No it was not Preity Zinta’s charming ways that made the Dubai-based global airline; Emirates sign a three year sponsorship deal with the Mohali team. It was plain marketability of cricket that made the leading airlines decide to become the title sponsor of Preity Zinta co-owned and Yuvraj Singh led team in the upcoming IPL cricket tournament. Preity Zinta however thanks the airlines that allows you to take a shower on board.
Kings IX Punjab has what the IPL teams do not have - a beautiful and vibrant owner called Preity Zinta. And so for the Punjab team, there is no shortage of sponsors. Till date, the team has tied p with eight other corporate sponsors and global airlines - Emirates is the latest to join the bandwagon. The Dubai based airlines has just announced that it is going to be the title sponsor of the Mohali based franchise that has vivacious Preity as one of its owners and hard-hitting Yuvraj as its captain. "We welcome Emirates to our family as the title sponsor," said Preity Zinta in an official release for the Mohali based franchise, "I would like to thank Emirates for its long-term partnership with the Kings XI Punjab. Emirates is a front runner in sports sponsorships around the world. Emirates is a great airline, with great cabins and a great place to have a shower onboard," she added.
On the global airline’s part, the sponsorship deal is the recognition of the fact that cricket is the number one sport in the country with over one billion population. In a country, where Emirates happen to have a big customer base, cricket can greatly help the airlines connect to their customers. Emirates connects 10 destinations across India with the rest of the world via Dubai. So far as South Africa is concerned, it operates three daily flights to Johannesburg and a daily flight to Cape Town. From 1st October, Durban will be added to its daily flight destinations in South Africa. With IPL fever catching up like wild fire in both the countries, the Emirates investment came as a very astute business move.
Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airlines and Group, said: “Emirates is a great supporter of global sporting events, and we are very excited to announce our partnership with the Kings XI Punjab team.” With cricket being the number one sport in India, it was only natural for us to form a partnership with one of the leading teams in the Indian Premier League; a tournament that invokes such passion amongst the cricket fans all around the world. “This three-year sponsorship commitment will allow Emirates to become closer to our customer base in one of the most important regions on our network.”
However, Emirates is not an all together new player in the international cricket circle. Before grabbing the limelight as the title sponsor of the Kings XI Punjab, Emirates has also been an Official Partner of the ICC. It also sponsors the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees. In addition of Emirates, the King’s IX has eight more sponsors. “'All our sponsors are dynamic and share the common passion to promote the game of cricket. With their support and our talented team, Kings XI Punjab is ready to win the IPL trophy,” Preity Zinta concluded in her characteristic spirited way.
