If anyone is asked which club has the longest arms in terms of number of sponsors around the world; his answer would definitely be Spanish giant Barcelona, and why not, this club has a reputation of leading the soccer world since long. In fact, the La Liga champions have countless sponsorship deals in European States and cover almost every sector which is somehow allied to soccer, but this is probably the first time, it has stretched its arms outside Europe, especially for tying with a banking sector. Camp Nou club has finalized a three-year deal with one of the top UAE banking brand: United Arab Bank (UAB) on Sunday. It is actually Barca third financial partner and first in an Asian State after Spain and Andorra. The deal was announced in a shopping mall citing the lucrative details of the contract whereby 1000 UAE’s customers would be able to have hospitality seats in all the matches being played at Barca home for next three years. This could be a lifetime achievement for anyone who could get these tickets as special seats are always fully occupied by classified fans only around the year. UAB, who is the faster growing banking brand in United Arab Emirate, also announced it would launch several products showing their alliance with world’s most popular soccer club including being flagged themselves as the ‘Banking Partner of Barcelona.’
Paul Trowbridge, the CEO of UAB, expressed his excitement to be associated with a leading European soccer club and said, “We are excited to partner with FC Barcelona – a brand that shares the same values as ours and embodies the spirit of winning.
“We believe that FC Barcelona is the one club that we as a bank and our customers can relate to, making it the perfect fit for us. The club enjoys tremendous popularity amongst UAE football fans and so the alliance creates a great platform for us to incentivise our clients with a range of FC Barcelona privileges including hospitality match tickets, Barca-themed banking products, official merchandise and more”
Similarly, Barca spokesman also said, “We are extremely pleased with the agreement reached with United Arab Bank, making UAB FC Barcelona’s Official Bank in the UAE and our first financial partner outside of Spain and Andorra. We have chosen UAB for many reasons. These include its capacity for growth, being the fastest growing bank in the UAE, and the enthusiasm it puts into its projects. Our club and our members share the same passion for football.”