Instruction: Do any airlines sponsor the UEFA Champions League (as of 2023)?

Context: Sponsorship

Like the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies should be allowed to sponsor the event, with each corporation being allocated four advertising boards around the perimeter of the pitch, as well as logo placement at pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets to each match. This, combined with a deal to ensure tournament sponsors were given priority on television advertisements during matches, ensured that each of the tournament's main sponsors was given maximum exposure.[90]

From the 2012–13 knockout phase, UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knock-out participant stadiums, including the final stage. From the 2015–16 season onwards, UEFA has used such hoardings from the play-off round until the final.[91]

The tournament's main sponsors for the 2021–24 cycle are:

Oppo[92]
FedEx[93]
Turkish Airlines[94]
Heineken N.V.[95]
Heineken (except Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Norway and Turkey)
Heineken Silver
Just Eat Takeaway[96]
10bis (Israel only)
Menulog (Australasia only)
Bistro (Slovakia only)
Just Eat
Denmark
France
Ireland
Italy
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Lieferando (Germany and Austria only)
Pyszne (Poland only)
Grubhub and Seamless (United States only)
SkipTheDishes (Canada only)
Takeaway (Belgium, Bulgaria and Luxembourg only)
Thuisbezorgd (Netherlands only)
Mastercard[97]
PepsiCo[98]
Pepsi
Pepsi Max
Gatorade
Lay's (except Australasia, Balkan states, Turkey, Ireland and the United Kingdom)
Smith's (Australasia only)
Walkers (United Kingdom and Ireland only)
Ruffles (Turkey only)
Chipsy (Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia only)
Rockstar[99]
Sony[100]
PlayStation 5
Socios.com (United States only)[101]
Adidas is a secondary sponsor and supplies the official match ball, the Adidas Finale, and Macron supplies the referees' kit.[102] Hublot is also a secondary sponsor as the official fourth official board of the competition.[103]

Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only two sponsorships are permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer, at the chest and the left sleeve.[104] Exceptions are made for non-profit organisations, which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area.[105]

If a club plays a match in a nation where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted (such as France's alcohol advertising restriction), then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. For example, when Rangers played French side Auxerre in the 1996–97 Champions League, they wore the logo of Center Parcs instead of McEwan's Lager (both companies at the time were subsidiaries of Scottish & Newcastle).[106]

Response: Yes, Turkish Airlines is among the sponsors of the UEFA Champions League in the 2021-2024 cycle.