Emirates have signed a sponsorship agreement with the Zain Saudi Professional League, becoming Official Partner and Official Airline of the league.
The agreement will span three and half years, and will see Emirates’ branding throughout all Zain Saudi League’s stadia
“Emirates have been a long term supporter of football around the globe and this new sponsorship of the Zain Saudi Professional League is an excellent way for us to closely identify with Saudi football fans,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, GCC, ME and Iran.
“This is the first football sponsorship for Emirates in the Middle East, outside of the UAE, a significant milestone that we are committed to leveraging,” added Khoory.
“This sponsorship agreement with Emirates is part of the vision of our Chairman, His Highness Prince Nawf bin Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz. His Highness has emphasized the importance of securing additional financial resources for the league’s clubs through sponsorship. Sponsorships such as this will help facilitate the league in meeting the goals set by His Highness including the further development of professional football in Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Nowaiser, Chief Executive Officer, Zain Saudi Professional League.
“Emirates are a world-class company and linking with a company of this stature is a very important step for us, particularly given the caliber of Emirates numerous international sports sponsorships,” added Al Nawaiser.
Ahmed Al Mohtaseb, Chief Executive Officer from Sela Sport also commented on the benefits that a sponsorship of this size would bring to the Zain Saudi Professional League.
“Signing this agreement with Emirates is testament to the growing popularity of the league in Saudi Arabia. As the league continues to develop and gain recognition having key sponsors onboard, such as Emirates, is an important step in ensuring our ongoing success. We have worked hard to ensure that our players and fans have access to excellent facilities and this sponsorship will help facilitate this goal,” said Al Mohtaseb.
In addition to this newly signed agreement with the Zain Saudi Professional League, Emirates is an Official Partner of the FIFA World Cup with close links to FIFA and all its projects in the 2007–2014 period.
Emirates began operations to the Kingdom in 1989 with services to Jeddah. Today the airline operates a total of 38 flights per week to four gateways including; Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Al Medinah al Munawarah. Saudi Arabia was also the first Middle Eastern destination, outside of the UAE, that Emirates operated its A380 superjumbo to, with 12 weekly A380 services to Jeddah now in operation.
“For Emirates, Saudi Arabia represents an important market given the population’s propensity to travel. Since our operations began here we have consistently witnessed growth within Saudi Arabia and now operate to four destinations, including Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Al Medinah al Munawarah. We are confident that this new sponsorship will further promote our operations here and look forward to a successful partnership with the league,” said Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates Vice President Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.