Golf’s DP World Tour has agreed a three-year extension to its sponsorship agreement with Emirates, with the international airline continuing as an Official Partner of the tour until the end of the 2024 season.
Under the deal, Emirates will benefit from “highly visible” branding across 21 DP World Tour tournaments and the tour’s media and digital platforms, as well as benefiting from premium hospitality services and Pro-Am experiences.
The agreement also grants the airline Official Tournament Partner status at 14 events on the DP World Tour calendar, while it will continue to sponsor the tour’s Virtual Eye product, an animated graphics system which provides real-time positioning and player performance statistics. In a new development, the airline will also align itself with a new content series – Emirates Fly Better Moments – which will showcase exciting moments from tournaments on the tour’s digital platforms.
Emirates first began its relationship with the DP World Tour (then called the Volvo Tour) in 1989 when it became the title partner of the Dubai Desert Classic. It then became a sponsor of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship (then called the Dubai World Championship) in 2009 and became an Official Tour Partner and Official Airline of the Tour in 2014.
In the last cycle, Emirates agreed a four-year extension with the DP World Tour (then the European Tour), running from 2018-21. The latest three-year renewal includes the current season.
The tour has enjoyed significant support from sponsors based in the United Arab Emirates having also agreed an historic title sponsorship with Emirati logistics firm DP World in 2021, worth at least $400m (€418.5m) over the next 10 years.
The Emirates renewal comes as the tour tries to fend off competition from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, which is trying to lure the leading players to leave the DP World Tour and US-based PGA Tour.
Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, said in a statement: “The tour continues to grow in prominence, attracting the best international golf players and providing us a platform to engage with golf fans on a global scale. Fittingly, the DP World Tour Championship culminates in Dubai, bringing visitors and global attention to Emirates’ home city which has also grown to become one of the world’s leading golfing destinations.”
Guy Kinnings, deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer of the European Tour group, added: “Emirates are one of our longest serving partners and I’m delighted that they have decided to extend our partnership until the end of the 2024 season. As an airline that connects the world, they continue to benefit from aligning their brand with a truly global Tour – and our footprint continues to expand into new countries each season. We also benefit from Emirates’ extensive sports partnerships experience and proven track record in connecting sports fans to their passion.”
Source: Sportbusiness
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