Emirates has strengthened its commitment to one of France’s top Ligue 1 sides, Paris Saint Germain, by signing as club sponsor for the next three years starting from this season. Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, first announced its support for the club when it signed a three-year Official Partnership deal in August last year.

Based on the success of that agreement, Emirates has now signed on as the Official Club sponsor. Paris Saint Germain (PSG) players will wear the famous Fly Emirates logo on their playing shirts starting at the club’s first game of the season this August.

The multi million Euro, three-year deal announced in Paris today will see highly visible Emirates branding in the club’s world famous Parc des Princes stadium during all the club’s home matches. The partnership will also provide Emirates with premier hospitality facilities at the club’s Paris ground.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, and PSG President Alain Cayzac, made the announcement at a media conference held at the Parc des Princes, the club’s home stadium. Also present were senior executives from Emirates including Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline; Ghaith Al Ghaith, Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide and Boutros Boutros, Senior Vice President Media Relations, Sponsorships & Events, along with PSG management.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said:

“This sponsorship underlines Emirates’ commitment to our customers in France and follows on from the recent increase of our services to Paris to double daily, as well as the opening of our own customer lounge at Paris’ Charles De Galle Airport.”

‘Emirates is one of the largest sporting sponsors in the world and we are committed to football as can be seen through our partnership with FIFA which runs from the 2006 FIFA World Cup?, which kicks off in just three days, to the 2014 World Cup, our sponsorship of Arsenal and the brand new Emirates Stadium, as well as other footballing sponsorships around the world. We feel that strengthening and extending our sponsorship of Paris Saint Germain is a perfect addition to our existing portfolio and we are proud to be associated with this great club.

‘Paris Saint Germain embodies many of the attributes that we believe in at Emirates such as excellence, team work and a desire to bet the best at what they do - we believe this is a perfect fit with our own vision and we look forward to an excellent relationship with the club in the years ahead.’

PSG’s President, Mr Cayzac, said: ‘We welcome Emirates as PSG’s new main sponsor and are proud to join their portfolio of top global soccer properties including Arsenal FC and Hamburg SV in Germany.

‘Emirates is an exciting global brand and its presence is a familiar sight at top sporting events around the world. Their support of our club is an endorsement of PSG’s solid reputation and consistent performance, and we look forward to living up to the faith they have placed in us.’

PSG has been an integral part of French football’s long and illustrious history, and it is one of the only French clubs to have never been relegated from the highly competitive Championnat de France Ligue 1 Orange, the country’s top professional soccer league. Its past and present players include football icons such as Rai, Djorkaeff and Ronaldinho, and the club enjoys a strong fan base not just in France but also in Europe.

A major supporter of sport globally, Emirates is one of the world’s fastest growing and most successful international airlines. Sport sponsorship is a vital part of Emirates’ growth strategy and it believes sport is an ideal platform to reach out to its customers through sharing and supporting their interests.

PSG is an exciting addition to Emirates’ sponsorship portfolio which includes some of the world’s most prestigious footballing properties such as FIFA, naming rights to Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium in London, and the team’s shirt sponsorship - both of which start this coming season - as well as being shirt sponsors of Hamburger SV in Germany’s Bundesliga.

Emirates will work closely with PSG to develop exciting opportunities for the team and the airline around the world. The airline currently connects travellers to 84 destinations in 57 countries around the world, and operates twice daily between Dubai and Paris CDG, as well as three times a week between Dubai and Nice, offering French passengers a host of onward connections from Dubai to the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
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