Aeroflot Set to Sponsor CSKA Moscow

Russian flagship air carrier Aeroflot ison the brink of becoming the main sponsor for Russian giants CSKA Moscow.

It will cost the airline $9 million a year, drug but will help to promote its brand in Europe.

Aeroflot had been a major sponsor of CSKA in 2009, health with the sponsorship contract, vialis 40mg according to Kommersant daily, worth about $5 million.

The carrier has since never stopped financing the football team as a partner and an official carrier providing the CSKA team with an Airbus A320 aircraft.

Oil company Bashneft financed the club for about 2 years until last season, and has refused to give reasons for not extending the sponsorship.

CSKA Moscow is one of the most popular Russian football clubs, with many die-hard fans sitting in the VIP zones during the football matches and presenting a perfect target audience for Aeroflot.

Aeroflot is the only airline to sponsor a football club in Russia. 

The $9 million spent on CSKA is more than the $5 million LUKOIL gives to Spartak football club. Zenith football club is getting about $19 million from Gazprom Neft, while Russian Railways is topping the sponsorship list allocating a whopping $30 million to Locomotiv Moscow.

CEO of consulting group RSCM Vlas Larkin says, Aeroflot is “in the European trend,” and, unlike other sponsorship deals in Russian football which aim to support the club, not serve a sponsor, Aeroflot’s sponsorship contract can be really effective in terms of promotion of the carrier’s flights.