Qatar Airways new global sponsor of Barcelona

FC Barcelona and Qatar Sports Investments announce that they have agreed, under the terms of their contract, that Qatar Airways will appear on the Club shirt from the 2013-2014 season as the new Main Global Sponsor.

Meanwhile, Qatar Sports Investments, in agreement with FC Barcelona, has designated Qatar Foundation as the Official Human Development Partner of FC Barcelona, which will allow the promotion of initiatives based on their shared values to continue.

Sandro Rosell, president of FC Barcelona, has welcomed Qatar Airways as, “an ambitious brand with global aspirations, always committed to achieving the utmost excellence in its field. These are objectives with which FC Barcelona fully identifies.”

The contract signed with QSI permits the possibility of including a new logo on the shirt from the third season of the agreement, as reported to the Assembly of Representatives in September 2011. The inclusion of sponsorship on the shirt was agreed at the Assembly of Representatives in August 2003.

Rosell also stressed, “After sharing two fantastic years with Qatar Foundation, we are delighted to be continuing our relationship by welcoming them as our official Human Development Partner.”

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, said, “We are delighted to form this alliance with FC Barcelona, the biggest football club in the world. Qatar Airways has been voted Best Airline in the World for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) and will work with FC Barcelona on activities of benefit both to fans and passengers, offering tangible rewards to both organisations.”

A Qatar Foundation spokesperson added “when we started this fantastic journey with FC Barcelona, our objective was to work closely with the club, the team and the supporters to promote awareness of Qatar Foundation on an international scale. This has been a huge success. In fact, the first two years of the collaboration have surpassed our expectations and we are looking to deepen and strengthen our relationship with FC Barcelona and its supporters around the world in our continued role as a proud partner of the club.”

Qatar Sports Investments, Qatar Airways and Qatar Foundation are united in their commitment to the success of FC Barcelona.

Qatar Airways, which has been voted World’s Best Airline two years in a row (2011 and 2012), will work with FC Barcelona on joint activities that promise to benefit fans and passengers, offering tangible rewards for both entities.

Qatari riches transforms PSG

After years of underachievement, Paris Saint-Germain is making its mark on French football once again, with its new Qatari owners livening up a quiet summer in Ligue 1.

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) strode into Paris in the close season and bought a 70 percent controlling stake in PSG, with their president Nasser Al-Khelaifi promising "to make PSG a great team and a strong brand on the international scene."

QSI is controlled by the Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, but he has placed Al-Khelaifi in charge at the Parc des Princes, as president of the club's supervisory board, and Al-Khelaifi appears so far to have made all the right moves.

Brazilian former Inter Milan coach Leonardo has been appointed as sporting director, while former club president Robin Leproux has been removed from his position and Antoine Kombouare has been retained as coach.

These decisions should go down well with PSG supporters already excited by the new financial muscle being flexed by their club.

Leonardo spent the 1996-97 season with PSG and he admitted to feeling proud on his return to the Parc, saying: "I'm really happy because I was chosen by people who really want to do something special.

"I'm happy to be part of this project. I had 14 very intense months here as a player and it was difficult to leave Paris. Today, being here makes me very happy."

Fans are pleased to see him back, and many will be pleased to see the back of Leproux.

If Leonardo wanted Leproux out for fear that the pair would step on each others' toes in transfer dealings, PSG's hardcore fans wanted rid of him because of the work he had done to repair the club's off-field image in his nearly two years at the helm.

It was he who blocked the renewal of 13,000 season-tickets in an effort to end a turf war between rival supporter groups that had reached a nadir with the murder of a fan before a game against Marseille in February 2010.

Crowds naturally declined as a result, and the ultras who were targeted will be placated by Leproux's departure.

Fans will also be pleased to see that Kombouare remains in charge, even if it remains to be seen how much patience QSI are prepared to show if the team starts slowly.

QSI may well have doubts about Kombouare's international appeal, but he is a cult hero at PSG, having won a league title, two French Cups and a League Cup during a five-year stint as a player in the capital in the 1990s.

And, while PSG's more recent history is one of underachievement, the signs are there that things are improving under Kombouare after he led the team to fourth place in Ligue 1 last season.

Leonardo's appointment was not finalised until mid-July, but no time has been wasted in terms of squad rebuilding.

Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez and Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro were recruited before Leonardo's arrival, while the deals to sign Valenciennes' defender Milan Bisevac, Blaise Matuidi from Saint-Etienne and Jeremy Menez from Roma had reportedly been instigated by Leproux before his departure.

Leonardo then moved swiftly to add Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko and another goalkeeper, Salvatore Sirigu, from Palermo.

While publicly playing down his side's prospects, Kombouare is reported to have told his players that the title is the objective, and Paris must have a great chance, especially as more major signings are expected before the transfer window shuts.

Next up is set to be Argentine international Javier Pastore, after PSG agreed to pay his club Palermo a fee that could reach 43 million euros, a French record.

The City of Lights has long lacked a football team to match its own exalted stature on the European scene, but that could all be about to change, and French football, which has seen several top stars move abroad in the close season, will be all the better for it.