July 21 – Football has always been global but the concept that its biggest club brands are also global opportunities is never more obvious than in the pre-season tours that see the giant of the European club game play ad-hoc tournaments, friendlies and exhibition game across the globe.
July 21- US telecoms giant AT&T has extended its long-running sponsorships with soccer in the country renewing deals with the MLS, U.S. Soccer and the annual Mexican national team tour in the US.
July 19 – Leicester City are the latest Premier League club to announce a shirt sleeve sponsor, taking advantage of the league’s new commercial branding rules. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) will debut on the club’s shirts in today’s Premier League Asia Trophy match in Hong Kong.
July 18 – Germany’s Bundesliga has renewed one of its key digital gaming partnership with Electronic Arts but at the same time added to the sponsorship category with new partners in Konami and Sega.
July 18 – Liverpool, in Hong Kong on the first leg of their pre-season tour, have announced Japanese firm Falken Tyres as a new global sponsor.
July 18 – Southampton’s main club sponsor Virgin Media has added the shirt sleeve sponsorship to its package. The media brand will now have its logo on the front of the shirt and the newly created sleeve position.
July 17 – Online bookmaker Tempobet has signed a second shirt sponsorship deal in the English Football League, becoming principal partner at one of the Football League’s founding clubs Preston North End.
By Mark Baber
July 14 – The German football association (DFB) is trading in its Mercedes-Benz deal for a shiny new model from disgraced carmaker VW, reportedly worth €25-20 million per year. Mercedes have been the DFB’s main automotive sponsor since 1972.
July 13 – Nike may have been the dominant brand when it comes to winning major European leagues and titles over the past 11 years (Nike 37 Adidas 26), but last season Adidas wiped out the swoosh winning six out of seven major European tournaments.
July 13 – Manchester United sponsor DHL has activated a marketing campaign that invites Manchester United fans to host a match. DHL will deliver the match ball and the playing kits for the teams, wherever in the world the match is to be played.
July 11 – Manchester United has launched a new streaming service at mutv.com which will enable subscribers to sign up to the channel without having to go through a satellite subscription. The channel will only be available to subscribers in the UK and Ireland at the start.
July 10 – With the World Cup in Russia less than a year away, one of FIFA’s top front-line sponsors, McDonald’s, have been in discussions about a possible withdrawal due to ethical concerns.
July 10 – It may not be a message for environmental sustainability, but it will help FIFA’s financial sustainability. Coal India has signed up as the third National Supporter for the U-17 World Cup by the Local Organising Committee (LOC).
July 7 – Premier League Manchester City have renewed their global partnership with Asian direct selling company QNET for another three years to 2020.
July 6 – FIFA says it will not back down after scheduling next year’s World Cup final kickoff in Russia on the same afternoon as the Wimbledon men’s tennis final.