DUBAI-BASED airline Emirates has confirmed its status as one of European football’s biggest sponsors after renewing its shirt sponsorship agreement with German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV for at least a further three years through the 2014/15 season.
According to German newspaper Bild, the deal is worth around €7.5m ($10m) per year and has the option of a one-year extension.
The renewal is the second time the brand has extended its partnership with Hamburger and represents a further uplift in Emirates’ financial commitment to the club. Originally agreeing for three years in 2006, valued by Frontloaded at around €5m per year, Emirates renewed the deal in 2009 for an increased €6.5m per year.
Despite Emirates’ latest boost in sponsorship funds for Hamburger, the deal remains only half the annual amount the brand pays to Italian Serie A side AC Milan. Agreeing a deal in 2010 for a total of €60m over four years (€15m per year) through the 2013/14 season, AC Milan’s consistent qualification for the Champions League and the subsequent exposure this brings for the brand means its shirt property carries a far higher value than that of Hamburger.
Emirates largest investment in European club football is as the principal sponsor to Arsenal in the English Premier League. Agreeing a deal in 2004 (taking effect in 2006) for the combined shirt sponsorship rights and the naming rights to the club stadium, Emirates is paying Arsenal £100m over a 15 year period. This equates to around £6.6m per year for both the shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights. In today’s market, in which Newcastle United are looking for a club partner on similar terms for around £10m per year, the sponsorship agreement with Arsenal makes for an increasingly good deal for Emirates.
Other notable European football sponsorships for Emirates include principal club (shirt) sponsor of Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 in France, renewing in 2008 through 2014 valued at around €6m per year and Real Madrid, having signed on as an official partner in July this year for around €5m per year through 2016.