Manchester City challenged the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules ahead of the crucial vote, with City Football Group announcing their latest business agreement.
New York City FC, which fell under the same City Football Group ownership as Manchester City, revealed a new partnership with Etihad Airways.
As Manchester City challenged the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules in England, City Football Group unveiled their latest lucrative Etihad Airways sponsorship deal with sister club New York City FC.
APT regulation became a contentious issue after both City and league officials claimed victory in a landmark commission ruling in October. The commission concluded that while there was a requirement, some elements of the framework breached EU competition law.
Top-flight clubs were expected to vote on the introduction of the Premier League’s proposed revisions at their shareholder meeting in London, but City lobbied for further revisions to be made and the matter to be settled at a later date.
A letter from the club’s chief lawyer, Simon Cliff, claimed the newly-drafted proposals still contravened the judgment passed by the commission. He said the amendments were ‘not lawful’ and accused league officials of rushing through the consultation process, meaning clubs would be ‘voting blind.’ Aston Villa came out in support of City’s argument, but at least seven member clubs needed to vote against the latest revisions for them to fail.
Since coming under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group, through their subsidiary City Football Group, the club had struck partnerships with companies tied to their Gulf state owners. The most lucrative of these was with Etihad Airways, owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the wealth fund ADQ.
In the latest revision of a deal that had been in place since 2009, they reportedly paid £80m per year for the naming rights to the club’s 53,000-seater stadium and to have their name featured prominently on the club’s kits. City Football Group, a multi-club venture, also owned New York City FC.
Etihad Airways had been their shirt sponsor since NYCFC’s inception in 2013, and now the club confirmed the national airline of Abu Dhabi would become the sponsor name of their new state-of-the-art 25,000-seater venue. The stadium in Willets, Queens, which was expected to open in time for the 2027 Major League Soccer campaign, would be named Etihad Park as part of a new 20-year arrangement.
“This was an historic announcement for New York City FC, Etihad Airways, and New York City. Etihad Airways had been a fantastic partner to the Club for over a decade, and we were proud to call Etihad Park the home of our great Club,” Brad Sims, New York City FC CEO, said.
“For over a decade, we had been investing in New York with a vision of building the city into one of the soccer capitals of the world. Etihad Airways had been alongside us every step of the way, and we were thrilled to be making this announcement with them.”
“Etihad Park would be the physical evidence of our deep and longstanding investment in New York City and would become a cathedral of soccer in the United States.”
Echoing Sims’ sentiment, Etihad Airways CEO Antonoaldo Neves added: “We were delighted to sponsor the naming rights of this fantastic venue, which I was sure would become a landmark sports destination in the US. We had been backing New York City FC since the start in 2014, and this marked the latest chapter in our support for the Club.
“Our values as an airline aligned perfectly with New York City FC and their commitment to New York City, through promoting soccer in the local neighborhoods and providing spaces for everyone to play.”
Notably, the club and airline clarified that no external brokers were involved in the deal, as it was ‘jointly facilitated in-house by New York City FC and City Football Group partnership teams’.
