FC Bayern Munich ink a massive deal with Emirates

Staff Writer
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Global airline Emirates has confirmed a landmark seven-year agreement with FC Bayern Munich, becoming the club’s Platinum Partner from the 2025/26 season through to 2031/32.

The partnership signals Emirates’ return to the German football market and reflects its commitment to building high-impact, long-term relationships with some of the world’s most commercially powerful football clubs.

Under the deal, Emirates secures a broad range of branding, hospitality, and marketing rights, further expanding its global sports sponsorship portfolio and reinforcing its connection to elite football audiences.

Strategic Alignment and Global Ambitions

The agreement will see Emirates benefit from:

  • Brand visibility on LED perimeter boards at the Allianz Arena

  • Presence on pitch cam carpets and Club TV platforms (including press conference and flash interview backdrops)

  • Access to collective image rights of Bayern Munich’s first team

  • A dedicated Emirates skybox at the stadium

  • Ticketing and hospitality entitlements for guest engagement and activations

For FC Bayern Munich, the agreement strengthens its internationalisation efforts, particularly in Asia and the United States while offering additional commercial firepower through one of the world’s most recognisable brands.

Michael Diederich, Deputy Chairman of FC Bayern, commented:

“Emirates is a reliable global brand and an ideal match for our long-term goals, both sporting and commercial.”

Return to Bundesliga Sponsorship for Emirates

This marks Emirates’ official return to Bundesliga sponsorship, following the conclusion of its previous long-standing agreement with Hamburger SV. The airline has identified Germany as a key strategic market within its European network, and Bayern’s global reach, over 140 million fans and more than 410,000 official members provides a powerful platform for brand exposure.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, stated:

“By aligning with FC Bayern, we’re connecting to a globally respected sporting institution with a loyal and passionate international following.”

Part of a Broader Global Strategy

The Bayern partnership complements Emirates’ extensive football portfolio, which includes major sponsorships with Real Madrid, Arsenal, AC Milan, and Benfica, as well as its title collaboration with The FA Cup.

For both Emirates and FC Bayern, the collaboration is more than a commercial transaction – it’s a strategic alignment of vision, brand power, and global ambition.

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Football Victoria recognised in Pride in Sport Index 2026

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The Silver Status shows Football Victoria‘s commitment to providing Victorians with a safe, inclusive landscape for all to enjoy the beautiful game.

Everyone’s game

Earlier this month, the Australian Pride in Sport Awards recognised several organisations and individuals across the nation who continue to champion inclusive spaces in the world of sport.

Among the nominees was Football Victoria, who received the Silver Status. FV Executive Manager Equity, Programs and Government Relations, Karen Pearce, expressed her pride at the achievement.

“Achieving Silver Status in the Pride in Sport Index is an important reflection of the work being done across Football Victoria to ensure LGBTQ+ people feel safe, welcomed and included in our game,” Pearce said via official press release.

“We remain committed to embedding inclusive practices across all levels of football, and continuing to create environments where everyone can belong, participate and thrive.”

 

Inclusion matters

While recognition is always a positive reflection of successful work behind the scenes, it is important to remember what the work intends to achieve.

Football – and sport in general – is a unique opportunity to bring diverse communities together, and to compete, spectate and enjoy the game on an equal playing field.

Furthermore, as custodians of ‘the world’s game’, governing bodies, fans and players around the world all share the responsibility to empower marginalised groups to feel included.

Two months ago, The Premier League introduced their own initiative – Premier League With Pride – reflecting their own commitment to ensuring football grounds, schools and academies remain welcoming.

 

Final thoughts

There is no place for hate or abuse in football, whether on a grassroots field or professional stadium.

Football Victoria will continue its journey and commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community – at all levels of the game – for many seasons to come.

Football Queensland to celebrate Female Football Week with statewide events, awards and coaching programs

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Brighton women's football motion
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Football Queensland will mark the 2026 Female Football Week with a program of statewide events, competitions and professional development opportunities running from May 8-17, as the governing body continues to push for broader access and representation across all levels of the women’s game in Queensland.

The nationwide initiative, now a fixture on the Australian football calendar, provides a concentrated period of visibility for female participation across playing, coaching, officiating and administration: areas where structural underrepresentation has historically limited both the growth of the game and the opportunities available to women and girls within it.

“Female Football Week provides us with a valuable opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women and girls across our game while continuing to increase the accessibility of football in Queensland,” said Football Queensland CEO Robert Cavallucci. “We encourage our clubs to host their own Female Football Week events and activations for female participants.”

 

Elite Competition Meets Community Access

The centrepiece of Football Queensland’s program is the return of the NPL Women’s Magic Round to Nudgee Recreation Reserve on May 8 and 9, featuring five NPL Women’s Round 13 clashes alongside a Girls United Junior Carnival and family-friendly activations. Each Magic Round game will feature an all-female refereeing panel, a deliberate and visible commitment to developing the next generation of female match officials at a moment when referee shortages are among the most pressing structural challenges facing the game nationally.

A Women in Football networking event will be held on the opening night of Magic Round, bringing together coaches, match officials and administrators. The inclusion of that event alongside elite competition is significant because it positions professional development and community building not as supplementary activities but as core components of what Female Football Week is for.

The Central Coast region will host its own Magic Round on May 16, featuring a Youth Girls game and three FQPL Central Coast Women’s matches, while a Darling Downs Junior Girls Day will take place at Captain Cook Park on the same day, extending the reach of the week’s programming beyond the southeast corner of the state into regional Queensland.

 

Coaching access as a structural priority

Football Queensland will deliver a series of female-only coaching courses around Female Football Week, with clubs also able to express interest in hosting their own. The initiative addresses one of the most persistent barriers to female representation in football administration- its coaching pipeline.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of the game in Australia, and the barriers to accreditation, including cost, availability and the cultural environment of mixed coaching courses, compound one another in ways that individual ambition alone cannot overcome. Female-only courses create environments where women can develop without those barriers, and their delivery during Female Football Week signals that the commitment extends beyond celebration into structural change.

The Girls United Carnivals, running in both Metro and Far North and Gulf regions alongside the Q-League Schools program at Meakin Park, extend that access to players at the earliest stages of their football journey.

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