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Qatar Airways, the national carrier for the State of Qatar, will kick off its sponsorship with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli Football Club today at the club’s round 7 match in the Abdullatif Jameel Saudi Professional League. |
Following the formal announcement of the partnership on October 12, the match marks the debut of Qatar Airways’ branding on the Al Ahli Football Club jerseys.
Prince Fahd bin Khaled bin Abdullah, the Chairman of Al-Ahli Football Club said: “Like Qatar Airways, Al Ahli Club holds many values close to its heart striving for excellence, and constantly aiming for even greater success. Al Ahli has a prominent position in Saudi Arabia’s world of sport and has developed a distinctive identity based on integrity and resilience. We are looking forward to seeing this partnership develop and build on the success of both entities.”
“We are delighted to see Qatar Airways logo on the shirts team Al-Ahli Football Club during their first game in the league after signing the partnership,” said His Excellency Akbar al-Baker, Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways. “This achievement represents Qatar Airways’ faith in the importance of the role of sports in building communities. Football, in particular, brings people together and this value is something that runs through the core of our business.”
Qatar Airways currently operates 86 flights per week to seven destinations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely; Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, Gassmin, Ta’if and Al Hofuf.
Al Maha Airways is set to begin operating in the Saudi Arabian market in the New Year and will initially use a fleet of A320-200 aircraft for operations between Jeddah and Riyadh, before expansion to further domestic routes across the Kingdom.
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operations, to the point where today it is flying a modern fleet of 137 aircraft to 144 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.
The multi-award winning airline was awarded three accolades at Skytrax Awards 2014: World’s Best Business Class, Best Middle East Airline, and Best Business Class Lounge. They have also been named Airline of the Year by Skytrax, Air Transport News, and Business Aviation, and won Best Business Class and Best Airline for International Travel at the recent Business Travel Awards.
