I often tell guests on the drive from the airport that Arsenal’s stadium is named after the airline many of them have just flown in on. And that Manchester City belongs to a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. The Emirates are small, but their name turns up in London, New York, Madrid and on Capri.
Here’s what links the UAE to the world outside, the things you’ve most likely seen yourself. Verified facts only, as of October 2026. Contracts and stakes change, so every item has a date.
One caveat. “The UAE” here isn’t a single owner. The country has seven emirates, and the assets belong to different owners: Dubai companies, Abu Dhabi funds, or members of the ruling families personally.
Football: clubs and stadiums
Manchester City and City Football Group
Manchester City was bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. It was his personal purchase, not a state one. In 2013 he created City Football Group, a holding company that fully or partly owns clubs around the world. Control runs through the Abu Dhabi company Newton Investment and Development, and the group’s second largest shareholder is the US fund Silver Lake, with more than 18%.
As of October 2026 the group’s website lists twelve clubs, partner clubs included:
- Europe: Manchester City, Girona (Spain), Palermo (Italy), Troyes (France), Lommel (Belgium);
- The Americas: New York City FC, Bahia (Brazil), Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), and partner club Bolívar;
- Asia and Australia: Melbourne City, Shenzhen Peng City, and partner club Yokohama F. Marinos.
Stadiums named after airlines
If you’ve been to Manchester, you’ve seen the Etihad Stadium. City’s ground has carried the name of Abu Dhabi’s airline since July 2011, and the training complex around it is the Etihad Campus.
Manchester City’s stadium has been named after Etihad Airways since 2011. Photo: Hassocks5489, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
Next is Etihad Park in New York: New York City FC’s new 25,000-seat stadium in Queens. Etihad holds the naming rights for 20 years, and the stadium is due to open for the 2027 MLS season.
Few people know there was once an Etihad Stadium in Australia too. Melbourne’s Docklands stadium carried the name from 2009 to 2018, before it became Marvel Stadium.
In London there’s the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s home. The Dubai airline’s partnership with the club began in 2006. In August 2026 it was extended to 2033: shirt logo, training kit and the stadium name.
The Emirates logo on football shirts
As of October 2026, Emirates’ “Fly Better” is on the shirts of Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Benfica and Lyon. The airline has been with Milan since 2007 and renewed again in October 2025. From the 2025/26 season Emirates is a platinum partner of Bayern Munich, on a deal running to 2031/32. And England’s FA Cup has officially been the Emirates FA Cup for almost ten years.
A common mix-up: PSG is not an Emirati club. Qatar Sports Investments has owned it since 2011, so that’s Qatar. Newcastle United has belonged to Saudi Arabia’s PIF since 2021. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are three different countries, even if the news often blurs them together.
Beyond football: tennis, rugby, cycling
Emirates sponsors all four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Next time you see the red logo courtside on TV, you’ll know whose it is.
The airline’s oldest love is rugby. It has been title sponsor of the Emirates Dubai Sevens since 1987, and in 2025 it became World Rugby’s first ever platinum partner, on a deal running to 2035. Its portfolio also includes:
- all major ICC cricket tournaments and Lancashire County Cricket Club;
- basketball: the NBA and Real Madrid’s basketball team;
- sailing: Emirates Team New Zealand and the SailGP league;
- Australian rules football: Collingwood;
- cycling: UAE Team Emirates XRG.
The last one is the most interesting. UAE Team Emirates XRG has been registered in the UAE since 2017, and it’s the team of Tadej Pogačar, a multiple Tour de France winner. So in recent years the fight for the yellow jersey has involved a team riding under the Emirati flag.
There’s big sport at home in Abu Dhabi too: a Formula 1 race on Yas Island every year. If you’d like to go, I have a page on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Ports and ferries: DP World
DP World is a Dubai port operator. Its main port, Jebel Ali, is just outside Dubai, but the company works on other continents too. Three examples almost every European traveller has come across:
- P&O Ferries. The cross-Channel ferries many people have taken from Dover to Calais. DP World bought P&O in 2006, later passed the ferries to its parent company Dubai World, and bought them back in 2019 for £322 million.
- London Gateway. A deep-water port in Essex, not far from London. In 2026 its expansion is one of the biggest projects in the company’s budget.
- DP World Tour. In November 2021 Europe’s main golf tour changed its name from the European Tour to the DP World Tour under a sponsorship deal.
