Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, has extended its shirt sponsorship deal with French soccer club Olympique Lyonnais for another five years.
The renewed agreement with the Ligue 1 side will run through the 2029-30 season and take their relationship to a decade.
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Lyon first partnered with Emirates in the 2020-21 season under a five-year deal that was due to expire at the end of the current 2024-25 campaign.
The airline’s Emirates' 'Fly Better' logo will continue to appear on the front of Lyon's playing jerseys and training kits for Ligue 1 and European matches.
The agreement also includes brand visibility in Groupama Stadium, as well as hospitality, player access, marketing, advertising, and digital rights.
Emirates will also continue to collaborate with Lyon on fan engagement and community initiatives.
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By GlobalDataJohn Textor, owner of Olympique Lyonnais, said: “We are delighted to continue our adventure alongside Emirates for the next five seasons, and to explore together the many opportunities available to us.”
Emirates also has long-standing shirt sponsorship deals with European soccer giants Arsenal, AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Benfica, the latter of which was renewed last August.
Emirates has a presence in other sports in France, as the carrier is also a sponsor of the UAE Team Emirates cycling team and the French Open tennis grand slam.
The renewal comes at a crucial time for Lyon with the club struggling with financial problems.
In November, French soccer’s DNCG financial monitoring body handed the team a transfer ban and a provisional demotion to the second-tier Ligue 2 over financial mismanagement.
The demotion will come into effect at the end of the season, regardless of where Lyon (currently 6th in the 18-team league) finishes, unless the club can alleviate its debt situation.
To stave off the threat of relegation to the second tier, it has been reported that the club will have to pay off as much as €100 million ($113.7 million) of this debt by the end of the season.
Lyon, owned by US businessman Textor through his Eagle Football Group holding company, announced record revenue in its 2023-24 financial reports.
Eagle Football Group’s financial results for the same period, however, showed that the company accrued €505.1 million in financial debt.
That figure is what prompted the DNCG, an independent monitoring body that monitors the accounts of all Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs to protect them from financial distress and administration at the hands of their owners.
Lyon is seeking to bolster its commercial revenue to raise additional funds and recently announced a back-of-shirt sponsorship deal with travel service Trainline.
