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Emirates, a global connector of people and passions, and The FA, today announce
that the airline will become the Lead Partner of The FA Cup, to be known as The
Emirates FA Cup, from next season until 2018.
This
season has seen one of the great FA Cup campaigns, from Middlesbrough beating
Manchester City in the Fourth Round, to Bradford City shocking Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge on the same day. Over 2million fans have attended an FA Cup
game this season with the competition also enjoying a resurgence in popularity
amongst domestic and global television audiences.
With
over 700 clubs entering the competition since it began in August, The FA Cup
continues to touch all parts of the world’s favourite sport, with its
distributions being critical to the lifeblood of non-league, amateur and
grassroots football in England.
Emirates
is a long-standing supporter of football with partnerships across Europe including
AC Milan, Real Madrid, Olympiacos FC, Hamburger SV, Benfica, Paris
Saint-Germain and Arsenal. Throughout the next three years, Emirates will focus
on bringing the world’s most prestigious domestic cup competition closer to its
fans from across the nation as well as the rest of the globe.
Sir Tim
Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “Football is a truly global sport, a
unifying factor in many communities and nations across the world. Never is this
more evident than with The FA Cup, which has an unrivalled heritage and draws a
global audience of more than 1.1 billion people. The spirit of competition,
fair play, and sparking the passions of a global audience, are all values we
share at Emirates. That is why we are proud to be the first title sponsor of
the tournament and we look forward to a long-term partnership to support and
connect fans to their teams both here in the UK and across the world.”
Greg
Dyke, Chairman of The FA said: “Emirates’ commitment to our sport is evident
and securing such an iconic and forward-thinking lead partner for The FA Cup is
great news for us, the fans and for the whole game. The partnership will help
take the tournament to new audiences, inspire interest in football from across
the globe and allow us to continue our investment into the game at all levels.
The FA is the not-for-profit, governing
body of football in England which re-invests £100m back into the game each
year. It grows participation, promotes diversity and regulates the sport for
everyone to enjoy. Over eight million players of all ages, 400,000 volunteers,
300,000 coaches and 27,000 qualified referees help The FA keep the grassroots
game going.
Next season’s FA Cup kicks off
on 15th August with
Extra-Preliminary rounds and culminates in a showpiece final at Wembley on Saturday 21st May 2016
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