Dubai: Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday his airline never held talks with the English Football Association (FA) over potential sponsorship of the FA Cup.
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported on Wednesday that the FA last year rejected an approach by Qatar Airways to sponsor the famous knockout tournament over concerns with the state of Qatar hosting the 2022 Football World Cup. Qatar Airways is owned by the Qatari government through the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
“I think you have the wrong information. We have never been approached, nor have we approached anybody, to sponsor anything in the UK,” Al Baker told reporters at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai.
The FA reportedly turned down the deal because it did not want to be associated with the corruption allegations surrounding Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 tournament.
Last month, Emirates airline confirmed it was in talks that would see the historic knockout tournament renamed the Emirates FA Cup.
British media have reported the three-year naming rights deal Emirates is looking to seal is worth £30 million (Dh169 million).
The FA Cup has been without a sponsor for one year since American company Budweiser opted to not renew its deal.
Emirates already sponsors English Premier League side Arsenal and the London club named its new home ground the Emirates Stadium as part of the deal.
