Dubai’s Emirates renews sponsorship deal with AC Milan

Dubai-based Emirates has renewed its sponsorship deal with AC Milan, extending a partnership with the Italian football club that has spanned over 15 years.

The airline’s “Fly Better” logo will continue to feature on the club’s jerseys, Emirates said in a statement. 

In addition, the airline’s branding will appear on youth jerseys across all AC Milan academies worldwide.

“Our partnership with the club also complements the deep investments we have made in Italy over the last three decades, as part of our ongoing commitment to support our customers and the businesses and communities we serve across our four Italian gateways,” said Emirates president Sir Tim Clark.

Emirates first signed the agreement with AC Milan in 2007. Since then, Emirates has been visible on AC Milan jerseys for 590 official matches, with 967 goals scored by players donning the airline’s shirt branding.

No financial details were disclosed in the statement.

Emirates said AC Milan has plans to open a new office in Dubai, which will serve as a base for the club to further develop its commercial and communication strategy in the Middle East, the statement added.

Once a dominant force in European soccer with seven European Champion titles, AC Milan returned to glory in May, winning the Italian Serie A title for the first time in 11 years.

“We need to feed our fans worldwide with a good performance in the Champions League; otherwise, we’ll have only 90-year-old supporters”, AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni said during the club’s annual shareholder meeting in October.

Emirates also supports other high-profile football clubs and events, including Arsenal FC, Olympique Lyonnais, Real Madrid FC, Hamburger SV, Olympiacos FC, S.L Benfica, The Emirates FA Cup, and the Asian Football Confederation.