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From left to right: Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director; Amin Habib, MD, Global Retail & Commercial Banking, Barclays Bank PLC; Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director-Dubai Duty Free and Ahmed Khan, CEO of Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Banking Emerging Markets at the conference |  |
Colm McLoughlin and Ahmed Khan at Dubai Tennis Stadium |
DUBAI. Dubai Duty Free, the owner and organiser of the Dubai Tennis Championships, has signed a US$9 million agreement with Barclays that will see the leading bank become the title sponsor of the award-winning tournament for the next three years (2008-2010 inclusive).
The announcement marks Barclays’ first foray into professional tennis sponsorship globally and is seen as a major endorsement of the Dubai Duty Free-run tournament, which began in 1993. It has grown into a fortnight of world-class tennis.
Commenting on the sponsorship agreement, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Airports Company and Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, said: “This announcement underlines the tremendous growth and success of the Dubai Tennis Championships which is now amongst the top tennis events in the world. Dubai Duty Free does a great job in staging this event and it is a credit to them that the tournament has attracted sponsorship from an internationally renowned brand such as Barclays.”
The newly-named Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year was named Tournament of the Year by the ATP for the fourth consecutive time and has received 13 ATP/WTA awards.
Announcing the sponsorship today at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Colm McLoughlin said: “We are delighted to announce Barclays’ title sponsorship and we believe it takes our tournament to a new level. Many of our existing sponsors have been with the tournament since the beginning, and we hope that this is the start of a long relationship with Barclays.
“The tournament has come a long way since 1993 and I would like to thank the government of Dubai for its support of this event with particular thanks to our tournament patron, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.”
MORE STORIES ON DUBAI DUTY FREE
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Dubai Duty Free celebrates its Irish connections at The Curragh race day – 17/07/07
Summer Surprises campaign begins as Dubai Duty Free gives away AED25,000 – 02/07/07
