Italian top-tier Serie A heavyweights Inter Milan have officially announced a deal with Doha-based airline Qatar Airways, making it the club’s official global airline partner.

The partnership, which was initially reported last month, was unveiled during Inter’s match against Frosinone.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

This involved a takeover of Inter’s San Siro stadium, with its towers lit up in Qatar Airways colors, a cabin crew team welcomed the players and supporters to the ground, and hospitality areas were covered in materials and images relating to Qatar Airways.

The deal reflects a wider trend of sporting organizations welcoming airlines with links to the same state-owned companies as sponsors.

A GlobalData report reveals that, so far in 2023, the airline sector has invested $990 million in sports sponsorships across 294 active deals.

Qatar Airways currently has 17 unique, active deals in the sports sponsorship market, spending $158 million annually.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

The airline is also a main sponsor of Paris Saint-German, the champions of France’s top-tier Ligue 1, and was a sleeve sponsorship partner to Bayern Munich, champions of Germany’s Bundesliga, until they ended the deal due to fan pressure.