Emirates takes main sponsorship of Olympique Lyonnais in 5-season deal
February 6 – Emirates airline has agreed a five-season main sponsorship deal with Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais’ men’s team, starting with the 2020/21 season.
Football Marketing
Mediapro wins ‘abuse of power’ court ruling against Spanish FA over rights tender
February 6 – Spanish-owned sports agency Mediapro has won another court battle against the Spanish FA (RFEF) in the Provincial Court of Madrid. The court reconfirmed its initial ruling to dismiss the RFEF’s attempt to have the agency excluded from tendering for rights to the Copa del Rey final.
Beach Soccer World Wide joins with UN to promote ‘One Humanity’ message
February 6 – With the Beach Soccer Mundialito de Clubes set to kick off in Moscow next week, Beach Soccer World Wide (BSWW) has announced a new partnership with the United Nations to promote the UN Alliance Of Civilizations’campaign (UNAOC), ‘One Humanity’.
Barca target digital revamp to grow revenue and new audiences
February 3 – Spanish giant FC Barcelona is revamping its digital platforms which it sees as an under-exploited revenue stream. A new digital plan will see the launch of an OTT service and wider integration of digital technologies from e-commerce to ticket sales and integration with its new global membership programme ‘Culers’.
McDonald’s adds Argentina digital deal to sponsor roster
February 4 – The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has signed up fast food giant McDonald’s in a national team sponsorship that will activate around the AFA’s digital platforms.
PSG land 3-year Qatar Airways sponsorship
February 3 – Qatar Airways has signed up as the latest sponsor of French club Paris Saint-Germain in a three-year deal, becoming a premium partner of the club.
Flamengo now locked in TV rights battle with TV Globo over Brasileirao
January 31 – Brazilian giants Flamengo have taken legal steps against broadcast behemoth TV Globo over the league’s broadcast rights contract. Earlier this season, Flamengo and Globo fell out over a rights deal for Rio de Janeiro’s state championship.
Stats Perform win MLS and US Soccer data contract
January 31 – Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer have appointed Stats Perfom as their exclusive official data deal with Stats Perform.
Millwall and QPR keep the betting cash coming with BetUK and MansionBet
January 30 – Betting companies are not being put off spending marketing money with English Championship clubs QPR and Millwall both agreeing new betting partner deals despite the warnings from the UK government that football needs to re-examine its relationship with bookmakers.
Paddy Power supports ‘Unsponsored Derby’ by removing all its logos and branding
January 28 – Bookmaker Paddy Power is continuing its ‘unsponsor’ campaign by taking its branding off tomorrow’s League Two match between Newport County and Macclesfield Town – now tagged as Paddy Power’s second ‘Unsponsored Derby’ as part of its ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign.
FOX grabs US rights to Concacaf’s top comps, starting with Japan 2020 qualifiers tonight
January 28 – FOX Sports in the US have swept up a premium package of broadcast rights from Concacaf including the Women’s Olympic Qualifiers that kick off tonight with Costa Rica vs Panama and the US vs Haiti.
UK sports chief warns clubs against over reliance on betting company sponsorship
January 27 – Britain’s Sports minister Nigel Adams has denounced football’s “dependency” on sponsorship from gambling companies and warned clubs to look for different income streams.
Spanish study finds 15m fans go to bars to watch live matches
January 27 – More than 15 million football fans in Spain will watch matches live in public venues every season, according to new research findings released by Mediapro.
DFL takes equity stake in Movez mobile app start up
January 27 – Germany’s DFL has moved beyond its traditional football business and acquired an equity stake in MOVEZ, a mobile app start-up for football skills evaluation.
Man City revamp OTT service under new CITY+ brand with increased content
January 24 – Manchester City has launched an new content service across its digital platforms. Branded CITY+, it is the described as the ‘evolution’ of the club’s OTT offering launched last July.