The deal
European soccer’s UEFA governing body recently announced Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of the Middle Eastern state, as the latest high-profile sponsor for the elite UEFA Champions League club competition.
UEFA and Qatar boast a strong relationship with the airline having previously sponsored several UEFA men’s national team competitions including Euro 2020, Euro 2024, the UEFA Nations League, and the European Under-21 Championship, however, this deal is Qatar Airways’ first to cover its top-line continental club competition.
Qatar Airways replaces Turkish Airlines as the official airline sponsor of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Youth League and UEFA Futsal Champions League.
Why it matters
This is the latest in a string of major investments from Qatari state-owned enterprises in European soccer, but its scale is unprecedented.
Qatar has had several accusations of sportswashing against the state, effectively arguing that it is using its sports investments to wash its reputation for having a poor record on human rights.
Covering two three-year commercial cycles, the deal weds Qatar to UEFA prominently through to the end of the 2029-30 season, a considerable timeframe through which it can exert soft power.
As many countries and industries hit financial hardship, top-level soccer’s constant drive for growth has led its leagues, clubs, and governing bodies to search for any avenue they can for revenue generation, giving businesses owned by some of the world’s richest countries a comparative advantage in growing their brand and subsequently heightening their reputation through sponsorship.
Although this investment and many others like it from the Middle East promises to help galvanize soccer investment and grow the covered competitions financially, many have decried the outsized influence it has given these countries on the game politically.
FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, already came under considerable scrutiny for its hosting of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, considering rampant reports of wage theft and unexplained deaths among migrant workers loomed over the event, as did restrictive attitudes towards women and minorities.
Authorities in Qatar, neighboring Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and more have all sought to play down these allegations, instead arguing that their major investments across sport are a way of galvanizing their collective young populations.
Conrad Wiacek, GlobalData Sport’s lead analyst, commented: "UEFA's deal with Qatar Airways again highlights the extraordinary reach that the Middle East has over global sport, with Middle Eastern brands responsible for some of the largest deals in sport, and especially in soccer.
“Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have partnerships with some of the largest properties in soccer and an unrivalled presence across the sport. Following its partnership with soccer's crown jewel, the FIFA World Cup, Qatar Airways has moved on with one of the most-watched soccer club competitions.
“For UEFA's commercial team, this will be seen as a triumph, delivering a high-value, long-term partner. However, questions will be asked about the ethics of such a deal, with this perhaps another example of Middle Eastern states, using brand proxies, to sportwash their images."
As Saudi Arabia remains the sole bidder for the rights to host the 2034 World Cup, the region’s impact in soccer will not lessen any time soon.
The details
The lucrative tie-up is understood to be worth €500 million ($556.5 million), or €83 million per year.
The deal was brokered in collaboration with TEAM Marketing, UEFAs’s global marketing and sales agency for the 2024-27 period.
The partnership will run for six years through 2029-30, and includes prominent brand exposure across in-game perimeter LED boards, media interview backdrops, and broadcast sponsorship, which it has already received in this week’s UCL matches.
Qatar Airways will also be able to offer exclusive promotions and discounts, bespoke travel solutions and “unique experiences” and travel packages around Champions League games to fans.
