Arsenal to add more top tier ticket options at Emirates
November 2 – Arsenal are to increase the number of premium seats by 780 at their Emirates Stadium over the next two years, boosting the overall capacity to 60,600.
Football Marketing
China’s CCTV secures rights for 2018 and 2022 World Cups
November 2 – FIFA have concluded a five-year TV deal with public broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) for rights to all its events starting with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and concluding with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Guangzhou Evergrande sign co-branded credit card deal with Barca partner SPD Bank
November 2 – Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese Super League’s leading club with seven straight league titles, is to launch a co-branded credit card in China with the Shanghai Pudong Development (SPD) Bank.
UK football dodges a bullet as government stays away from regulating gambling ads
November 1 – Fears that a government review of the on-line betting and gaming industry could result in dramatic falls advertising and sponsorship revenues for football have been averted with the government leaving this part of the gambling sector alone in a review published yesterday.
FIFA and EA SPORTS launch Global Series to culminate with eWorld Cup 2018
October 27 – FIFA is expanding its eSports presence and revamping its own World Cup competitive gaming format with the launch of The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup which is built around the new EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series.
Man City expand Asian partners with Cambodia’s Khmer Beverages
October 30 – Premier League Manchester City have added Khmer Beverages’ Cambodia Beer as its Official Beer Partner in South East Asia in a multi-year deal.
German and Colombian leagues get hooked-up with co-operation agreement
October 27 – The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) has signed a co-operation agreement with the Colombian División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (DIMAYOR) that will see the two leagues develop joint sports, marketing and management initiatives.
beIN Sport boss Al-Khelaifi meets Swiss prosecutors over World Cup rights buy
October 26 – After being grilled for some eight hours by Swiss prosecutors, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the under-fire Qatari boss of beIN Sport Media who is at the centre of corruption allegations over World Cup TV rights, said he had nothing to hide and would willingly testify again.
AC Milan divorce Adidas after 20 years, Puma poised to take over kit deal
October 26 – After almost 20 years AC Milan have agreed with Adidas to end their technical sponsorship deal early at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Tebas: ‘We do not want to be colonisers’
By David Owen
October 24 – He may have kept his audience waiting at this week’s Sportel sports media and marketing convention in Monaco, but La Liga President Javier Tebas did not disappoint. Interviewed onstage for 30 minutes, as ever in his native Spanish, the man who has emerged as probably the most colourful and consistently interesting league boss in the business in recent years, since La Liga moved belatedly to a collective selling model for its broadcasting rights,
Nations League set to boost European international football by €650m, says UEFA
By David Owen
October 24 – The new UEFA Nations League is set to enhance the value of European international football matches, according to Guy-Laurent Epstein, the European football body’s marketing director.
Molten bounces into pan-European market with Europa League deal
October 23 – Japanese manufacturer Molten Corporation has signed a three-year agreement to become the official match ball supplier for the Europa League.
LA Galaxy go full STEAM ahead with education programme
October 23 – LA Galaxy and Southern New Hampshire University are launching their first week-long Galaxy STEAM programme at the StubHub Center with the aim of improving the educational experience of 250 local middle-schoolers across Los Angeles.
PSG and Rolling Stones find satisfaction in merchandising hook-up
October 20 – Iconic rock band The Rolling Stones have combined with Paris Saint Germain to launch a limited-edition capsule collection which will launch exclusively withinthe legendary Parisian fashion boutique Colette.
Barcelona and Verizon’s go90 to launch weekly TV show aimed at US market
October 19 – Barcelona are the latest of Europe’s giant clubs to announce a behind-the-scenes TV show with a media partner. The club and US streaming service Verizon go90 have announced the launch of Inside Barça which will air weekly.