Qatar Football AssociationInside QFA

The World’s Best Airline extends its commitment to supporting the current champions of Asia, ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

16.11.2021 22:00 in :

Doha: Qatar Airways signed today a partnership agreement with Qatar Football Association (QFA), demonstrating its commitment as the Official Airline Sponsor of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions.

The contract renewal will see the country’s national carrier partner with QFA for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, ahead of the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. To commemorate this partnership, both Qatar Airways GCEO, H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, and Sheikh Hamad bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association, attended a signing ceremony earlier today.

The players and coaching staff across all national team age groups have been engaged with several overseas tournaments. The senior team has recently participated as a guest nation in the FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers, competing with Azerbaijan, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Serbia in Group A.

Following a successful debut in the 2019 CONMEBOL Copa America; the senior team have also fared well in international tournaments such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 in the United States, reaching the semi-finals. The team finished Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers in pole position. Meanwhile, The U-23 national team carried on the legacy by securing qualification to the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup set to take place in Uzbekistan.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our support towards Qatar Football Association stems from our country’s collective passion for football. We want to stay true to our mission of bringing people together through the power of sport, and what better way to do that than sponsor our national football teams. Our national teams have gone from strength to strength competing with the world’s best in recent years. We want to continue supporting them with every step of their journey.”

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of Qatar Football Association (QFA), said: “Qatar Airways is considered a key partner in continuously providing high-quality service always exceeding our expectations. We want to thank the airline for its support of sports associations, in general, and football, in particular.”

He added that he was pleased with the partnership renewal with Qatar Airways for two additional years to sponsor the national team. “The renewal of the partnership was ideal, as the national team prepares for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™ and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Our partnership illustrates both organisations’ vision to have a direct positive impact on the game’s development. As a national pioneer association, the QFA is constantly committed to developing strategic partnerships with major entities in Qatar to ensure that football acts as an effective tool to help achieve the National Vision 2030, and therefore, our partnership with Qatar Airways reinforces this goal.” he said.

From 30 November to 18 December 2021, Qatar Airways will sponsor the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™, the region’s showpiece tournament featuring 16 competing Arab nations. Qatar Airways Holidays has launched extensive travel packages for the inaugural tournament, welcoming global football fans to enjoy the finest Qatari hospitality and follow their favourite team in person. Fans are offered the flexibility to build their own package which includes flights with Qatar Airways, the Official Airline Partner of FIFA. The ‘Build Your Own’ feature gives them the functionality to choose their preferred travel dates, hotel accommodation and match tickets. Fans can discover and book the packages by visiting https://www.qatarairwaysholidays.com/arabcup.

Qatar Airways sponsored the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020™. The airline has also an extensive global sports partnership portfolio that includes football-governing bodies such as FIFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. As FIFA’s Official Partner, Qatar Airways has sponsored mega events including the 2019 and 2020 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup™, and will sponsor the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Qatar Airways also sponsors some of the world’s biggest football clubs including Al Sadd SC, Boca Juniors, FC Bayern München, K.A.S. Eupen, and Paris Saint-Germain.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 140 destinations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivalled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to connect to a destination of their choice, seamlessly.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, in addition to securing five additional awards including World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge, World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat, World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering and Best Airline in the Middle East. The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021). The airline’s hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), was also recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport in the World 2021’, ranking at number one in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.
In addition to this, Qatar Airways is the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by Skytrax. This follows the success of Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. These awards provide assurance to passengers around the world that the airline’s health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scrutiny and assessment. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented on board and at HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.