Abu Dhabi’s funds: chips, wind and chemicals
Abu Dhabi’s funds usually stay out of sight, but their investments sit inside things we use every day.
- GlobalFoundries. One of the world’s largest contract chipmakers. It was set up in 2009 as a joint venture between the Mubadala fund and AMD. Headquarters are in Malta, New York, with factories in the US, Dresden and Singapore. After selling part of its shares in May 2026, Mubadala holds about 73%.
- London Array. An offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary: 175 turbines and 630 MW, enough for more than half a million British homes. Abu Dhabi’s Masdar is one of the project’s four partners.
- Covestro. A German chemicals group that makes plastics and materials. In December 2025 ADNOC completed its purchase of the company through XRG, its international investment arm.
Property and hotels
Emaar is the Dubai developer behind Burj Khalifa and Downtown. Outside the UAE it works in Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon. In Egypt that means the Uptown Cairo district and the Marassi resort on the Mediterranean coast. In Istanbul it built Emaar Square, where a large shopping mall opened in 2017.
Downtown Dubai is Emaar’s calling card. The same developer builds districts in Cairo and Istanbul. Photo: David Rodrigo, Unsplash.
Jumeirah is a Dubai hotel group. Since 2004 it has been part of Dubai Holding, the holding company of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. There are Jumeirah hotels in London (Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge and Jumeirah Lowndes), on Capri (Jumeirah Capri Palace), in Mallorca, Bali and the Maldives, in Geneva and in China. So you can stay “in a Dubai hotel” without ever flying to Dubai.
The Louvre: a name on lease
The most beautiful example is Louvre Abu Dhabi. The building and the collection belong to Abu Dhabi, but the emirate leases the Louvre name from France. The intergovernmental agreement was signed in 2007 for thirty years. In December 2021 the licence for the name was extended by ten years, to 2047. The extension was paid early, and under the agreement the Louvre in Paris lends the museum important works from its own collections.
That’s why, on a tour of Louvre Abu Dhabi, you’ll often see local pieces next to works that travelled from Paris. You can add the Louvre to my Abu Dhabi day tour together with Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, or book a separate guided visit to the museum.
Why a small country owns so much abroad
The short answer is history. As recently as the mid-twentieth century, Dubai lived on trade, pearls and its port on the Creek. I write about that in my history of Dubai. Abu Dhabi’s oil brought the money, while Dubai bet on trade, aviation and tourism. The funds invest that income around the world, and the airlines buy recognition: a stadium with your name on it is an advert every match week.
For a traveller there’s a practical takeaway. A lot of this list can be seen in the Emirates themselves: the headquarters, the flagship hotels, a museum with a French name and a Formula 1 circuit.
How I can help
I run private tours of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with pick-up from your hotel or the airport. I’ll show you the city that grew up around Emaar and Burj Khalifa on my Dubai sightseeing tour. I’ll take you to Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre, Yas Island. And I can help with Grand Prix tickets and other events. Send me your dates on WhatsApp and what interests you, and I’ll put together a route for you.
Checked on 11 October 2026. Sources: City Football Group, The National, Gulf News, Emirates (press materials 2025–2026), DP World, Masdar, GlobalFoundries, Emaar, French Ministry of Culture.
Practical answers
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Manchester City?
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. He bought the club in 2008 and set up City Football Group in 2013. He holds the controlling stake in the group; the second largest shareholder is the US fund Silver Lake.
Is PSG owned by the UAE?
No, PSG is a Qatari club. Its main owner since 2011 has been Qatar Sports Investments. It's a common mix-up: Qatar and the UAE are different countries.
Why is Arsenal's stadium called the Emirates?
Because Dubai's airline Emirates bought the naming rights. The partnership began in 2006, and in August 2026 it was extended to 2033.
Is Newcastle United owned by the UAE?
No. Since October 2021 Newcastle's main owner has been Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund, PIF. The club has no link to the UAE.
Why is the museum in Abu Dhabi called the Louvre?
Abu Dhabi pays France for the right to use the name under a 2007 intergovernmental agreement. In 2021 the licence was extended to 2047, and French museums lend works and share their expertise.
What is DP World?
A Dubai port operator with terminals around the world. It owns London Gateway port near London and P&O Ferries, and the DP World Tour in golf carries its name.
