Member Article

Manchester United in deals with two Middle East banks

Manchester United has secured two regional sponsorship agreements with Commercial Bank of Qatar and Emirates NBD Bank.

The two prominent banking organisations have signed five year deals that will see them become the Club’s Official Financial Services Partners in their respective countries.

The news comes as United have announced record annual revenues, rising by 13.4 per cent to £363.2million for the year to June 30, 2013.

Regarding the Middle east deals, under the separate agreements, both organisations will have the rights to produce Manchester United branded credit, debit and prepaid cards. In addition to this, Emirates NBD Bank will also market its own Manchester United Savings Account.

Founded in 1975, Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) has grown to become one of the country’s leading financial services providers. The A rated bank prides itself on its premier quality, dependability and excellent service. CBQ plays an important role in Qatar’s economic development and is also dedicated to investing in its local communities. The agreement with Manchester United is the bank’s first affinity programme.

Emirates NBD group was established in 2007 when Emirates Bank International (EBI) and the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) merged to create one of the largest banks in the United Arab Emirates. As a market leader across core business lines, it is the leading retail banking franchise in the UAE with over 141 branches and over 740 ATMs spread across the UAE. Emirates NBD is also a socially responsible banking group, engaging in many community activities, focusing on charity, education, environment, culture, art and sport.

United group managing director Richard Arnold said: “Manchester United is very pleased to be teaming up with both of these prominent banking groups to offer our fans in Qatar and the UAE another way to support their team. Both CBQ and Emirates NBD have impressed the club with their commitment to corporate social responsibility, sharing many of the same core values as Manchester United.

“Collectively, the Club has over a million followers in Qatar and the UAE and we hope that the introduction of the two new partnerships will allow us further to expand the Manchester United family, bringing supporters closer to the team they love.”

Suvo Sarkar, General Manager - Retail Banking, Emirates NBD said: “Emirates NBD is honoured to be the official financial services partner in the UAE for Manchester United, which holds the distinction of being the most popular football club in the world and has more than 750,000 followers in the UAE alone.

“Through this strategic partnership platform, we are also proud to introduce the Emirates NBD Manchester United Credit and Prepaid Cards to the UAE market, to reach out to the strong Manchester United fan base in the country.

The co-branded credit and pre-paid card will enable us to offer customers a wide range of priceless experiences and privileges. This launch is in line with our business strategy of extending innovative and market leading products and services to our clients.“

Chief executive officer from Commercial Bank of Qatar, Mr Abdulla Al Raisi said: “Commercial Bank continues to deliver innovative financial products for its customers, backed up by consistently top quality service. Our history and heritage has always demanded that we truly make everything possible for our customers and our new partnership with Manchester United further demonstrates our commitment to do just this.

“We are proud to be bringing to our customers financial products that will enable them to get closer to the world’s best soccer team, Manchester United, providing them with priceless experiences and opportunities to get involved in soccer related activities and promotions.

“We have every confidence that our relationship with Manchester United will go from strength to strength and that we will leverage our relationship over the coming years to further innovate and offer leading products to our customers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .