Qatar Airways will be the new global airline sponsor of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) until at least 2030, having agreed an unprecedented two-cycle deal with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the official governing body of football in Europe.

The agreement is understood to be worth between €490 million and €500 million.

The Doha-headquartered airline has seen off competition from Turkish Airlines as well as an unspecified Saudi carrier to secure the ninth and final global UCL sponsorship position.

As reported by SportBusiness Sponsorship, UEFA and its exclusive sponsorship agency for men’s club competitions, Team Marketing, have actively targeted the airline category in this sales cycle, believing strong levels of competition among brands from the Middle East in particular to deliver a strong commercial return for their club stakeholders.

In agreeing a two-cycle deal, Qatar Airways has managed to lock its rivals out of the category for longer than is customary, as UCL deals have traditionally been agreed for no longer than three-year terms.

At around €80–85 million per season, Qatar Airways has pledged to marginally pay more than second- to middle-tier sponsors like Crypto.com and Mastercard in this cycle, but the long-term deal may well be seen as good business as the annual value of other deals in the portfolio increases in the next three-year period. 

Heineken remains, by some distance, the highest-paying sponsor in the UCL portfolio because of strong competition in the beer category and the amount of media inventory in its deal.

Also read: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Sponsors