Emirates is expanding its sponsorship in sailing with a three-year deal to become the title partner of Sir Ben Ainslie’s British team in the SailGP global league.
The squad will be known as Emirates Great Britain SailGP
Team starting with this weekend’s regatta in Sydney. The team showed off the
new red and white color scheme and the Emirates logo on the wingsail and hulls
as it sailed its foiling 50-foot catamaran past the Opera House and Sydney
Harbor Bridge on Thursday.
It’s a breakthrough team title sponsorship in SailGP, which
was co-founded by tech tycoon Larry Ellison and five-time America’s Cup winner
Russell Coutts and has three regattas left in its third season, which will
culminate in a $1 million, winner-take-all championship race at the end of the
San Francisco regatta in early May.
The announcement of the Emirates deal in Sydney came a day
after SailGP announced that Rolex has signed a 10-season partnership as the
global presenting partner as well as the title sponsor of the opening regatta
of Season 4, the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago on June 16-17.
“I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that Emirates is
one of a handful, if not the biggest and most prestigious brands in sports
sponsorship,” Ainslie said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So, for
our team to be associated with that is a massive statement. We’re incredibly
proud to now be partnered with Emirates. We’ve talked a lot about the
collaboration that we’re looking to set up with our team with like-minded
partners that really want to come together and share a lot of these challenges
around sustainability.”
Emirates has sponsored Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup
since 2004. The Kiwis are the two-time defending champions.
“We’ve always been interested in growing our sports
portfolio in the UK,” Emirates chief marketing officer Boutros Boutros said in
an email. “We’re proud sponsors of Arsenal and Emirates FA Cup; and we also
support cricket, tennis and golf across the country. When Ben reached out with
an opportunity to expand our presence into the sailing world, we were very
interested.”
Boutros said he attended SailGP’s first-ever Middle East
regatta in Dubai, which is Emirates’ home base, in mid-November “and was amazed
at the large audience the sport attracts, and also the great potential this
partnership can have. Sailing is also one of the most sustainable sports in the
world and that’s a key part of our collaboration. We look forward to working
closely with like-minded partners to share challenges, ideas and drive joint
sustainability initiatives.”
Ainslie is the most-decorated sailor in Olympic history,
with four gold medals and a silver. He helped Oracle Team USA successfully
defend the America’s Cup in 2013 in a stirring comeback against Emirates Team
New Zealand and has led his own British team since 2017 in the competition for
the oldest trophy in international sports.
Ainslie is the majority owner of Emirates Great Britain
SailGP Team and has made big strides on the business side in recent months. He
obtained a significant injection of private investment late last year, meaning
Ellison’s Oracle Racing no longer owns any portion of the team. Ainslie also signed
a three-year partnership with renewable energy company Low Carbon to aid his
team’s quest to become the most sustainable elite sports team in the world.
“To bring in Emirates with our team as title partner is a
really strong fit, not only for our team but the league and showcase the level
the league is at that it can attract these sorts of partners,” Ainslie said.
On Jan. 30, Emirates successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a
test flight with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called
sustainable fuel. Air carriers worldwide are trying to lessen their carbon
footprint.
The Emirates deal puts Ainslie in a bit of a conundrum.
Emirates supports Arsenal in the Premier League. “My home team is Chelsea, so
I’m trying to decide whether that means I’m going to ditch Chelsea and start
supporting Arsenal. I don’t know where that puts me. In trouble, I guess,” he
quipped.
Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team is third in the nine-boat
fleet heading into the Sydney regatta, behind two-time defending champion Team
Australia and New Zealand. -AP
0 comments:
Post a Comment