ASEAN Football Federation soars with AirAsia as official travel partner

The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has named AirAsia as the exclusive official travel partner for four major football events in the region. 

The football events are the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024, the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup, the ASEAN Women’s Championship, and the ASEAN U-23 Championship. This partnership was established by SPORTFIVE, a global sports marketing agency and AFF’s exclusive commercial partner.

Through this partnership, AirAsia aims to strengthen its role as a unifying force across the region and beyond, fostering a deeper connection with football fans and the sporting community. This collaboration reflects the brand's commitment to supporting the development of regional talents and aspiring athletes, showcasing ASEAN's rich potential on and off the field.

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By empowering local communities and promoting shared values of teamwork and perseverance, AirAsia reaffirms its dedication to the region it calls home, according to a press statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

“At AirAsia, we believe in the power of sport to unite and inspire, just as we have spent over two decades connecting people and cultures across ASEAN. As a brand built for and by ASEAN, we are thrilled to join forces with ASEAN United FC to celebrate the region's unique talents and shared passion for football. With Abc. driving the evolution of the AirAsia brand, we look forward to strengthening connections across ASEAN and inspiring future generations to dream bigger, reach further, and achieve greatness together. Just like our mantra, dare to dream," said Rudy Khaw, CEO of AirAsia Brand.

"We are delighted to add another distinct homegrown ASEAN company - AirAsia, to our family of dynamic partners. AirAsia has been a tremendous advocate of ASEAN’s unity, strength and prosperity, and we are proud to now have them on our team as a champion of ASEAN football. Our partnership is founded on our shared belief in ASEAN football’s unifying force and its potential to achieve excellence at every level. We look forward to partnering with AirAsia and the ASEAN
football community to elevate the game across the region even further," added Khiev Sameth, president, AFF. 

“As a brand that is that is synonymous with ASEAN, AirAsia’s partnership with ASEAN football through its four leading events – is a perfect alignment. There is no better way to build meaningful relationships with ASEAN consumers than through the only sport which transcends borders and unites them, and the competitions which ignite their passion and strongly appeal to their national pride," stated Seamus O' Brien, president and chairman of the board, APAC, SPORTFIVE.  

He added that with the rise of ASEAN football on pace with Southeast Asia’s emergence as one of the world’s fastest growing consumer and travel markets, the ASEAN United FC platform and ASEAN football fans will undoubtedly support AirAsia’s goal to continue strengthening its dominance in the region. 

This is just one of the many partnerships AirAsia has in recent months. Earlier in September, the carrier partnered with SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog.  The collaboration sees planes featuring the popular Japanese video game and its characters including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose and Shadow.  The news comes as the official Sonic the Hedgehog SEA page posted a statement announcing that "Sonic and AirAsia are teaming up".  It added that the collaboration will feature a "special AirAsia Airbus A330 plane featuring Sonic and friends". It will also start flying next month in October. 

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