Football is easily the most popular sport in Qatar, with a passion for the game that continues to flourish. The Diners Club International® team in Qatar began looking for ways to capitalize on this national love affair and soon realized that there were no football-affiliated cards on the Qatari market.

As one of the most recognizable football leagues in the world, it didn’t take long for Diners Club Qatar to narrow its sights on a Manchester United partnership. That “Man U” already has a number of highly successful and well-managed co-branded credit card relationships around the world made it an even easier choice.

Diners Club Qatar released the Manchester United Diners Club Credit Card in July 2013, as part of a branded card portfolio from the Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), making it one of the first football co-branded cards in the country. The franchise has also created a cardholder incentive program to increase spend on the card through Man U-focused VIP experiences, such as trips to watch the team play in England and meet-and-greets with players from the team.

Our Qatari team’s strategic thinking allowed us to capitalize on a national pastime, and the co-branded cards have been extremely popular within our market.