FC Barcelona & Qatar Foundation seal sponsorship deal

Spanish Primera Division giants FC Barcelona have broken with tradition by signing their first-ever shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation which will run for 5 ½ years until the end of the 2015/16 season. The deal is worth €166 million and the club will receive 30 Million Euros per season, a new record in club shirt sponsorship in world football, higher then what Bayern Munich (27 million), Real Madrid and Manchester United (both 25 million) receive.

The club broke with their 111 year old tradition of never ever having had a shirt sponsor out of necessity, then an audit in the summer by Deliotte showed that the club had debts of 442 Million Euros, which the new management attributed to structural problems at the club. But over the last five years Barca's chest wasn't empty as the club in a unique move had UNICEF on their shirts and under the deal Barca paid UNICEF 1,5 Million Euros in support of the charity.

Both Barca and their new sponsors Qatar Foundation also remain committed to the club's existing relationship with UNICEF. UNICEF will continue to have a presence on the FCB shirt and receive significant contributions from the club over the next five years. It will be interesting to see how the club works out their chest with Qatar Foundation & UNICEF written on it.

The partnership will see Qatar Foundation, a private, non-profit organisation chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, as the club's new shirt sponsor from next season. Qatar Foundation supports Qatar on its journey from carbon economy to knowledge economy by unlocking human potential through programs in education, scientific research and community development. The announcement follows the historic decision by FIFA to award Qatar the hosting rights for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East in 2022.

A spokesperson for Qatar Sports Investments, commented: "We are thrilled at the opportunity to become FC Barcelona's new global partners. FC Barcelona is more than a football club. It is a global icon with the world's most dedicated and passionate fans and accordingly we nominated Qatar Foundation to have a brand presence on the front of FC Barcelona's jersey. FC Barcelona and Qatar Foundation share a belief in football's ability, as the world’s favourite sport, to affect positive change. We can think of no better global partner to help raise awareness of Qatar Foundation's values and aspirations."

Javier Faus, FC Barcelona Financial vice-president, commented, "Qatar Foundation is renowned throughout the world for the work it does to inspire people and change their lives through education programmes, scientific research and community development. This is a ground breaking partnership that is good news for FC Barcelona and good news for football."

Interestingly on recently FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had been an ambassador of the successful Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid. Now the relationship between the club and the state of Qatar is being pushed to another level. Qatar Sports Investments will focus on supporting the ambitions of the club. In addition, Qatar will work closely with the FC Barcelona management, coaches, players and academy staff as it seeks to further develop its domestic Qatari football at all levels and ages.