The Beautiful Game: the airlines ready to spend mega bucks on football’s reach

The close-knit relationship between ‘the Beautiful Game’ and commercial airlines is a fascinating one, combining eye-watering sums of money and the power of two titanic global industries.  

A report published in December 2024, by Research and Markets said that, across 296 agreements currently in place, an estimated $1.2 billion was tied into the sports industry through sponsorships. 

However, it is football, or soccer, that utterly dominates the airline sponsorship market, with 111 active carrier agreements contracted within the sport.  

Basketball, which was the second most popular for airline investment, could only muster up 35 agreements, mainly focused on the United States (US). 

A separate report by Global Data said that “major revenue generator carriers” such as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have the financial firepower to back the biggest teams in sport with the ultimate prize of global visibility to over three billion football fans around the world. 

The airlines currently most active within the sports industry are Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Riyadh Air, according to Research and Markets. 

Emirates has the highest number of sponsorships in place with 23 deals, but rival Qatar Airways commands the largest deal overall via its $80 million tie-up with French outfit Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). 

And the fusion between football and airlines appears to show no signs of slowing down, with even more teams seemingly keen to benefit from the highly lucrative investments.  

While it has been relatively common to see airlines sponsor a football team’s shirt or stadium, there has been an influx of clubs appointing commercial airline partners to generate extra revenue.  

Here, AeroTime takes a look at some of the most valuable agreements that are currently in place between airlines and football clubs and the new deals that were signed last year.   

PSG and Qatar Airways 

Qatar AirwaysAccording to Research and Markets, the largest sponsorship in footballs is the agreement between PSG and Qatar Airways, with reports suggesting it could be worth $80 million to the club each year.  

As well as being club sponsor, Qatar Airways now has its logo across the team’s shirt, having replaced Dubai-based airline Emirates. 

Qatar Airways became the team’s official airline partner in 2020, and the carrier’s logo has featured on the players’ jerseys since 2022. 

In January 2025, the collaboration went further still, with PSG and Qatar Airlines announcing an extension of its partnership until 2028.  

Under the updated deal, it was confirmed that Qatar Airways would continue to sponsor PSG’s shirt and all training apparel and warm-up jerseys for all competitions. 

Furthermore, the partnership agreed to extend across the Qatar Airways Group, namely including Qatar Duty Free and Hamad International Airport (DOH) to “create a comprehensive and engaging partnership ecosystem”. 

In 2023, Qatar Airways also unveiled a new livery on one of its Boeing 777 aircraft, featuring the PSG branding, to celebrate the football season ahead.   

Real Madrid and Emirates

EmiratesThe partnership between Real Madrid and Emirates is perhaps one of the most iconic in world football, stretching way back to when the two parties first put pen to paper in 2011. 

According to Global Data and its 2024 numbers, the sponsorship is the second largest in football. Reportedly worth up to $70 million, it is currently scheduled to run until 2026.  

Recognized as one of the global giants in football, it is no surprise that Emirates has seen huge value in maintaining a long-term relationship with Real Madrid, despite the colossal sums of money involved.  

After signing the initial partnership in 2011, the relationship was strengthened further in 2013 when Emirates’ logo appeared on Real Madrid’s shirt, where it continues to feature today.  

Since 2013, Real Madrid has experienced huge success on the football field with six competition wins in the Champions League and eight titles in La Liga.  

Through its partnership with Real Madrid, and particularly the shirt sponsorship, Emirates has been able to pin itself to the club’s huge success and reinforce the carrier’s own brand as a winning airline.  

In 2018, the partnership hit the big time with top players from the club emblazoned across an Airbus A380. 

The livery included Marcelo, Luka Modrić, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, and covered over 200 square meters on each side of the double-decker aircraft.   

Cementing the partnership in January 2025, Emirates unveiled a special livery on one of its Boeing 777 aircraft featuring some of the Real Madrid players.  

Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde were among the chosen global stars.  

Manchester City and Etihad Airways

Dibbson / Shutterstock.comThe third most valuable partnership between a carrier and a football club is the 15-year relationship involving Manchester City and Etihad Airways.  

The all-encompassing agreement began in May 2009 with Etihad initially sponsoring the Manchester City shirt and becoming an official partner of the football club.  

However, it went even further in 2011, with the two parties agreeing to a further 10-year comprehensive partnership agreement and “significantly expanding their existing commercial relationship”. 

Rumored to be worth $400 million, the agreement would see the City of Manchester Stadium renamed as the Etihad Stadium and the creation of a newly-named Etihad Campus that would include the 23,500-seater Co-op Live Arena. 

