Emirates, the official airline partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 has flown the iconic AFC Asian Cup trophy to Dubai ahead of the much-anticipated AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
The AFC Asian Cup trophy travelled from Tokyo, making a stop in Hong Kong and continuing on EK 383 before arriving in Dubai.
The AFC Asian Cupisthe most prestigious national team event in Asia and one of the most widely viewed sporting events in the world.
It is being held on UAE soil for the first time since 1996. Emirates has been the Official Airline and Partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 2002, and has sponsorship rights to all its tournaments, including the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, as well as a number of women's and youth events.
The airline, which also sponsors some of the world's biggest sporting events and clubs, aims to connect with people with their love for sports, and in this case, through football during the highly anticipated tournament.
Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Emirates said: "We are delighted with our partnership with the AFC and the upcoming tournamentwill provide a great opportunity to connect with football fans in our home, the UAE, as well as audiences across Asia who are cheering on their national teams.
"We are keen to take a major role in connecting cities through our network and bring football fans to the event and experience the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in real-time. We also aim to further support the UAE's status as a world-class sports hub and a centre for international sporting events."
The AFC Asian Cup trophy has been specially designed by world-renowned silversmiths and will replace the old trophy that has been in use since the first tournament in 1956. The trophy, which was unveiled at the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Draw in Dubai in May,is inspired by the lotus flower, which symbolises peace throughout Asia, and the five petals represent the fiveRegional Associations under theAFC.
Emirates' support of football includes shirt sponsorships of leading European and international clubs like AC Milan, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Hamburger SV, Olympiacos, Benfica SL, and Arsenal in a deal which includes naming rights to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. The airline is also the Title Sponsor of The Emirates FA Cup in England.
