Etisalat partnership with Barcelona football club ‘pointless’, FNC member says

Etisalat insisted that its partnership with FC Barcelona was commercially lucrative and increased brand visibility around the world.

ABU DHABI // Etisalat’s commercial partnership with Barcelona football club is pointless because the telecoms company has “no customers in Spain”, an FNC member said on Tuesday.

Hamad Al Rahoomi, of Dubai, questioned the benefits of the deal to the national economy.

He said there was no way of measuring the benefits in Spain.

“How can we measure the revenues and profit of the sponsorship? Will they give me the revenues I require?”

Mr Al Rahoomi said 80 to 90 per cent of Etisalat’s income came from the UAE.

“What will the profit be from Barcelona? I think we need a feasibility study before we move along with the contract at hand.”

Etisalat representative Abdulaziz Al Shehhi said the partnership was lucrative.

“Barcelona FC is the biggest European and international football club,” he said. “The most important feature in the sponsorship is having Etisalat’s logo on the stadium’s projectors throughout live broadcasts.”

He said the tie-up had generated about Dh32 million in profit last season. “We will also benefit by having Etisalat advertise on their website, which will make the brand grow and receive more customers,” Mr Al Shehhi said.

Etisalat has been in a partnership with Barcelona since 2009.