Emirates NBD announces strategic partnership with Footvolley World Cup 2011

Press release

Published September 25th, 2011 - 11:31 GMT

Al Bawaba

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today that it will serve as strategic partner of the Footvolley World Cup 2011, which will be hosted for the first time in the UAE, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council.

Emirates NBD will be the gold sponsor of this event, which is being organised by MBM Holdings, a Dubai based company owned by HH sheikh Mohammad Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum. The Footvolley World Cup 2011 is also being held and under the supervision of the Dubai Sports Council, the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and the UAE Volleyball Association. The three-day championships will take place at Jumeirah Beach Walk, from October 26 – 29, 2011, and is expected to attract a sizeable crowd of spectators.

Footvolley is a two-a-side game played on the beach and is part of the International Federation of Volleyball, the world governing body for the sport. The rules are closely related to beach volleyball but footvolley does not involve the use of hands and is played with a football instead of a volleyball. The sport first emerged in Brazil in 1965 and has grown in world-wide popularity ever since, including here in the Middle East. There will be two teams from the UAE competing among the 32 international teams in this year’s event.

“We are pleased to welcome Emirates NBD as a strategic partner of the Footvolley World Cup 2011,” said H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of MBM Holdings. “As a UAE based investment Group, we always look to partner with prominent national and international organisations of significance to our investors. Emirates NBD is a leading force in financial services in the region and one that our investors will recognise the world over. We look forward to establishing closer ties and working together towards the promotion of sports in the UAE.”

“Emirates NBD is committed to supporting and encouraging world class sporting events in the UAE,” said Saif Al Mansoori, Deputy Head, Group Marketing and Branding, Emirates NBD. “The Footvolley World Cup 2011 is a significant event in this region, as it further establishes the UAE as a dynamic and growing sporting hub in the Middle East. Emirates NBD’s strategic partnership with this event is in line with the bank’s continuous efforts to represent the UAE in the wider international community, and at the same time offer our clients international sporting events that they can enjoy right here on home turf.”

The participating teams will be competing for the USD30,000 prize which will be awarded by the Dubai Sports Council to the winning team at the conclusion of the games.

Background Information

Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD, the leading banking group in the region, was formed on 19 June 1963, when H.H. Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum signed the Charter of Incorporation of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) which became the first National Bank established in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the blessings of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, NBD merged with Emirates Bank International (EBI) on 06 March 2007, to form Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the region by assets. On 16 October 2007, the shares of Emirates NBD were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The merger between EBI and NBD to create Emirates NBD, became a regional consolidation blueprint for the banking and finance sector as it combined the second and fourth largest banks in the UAE to form a banking champion capable of delivering enhanced value across corporate, retail, private, Islamic and investment banking throughout the region.