The FA Cup knockout competition will retain The Emirates name through the 2027-28 season after the Dubai-based airline today renewed its title sponsorship deal with English soccer’s Football Association (FA).
Emirates' existing contract was due to expire at the end of the upcoming 2024-25 season.
The carrier has served as the title sponsor of the competition since 2015 in an initial three-year tie-up that has since been extended twice, in 2018 and 2021.
The partnership, which gave the airline exclusive domestic and international rights to the cup’s brand and properties, was worth around $18.5 million per year as with the most recent 2021 renewal.
The new agreement is reportedly valued at around £10 million ($12.8 million) per season. Emirates has renewed on similar terms with the scrapping of FA Cup replays giving the company less exposure.
With the renewed three-year tie-up secured, Emirates will continue to activate around the FA Cup internationally, bringing the physical trophy to target international markets of the FA such as Ghana, Kenya, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the US, and undertaking fan engagement activities in collaboration with the FA.
Speaking on the renewed deal, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham stated: “Emirates has been a valued partner of the FA Cup for almost a decade, and we are delighted to be extending our relationship once again.
“Our partnership has gone from strength to strength over the years and their commitment to the domestic cup competition during that time has greatly benefitted the English game.
“Their global reach continues to help us, and their ongoing investment into the Emirates FA Cup helps us to provide vital funding across all levels of English football."
The 2024-25 edition of the FA Cup kicks off on August 3 with the first of two preliminary rounds with clubs from step four and below of the English soccer pyramid competing to enter the FA Cup proper, followed by four rounds of qualifying, before the first round proper kicks off on November 2.
The competition will run through May 17, 2025, when its showpiece final will be held at England’s national stadium Wembley.
Emirates has a prominent presence in European soccer, most notably as a sponsor of English Premier League side Arsenal, with which it has been the primary shirt sponsor since July 2006 (the longest-running such deal in Premier League history), and is the naming rights partner of its home stadium (also since 2006).
