Qatar Airways named official title sponsor of FC Barcelona Asia Tour

Qatar Airways has been named the official title sponsor of the FC Barcelona Asia Tour 2013, to be held in Thailand and Malaysia next month.

The exhibition games will give fans of FC Barcelona football in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur an opportunity to see the Spanish La Liga Champions in action, when they play against the Thai National Football Team in Bangkok on August 7, and an all-star team of the Malaysian League’s in Kuala Lumpur, three days later on August 10.

Qatar Airways has also launched a contest on Facebook, giving a few lucky fans the chance to win a trip to watch the action, along with opportunities to win great prizes, from signed T-shirts to VIP tickets to one of the games, to an invitation to meet two players during a private autograph session.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said it was only natural that the airline supported its new partner in a region that has such a large fan base for both organizations.

“Qatar Airways and FC Barcelona both have a large and loyal fan base in Southeast Asia,” said Al Baker. “We have been flying to the region for over 12 years, and are continuing to expand at a rapid rate. We are pleased to work with our new sports partner FC Barcelona, to take the tour to a region with the most Barça fans in the world.”

Sandro Rosell, President of FC Barcelona said: “We are pleased that the Club is returning to Asia this summer with Qatar Airways, our travelling companion from July 1. We very much look forward to seeing our Thai friends again and returning to their country for the first time in more than 10 years.”

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 125 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations worldwide.