The deal is the first penned by Saudi company MBUZZ Sport, which announced last month that it had bought up sponsorship rights for Leganes but would be acting as a facilitator to sell those rights on to other small and medium-sized companies.
Royal Jordanian represents the first of these new deals, with the airline taking up shirt sponsorship for 28 matches – the rest of the 2016-17season.
“Having bought the rights for Leganes we wanted to prove that there is an alternative sponsorship model out there,” MBUZZ Sport general manager Zena Melki told Sport360.
“We wanted to offer sponsorship to other companies for the short to medium-term, therefore allowing small to medium-sized companies to benefit from the global exposure of La Liga.
“Royal Jordanian is a fantastic brand but obviously a smaller airline compared to Emirates and Qatar Airways. This is providing them with an opportunity to be involved with La Liga that they wouldn’t have previously thought possible.
“It’s great for them, and it’s great for the Middle East. At the new Madrid derby on Sunday, Royal Jordanian Airlines will go head to head with Emirates on the pitch!”
The partnership goes beyond shirt sponsorship, as Royal Jordanian will also have LED advertising at the stadium and will become the official airline sponsor of Leganes.
MBUZZ Sport had targeted a new model of shirt sponsorship in which they would sub-let ‘packages’ for a limited number of games, with Royal Jordanian not initially coming to the table for a full-season deal.
“The conversation with Royal Jordanian started as just taking a smaller package but as it developed they wanted the whole season,” Melki explained. “They weren’t in the market for a shirt deal but they’ve found that this is affordable and offers good exposure.”
Having found success with Leganes, MBUZZ Sport are now looking to roll out their sponsorship model across other La Liga clubs who are without sponsors.
“I’ve met with many companies over the last few months since we announced the deal in Dubai,” Melki added.
“This model is something that has sparked a lot of interest and we need more inventory as we have so many companies interested.
“All the companies we’re dealing with are Middle East companies. Our model is to bring more middle-sized MENA companies into La Liga.
“So I’m now meeting five other clubs with a view to making a deal with their rights as well. We want to replicate this approach. There are numerous clubs in the Spanish league that don’t have sponsors – we will be looking to help them commercialise.
“I think that for the brand it gives them exposure, for the club it’s the value to work with an international brand that will give them exposure overseas in a new market in the Middle East. For the period of the contract it can work well for both parties.”
