Aviation

Qatar Airways signs World Cup sponsorship deal with FIFA

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Qatar Airways said on Sunday it has signed a deal with global soccer body FIFA to be one of the official sponsors and the official airline of the next two World Cups, in Russia and Qatar.
The state-owned carrier did not disclose the value of the deal, which it said would cover the Confederations Cup 2017, the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Club World Cup and the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The airline joins Coca-Cola, Gazprom, Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, Adidas, Visa and Hyundai as official partners of FIFA, the highest of the three tiers of FIFA sponsorship.
Rival Middle East carrier Emirates was a FIFA sponsor until 2014 when it said it would not renew its contract following months of calls for sponsors to respond robustly to allegations of bribery to secure the 2022 World Cup for Qatar.

Dubai-based Emirates said in 2015 it could be interested in renewing a deal to sponsor the World Cup in the future.
FIFA said in a statement that the deal “represents one of the biggest sporting sponsorships in the world and the largest in the history of Qatar Airways.”
Qatar Airways is a major sponsor of Spanish football team Barcelona, and sponsors other sporting teams and events.
Swiss-based FIFA, whose reputation has been tarnished by the worst corruption scandal in its history, still has a large number of vacant slots for its second tier World Cup sponsors and third tier regional supporters.

FIFA made a loss of $391 million in 2016, which it blamed partly on increased legal costs following the scandal, and has forecast a $489 million loss in 2017 but then expects to turn a $1.07 billion profit in 2018 when the World Cup is held in Russia.

Aviation

Boeing, Antonov to Collaborate on Defense Projects

– MOU represents Boeing’s commitment to work with Ukrainian industry

– Includes exploring opportunities for collaborating on in-country support of Unmanned Aerial Systems

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Boeing and Antonov Company to investigate potential collaboration on defense-related projects.

“We’re happy to keep collaborating with the Antonov Company to help Ukraine’s economic development and expansion,” stated Ted Colbert, CEO and president of Boeing Defence, Space, & Security.

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“This agreement demonstrates our ongoing efforts to find more opportunities to work with Ukrainian industry, which was underscored by our signing of the Ukrainian Defence Industry Compact earlier this year.”

The areas of potential collaboration identified in the agreement consist of training, logistical support and overhaul services for tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems utilized by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which includes the ScanEagle. In addition, the companies will also explore opportunities for Antonov to provide engineering support to Boeing.

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“A strong, innovative, and efficient defense industry is key to sustainable economic development and national security, and we are extremely excited to collaborate with Boeing,” said Ievhen Gavrylov, CEO of Antonov Company.

This agreement brings a whole new level of opportunity to implement the latest and most effective solutions – in addition to the possibility of future projects with Boeing in the aerospace and defense industry.”