With the two global forces interweaving their brands so closely, it is hard to see how they will ever be able to part ways. Indeed, with a rumored multi-million-dollar agreement in the pipeline, it seems the relationship will only grow further.  

A Manchester City-branded Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was introduced to Etihad’s fleet in October 2019 and in 2023 it flew the newly-crowned Champions of Europe home following a historical victory in Istanbul. 

Arsenal and Emirates 

Maciej Rogowski Photo / Shutterstock.comOne of the most enduring partnerships between a football club and an airline is the sponsorship between Arsenal and Emirates.  

Considered to be the fourth most lucrative deal between a football team and an airline, the two parties first combined in 2006. In 2023, they extended the agreement to at least 2028. 

According to Global Data, the partnership is thought to be worth $64 million a year to Arsenal and includes the longest-running front-of-shirt sponsorship in Premier League history. 

When Arsenal moved to their new stadium in 2006, part of the agreement saw the ground named the Emirates Stadium, in what was at the time something of a revolutionary move for the Premier League.  

When the extension to the partnership was announced in 2023, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, Juliet Slot, said the club was “incredibly proud” that the partnership would extend until 2028.   

“The longevity of our special relationship is a sign of our enduring shared values, our ambition to bring our global communities together, and our commitment to building on the numerous achievements that have marked our 17-year journey to date,” said Slot. 

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, added that together the two partners had “celebrated triumphs and stood strong against challenges”. 

In 2019, to mark the long-running relationship, Emirates unveiled an Airbus A380 with a livery featuring a montage of Arsenal first team players.   

Lucas Torreira, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette were all included, though the livery was removed after less than a year. 

Atlético Madrid and Riyadh Air 

Riyadh AirPerhaps the best insight into the value placed by airlines on sponsoring football teams was Riyadh Air’s announcement that it would team up with Atlético Madrid in a multi-million-dollar sponsorship.  

Riyadh Air is one of the world’s newest airlines and is not actually expected to commence commercial flights until later in 2025. Nevertheless, the carrier has been sponsoring Atlético Madrid since March 2023.  

The first agreement between the two groups saw Riyadh Air’s logo appear on the Atlético Madrid shirt. Then, in October 2024, the deal expanded to include a nine-year contract, with the club’s stadium renamed ‘Riyadh Air Metropolitano’. 

“It’s an honor to become the naming partner for the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and extend our partnership with Atlético de Madrid until 2033. Both organizations are driven to succeed at the highest level and having our name on such an iconic stadium will elevate the awareness of Riyadh Air across the sporting world and beyond,” said Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air. 

The Saudi Arabian airline’s sponsorship is thought to be worth almost $44 million a year to Atlético Madrid, according to Global Data, and is valued as the fifth most lucrative sponsorship by a carrier in world football. 

Whether we’ll see team players from Atlético Madrid adorned across any of Riyadh Air’s upcoming fleet of Airbus A321neos or Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft remains to be seen. 

The other largest airline sponsorships in world football 

According to Global Data, the next most lucrative airline sponsorships in world football are Emirates and AC Milan ($32 million per year), Emirates and Olympique Lyonnais ($21 million per year), Emirates and Benfica (12.5 million per year), Lufthansa and the German National Team ($4 million per year) and Iberia and the Spanish National Team ($4 million per year). 

More teams focus on airline sponsorship 

Malaysia AirlinesWith the huge benefits for both airlines and football teams clear to see, it appears likely that the partnership between the two industries will continue to thrive.  

In 2024, a flurry of big announcements was made with some of the largest football clubs entering into airline sponsorship contract that may prove to be worth more than Global Data’s current list of leaders. 

Liverpool, one of the most successful teams in world football, signed up with Japan Airlines in a multi-year sponsorship deal after not partnering with a carrier for five years. 

Liverpool FC’s previous official airline partnership with Malaysia Airlines ended in 2019, but the club appeared to be in no rush to replace the carrier. 

Manchester United also unveiled Malaysia Airlines as its official commercial carrier in a new multi-year global partnership deal.    

The Malaysian flag-carrier and the Premier League club announced the new sponsorship deal on March 22, 2024. 

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Manchester United terminated its partnership with its previous airline sponsor, Aeroflot.    

Delta Air Lines also signed a historic deal with Birmingham City to become the football club’s official airline partner during the 2024/2025 season, with its logo to appear on the team’s shirt.  

Although Birmingham City currently play in the England’s second tier league, which lies below the more lucrative and well-known Premier League, the club is focused on major expansion and has a board room that incudes American Football legend and investor Tom Brady. 

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