Football club Bayern Munich inks deal with Emirates for sponsorship
In a move that signals a shift in sponsorship strategy, German football giants Bayern Munich have announced a new partnership with Emirates, the airline owned and operated by the United Arab Emirates. The long-term 'Platinum Partnership' focuses on stadium visibility and digital activations, marking a departure from traditional shirt sponsorship.
The agreement, which runs for seven years from the 2025-26 season through the 2031-32 season, will see Emirates gain significant brand visibility via LED perimeter advertising, two premium pitch cam carpets, a dedicated Emirates skybox, and features in club press and digital events.
Despite the new deal, Michael Ott, who led fan protests against the Qatar Airways sponsorship, has expressed disappointment with the decision. He cited concerns about the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates.
The Emirates partnership places them in the "platinum" tier, just beneath the "main partners" of Bayern Munich, which include Adidas, Allianz, Audi, Deutsche Telekom, Betano, Bitpanda, and Visit Rwanda. The new partnership is valued at €5 million ($5.8 million) annually and includes pitchside advertising and "joint activations" on the companies' social and digital channels.
This partnership represents a return for Emirates to German football after previously sponsoring FC Hamburg until 2015. Emirates has a longstanding history of sponsoring major European clubs and football events. However, this deal contrasts with Bayern’s past shirt sponsorship by Qatar Airways which ended amid fan backlash and controversy.
Bayern values Emirates as a strong partner providing financial planning security and international fan engagement support, fitting with their sport and globalisation goals. The partnership aims to enhance fan engagement across global markets, aligning with modern sponsorship trends emphasizing integrated marketing instead of just jersey branding.
However, some observers see this new Emirates partnership as a more cautious approach, focused on visibility without shirt branding, while there are critical voices who consider it repeating contentious patterns of partnerships with Gulf carriers.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has strong economic relations with Israel amid the armed conflict in Gaza. Amnesty International's 2024 report stated that the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai, criminalizes the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The new partnership comes at a time when Bayern Munich has made a significant investment in securing the services of Colombian forward Luis Diaz, spending €70 million on his transfer from Liverpool.
Michael Ott, in a statement to your website, expressed his disapproval of the new partnership with Emirates, citing the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates. He believes that the Qatar deal was not ended due to a shift in the mindset of Bayern officials but because Qatar didn’t want to continue the sponsorship.
Despite the controversy, the Emirates partnership is a strategic move by Bayern Munich, offering financial stability and global brand growth opportunities without the prior controversies linked to full kit sponsorship by Gulf airlines.
- The alliance between Bayern Munich and Emirates, despite concerns about human rights in the United Arab Emirates, marks a shift in sponsorship strategy for the football club, focusing on international fan engagement and financial planning security.
- This partnership sees Emirates stepping back into German football after their previous sponsorship of FC Hamburg, and they are now in the "platinum" tier, just below Bayern's main partners, such as Adidas, Allianz, and Visit Rwanda.
- As the United Arab Emirates maintains strong economic relations with Israel amidst the conflict in Gaza, and has been criticized for suppressing freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the new Emirates-Bayern Munich partnership raises questions about the football club's alignment with modern sponsorship trends emphasizing integrated marketing.
