By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
February 8, 2013
Emirates Airlines in the last couple weeks has committed to spending more nearly $375 million over the next five years on two new sports sponsorships. The first is a $171 million jersey sponsorship with French soccer club Paris St. Germain, the team that recently signed David Beckham. The deal will be the richest in French soccer history when it goes into effect in 2014. The other is a $200 million sponsorship deal with Formula 1, a property Emirates was last aligned with in 2006.
Always a heavy sports spender, Emirates typically has invested in soccer. However, with the Formula 1 deal and a major U.S. Open sponsorship signed last year, Emirates clearly is trying to overshadow its European and Middle East competitors on the international stage. Expect to see the airline continue to spend big bucks on major international sports and on teams in major international cities.