Liverpool expand in Asia with launch of academy initiative in Hong Kong
June 28 – Premier League Liverpool have added a new international academy initiative in Asia via a partnership with PNH Soccer Academy in Hong Kong.
Football Marketing
Leicester sign W88 as an official betting partner in 2-year deal
June 28 – Premier League Leicester City have signed a two-year sponsorship with online gaming site W88 who will become the club’s Official Betting Partner for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 Premier League seasons.
Mexico and Ronaldo dominate World Cup social media rankings
June 27 – Mexico are leading the social media World Cup with more than 9 million interactions since the start, according to social media marketing platform Socialbakers. That is a whopping 2.5 million interactions ahead of second place Germany.
Inter open first Academy in Brisbane and plan Aussie rollout
June 27 – Internazionale have launched their first Inter Academy project in Australia in Brisbane in partnership with Fullshare Holdings and Sparrow Early Learning, as the Club’s Official Education Partner.
LaLiga secures 3-year €980m domestic TV deal with Telefonica
June 26 – Spain’s La Liga has sold its 2019-2022 television rights for €980 million ($1.15 billion) per season to Telefonica, an increase of 15% on the last three seasons.
Bayern Munich stay in tune with Beats by Dr. Dre through to June 2019
June 26 – Germany’s FC Bayern has extended its partnership with Beats by Dr. Dre through to end June 2019.
Saudis seize token number of beoutQ decoders as F1 reveals it too is being pirated
By Paul Nicholson
June 25 – Saudi Arabia has responded, somewhat derisorily, to the dispute over the piracy of Russia 2018 World Cup matches, saying it has seized 12,000 beoutQ satellite decoders in the country which have been transmitting stolen sports content.
Puma go top as Nike fights back in Russia 2018 Battle of Brands
By David Owen
June 25 – Puma have taken over at the top of the table, but the story of the second round of group matches in Insideworldfootball’s World Cup Battle of Brands was a strong fightback by Nike teams.
Copyright theft: UEFA turns up heat on pirate Saudi broadcaster beoutQ
By Paul Nicholson
June 22 – UEFA has added its voice to the fast-growing lobby of broadcasters and sports rights owners lining up against pirate Saudi Arabian sports channel beoutQ that has so far stolen feeds for every game of the Russia 2018 World Cup and rebroadcast to a middle east and north African footprint via the Arabsat satellite.
BeoutQ piracy continues as more broadcasters issue warnings over ‘stolen’ live broadcasts
By Paul Nicholson
June 21 – Saudi rogue broadcaster BeoutQ, currently under fire for stealing live pictures from Qatar-based TV network beIN Sport and NBC’s Telemundo, has also come under fire from Eleven Sports Networks for pirating its live rights.
PSG swap PMU for Unibet as betting partner in €3m deal
June 21 – French champions Paris-Saint-Germain have signed up Unibet as their official betting partner in a two-year deal worth €3 million.
Puma, Hummel and Adidas lead after Round One of Russia 2018 Battle of Brands
By David Owen
June 20 – All 32 teams at Russia 2018 have now played at least one match, making it time to take Insideworldfootball’s first look at the latest World Cup Battle of Brands.
Man City turn on renewed deal with PAK Lighting
June 20 – Manchester City has renewed its regional partnership with Chinese firm PAK Lighting who are the club’s Official Lighting Partner in the country.
FIFA in the spotlight as defiant beoutQ pirates World Cup signals from NBC and beIN
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – The pictures flashed around the world of FIFA president Gianni Infantino sitting majestically between his two new best friends, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on his right and Valdimir Putin on his left at the opening match of the 2018 World Cup, will have left FIFA’s high paying rightsholders wondering if there is another game in play that they are not part of.
From Russia with Love: Paddy Power promo pays out on hosts goals to LGBT community
June 18 – Russia’s 5-0 opening win over Saudi Arabia has resulted in an immediate £50,000 win for the LGBT community as a Paddy Power marketing gimmick looks set to cost the bookmaker a lot more than they expected.