European football’s governing body Uefa is in talks to sell an Official Partner deal for the 2015-2018 cycle of the Champions League to a brand from the airline sector.
Uefa is expected to increase its Official Partner positions from six to seven slots in the next cycle, with adidas keeping its current status in the tier below.
Sports Sponsorship Insider has learnt that the airline category has attracted competitive interest from a number of major airlines, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and Aeroflot.
Given the extra berth for an Official Partner, the inclusion of an airline partner does not necessarily mean that one of the current six Official Partners – Ford, PlayStation, UniCredit, Gazprom, MasterCard and Heineken – will be replaced in renewal talks.