Emirates Kicks Off FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 Campaign in Brazil

HARARE - Emirates, one of the world's fastest growing international airlines and an Official FIFA Worldwide Partner, welcomes passengers to Brazil for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, as the one year countdown to the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup begins.

Emirates flies daily from Harare and Lusaka on a 777-300ER aircraft, connecting passengers to Dubai and beyond.

Just as Emirates brings together people from the 77 nations served worldwide, the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 brings together football teams from Brazil, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, Tahiti and Nigeria, to fight for the cup between 15-30 June, 2013, in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro.

During the tournament, Emirates will host VIP Skybox hospitality suites; connecting fans with the excitement of the matches in Brazil. Additionally, in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, Emirates will host the exciting 'Destination Challenge' game. Ticketholders to the matches in these stadiums will have the chance to join in the football action by participating in one of three games. Participants will compete against each other to see if they can kick the football onto the destination wall – featuring one of three Emirates' spectacular destinations of Haneda (Japan), Delhi (India) or Dubai (UAE) – testing their football skills while engaging in some competitive fun with fellow fans.

"As the only airline to be an Official FIFA Worldwide Partner, Emirates sees the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil as a way to connect football fans around the world for this precursor to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  We are looking forward to seeing the action increase next year when Brazil welcomes the 2014 FIFA World Cup," said Ralf Aasmann, Emirates Country Manager in Brazil. "With daily flights into S√ɬ£o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Emirates connects Brazilians to our network of 134 destinations in 77 countries; including our latest destination in Japan, Tokyo's Haneda."

Emirates has been sponsoring sports and cultural events around the world for over twenty years. As an official FIFA Partner, Emirates will be involved with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup, the FIFA U20 and U17 World Cup, and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013. Emirates has also announced that it will be a Global Partner of Formula One; bringing the 'Fly Emirates' branding  to 15 races around the world, including the event in S√ɬ£o Paulo.

Emirates sponsors some of the most popular football clubs in the world; including, AC Milan, Hamburger SV, Arsenal FC, Olympiacos FC, and Paris Saint-Germain, plus the recently announced shirt sponsorship of Real Madrid. In the first foray into football in the USA, Emirates recently announced sponsorship of the Cosmos team in New York City; supporting the revival of this legendary team whose honorary chairman is the renowned Brazilian football legend Pelé.

Emirates' operations from S√ɬ£o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires connect South America to the world through the airline's extensive route network, with connections beyond Dubai to the Far East, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. The flight from Sao Paulo is operated with the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with capacity for 354 passengers, and Rio de Janeiro with the Boeing 777-200LR, with capacity for 266 passengers. Emirates has been rapidly expanding its route network; in 2012 the airline added 15 new destinations. This, year, the airline has already launched three new routes √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Warsaw, Algiers and Haneda √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú and has announced plans to expand to Stockholm on September 4th plus Clark International Airport (Philippines) and Emirates first trans-Atlantic service between Milan-New York on October 1st.  Currently, 134 destinations are served in 77 countries with a fleet of 200 aircraft, including 34 A380s with another 56 on order, making Emirates the largest A380 operator in the world.

For more information, please visit www.emirates.com/br.