Once upon a time, a sports sponsorship in the Gulf meant a logo on a football shirt. Today, the region’s clubs, athletes and sporting events are becoming valuable platforms for global brands, and the partnerships are as much about culture, influence and international reach as they are about sport.
The latest name to enter the field is New Balance, which has signed a three-year deal with Abu Dhabi football club Al Jazira. The American sportswear company will design and manufacture the club’s official training, match-day and travel kits, bringing its distinctive branding to the team known as the “Pride of Abu Dhabi”.
Al Jazira already has a strong history of backing from international brands. Names such as Adidas, Puma, Kappa and Nike have supplied the Al Jazira kit since the 1970s, giving an early glimpse of how these sports giants saw an opportunity to build organic regional support decades ago.
Based at the 37,000-seat Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Jazira has a strong local following and an established reputation for developing home-grown talent. For New Balance, that makes the partnership about more than outfitting a football team.
“Al Jazira Club has an incredible legacy, an unwavering commitment to developing homegrown talent and a deep connection with its community,” says Stuart Henwood, senior director and general manager at New Balance Middle East, Africa and India. “Through this partnership, we're not just supporting one of the UAE's most iconic clubs, but also helping enable and equip a new breed of grassroots movement.”
The deal is part of a wider Gulf strategy for New Balance. The brand is already the official kit partner of Qatar’s Al Sadd SC football team and partnered with the Doha Marathon by Ooredoo in 2025. Its New Balance Run Club has also established communities in Riyadh, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Previously, it supplied the home and away strip for Saudi club Al Nassr for the 2017-18 season, making this new three-year signing all the more significant.
It is easy to see the attraction. The GCC has become one of sport’s fastest-growing markets, with governments investing heavily in football, Formula One, golf, cycling and combat sports as part of wider ambitions to diversify economies and lure international visitors.
For brands, sport offers something conventional advertising cannot: an emotional connection. A football shirt worn by thousands of supporters, a marathon populated by a health-conscious young audience or a global sporting event watched by millions can turn a corporate name into something far more familiar.
The Ronaldo effect
Few clubs demonstrate the changing value of Gulf sport better than Al Nassr. The 2023 arrival of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo transformed the club’s profile almost overnight, turning what was once primarily a Saudi football institution into a globally recognisable sports brand.
Its commercial portfolio reflects that status. As of 2024, Adidas is the club’s official kit supplier; in the past kits were made by Saudi sportswear brand Duneus, followed by Nike for the 2023-24 season.
From the Gulf to the world
The relationship between Gulf sport and international business, however, increasingly works in both directions.
Look at UAE Team Emirates XRG, the cycling team that has become one of the sport’s dominant forces. Its star rider, Tadej Pogacar, has won the Tour de France five times – including in July 2026 – as well as the 2024 Giro d’Italia and consecutive UCI World Road Race Championships in 2024 and 2025.
The team’s sponsor list reads like a roll call of international luxury and technology names. Italian bicycle maker Colnago, Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille and Italian clothing company Pissei sit alongside UAE companies including AI group G42, First Abu Dhabi Bank and indoor-cycling platform MyWhoosh.
Basketball offers another example. Beirut Basketball Club has partnered with Emirates as its official airline and primary jersey sponsor, connecting a much-loved Lebanese sporting institution with a carrier whose brand reaches far beyond the Middle East.
Gulf airlines have spent years turning international sport into a global marketing platform.
Emirates airline has been associated with Arsenal since 2006 and AC Milan since 2007, and became a global sponsor of Real Madrid in 2011. It has been the official airline partner for Benfica since 2014 and has also partnered with Olympique Lyonnais since 2020.
Etihad Airways has taken a similarly high-profile approach with Manchester City. Its name is attached to the club’s stadium, while the wider partnership has helped create one of football’s most recognisable links between a Gulf airline and a European club.
Qatar Airways has followed suit with French football club Paris Saint-Germain.
What makes these deals interesting is that they work at both a local and global level. For a big-name brand, access to a community strengthens its credentials in a region where sport and lifestyle are increasingly intertwined. For Gulf-backed clubs, an international sponsor brings credibility, reach and global recognition.
