of French club Paris Saint-Germain in a three-year deal, becoming a premium partner of the club.
Qatar’s national carrier will become the official airline of the Ligue 1 leaders. The fee of the deal remained undisclosed, but according to French reports the airline will pay between €5 million and €10 million per year to become a premium partner of the French club. The partnership also extends to the club’s women’s and handball teams until 2022.
“We are thrilled to welcome the famous French club to our extensive sport sponsorship portfolio, and look forward to having them on board,” said Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam al-Shawa.
“In Paris Saint-Germain we have found a partner that shares our passion for innovation and we will work together to develop many exciting activities to engage with supporters and our global audience.”
The agreement underlines PSG’s ties to Qatar, whose Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over the club in 2011. In the past, various sponsorships with Qatari partners have questions over whether the values have been artificially inflated to circumvent financial fair play rules. On face value the new deal looks to be in line with the values seen for sponsorships at Europe’s other top clubs.
“We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways into the Paris Saint-Germain family as the Official Airline Partner of the club,” said Paris Saint-Germain Chief Partnerships Officer Marc Armstrong. “This is another example of our strong desire to develop innovative partnerships with leading global brands and Qatar Airways is a natural choice for us as it shares our commitment to creating powerful connections with fans all over the world.”
Qatar Airways also has partnerships with Italy’s AS Roma, Argentina’s Boca Juniors and Germany’s FC Bayern Munich.
Paris Saint-Germain ended their 14 year long shirt sponsorship deal with Fly Emirates at the end of the current season in favour of a new deal with hospitality group, Accor, whose logo will feature on the jerseys of the Parisians from the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734880599labto1734880599ofdlr1734880599owedi1734880599sni@o1734880599fni1734880599