Barca invest in their future with launch of Innovation Hub
March 23 – FC Barcelona have officially unveiled their Barça Innovation Hub (BIH) with the aim of positioning the club as the leader in sports knowledge, innovation and technology.
Football Marketing
Seifert outlines international growth offensive for Bundesliga
March 22- Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert may have expressed concerns about the dominance of Bayern Munich in the German league, but that debate has not held back his bullish expectations and strategy for growth of the league, especially internationally.
£780 for a pair of unscalped tickets to the Champions League final
March 22 – Champions League final tickets are on sale and will set buyers back £390 for a Category 1 seat at the Cardiff venue on June 3. Bayern Munich fans who protested at the price of Arsenal away tickets, will be apoplectic at the cost if their team reaches the final.
Players’ Tribune targets Europe’s footballers with its content sales stories
March 22 – The Players’ Tribune, a US-based website set up for sportsmen and women to tell their personal stories and express their views, wants to pull in English Premier League players and other footballers across Europe.
Inter Milan drives deeper into China with SWM sponsorship deal
March 21 – Italy’s Internazionale have signed car manufacturer SWM Motors as an official partner with the company’s SWM X7 becoming the Official Car of F.C. Internazionale for the Greater China area.
Liverpool bust the 7m twitter barrier; Leicester rebirth catapults them up weekly ranking
March 21- Liverpool became the fourth Premier League club to break through the 7 million Twitter follower barrier this week. They put on 27,100 new followers for the week.
Nexen and Man City tread new path with first Premier League shirt sleeve sponsorship
March 17 – Manchester City have become the first Premier League club to sign a sleeve sponsorship for next season when the league relaxes its branding exposure rules.
Broadcast power plays: Fox/Sky deal faces regulators, beIN Sports gets cash, BT hunts rights
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – It has been a busy week in the sports broadcast market with UK Culture Secretary Karen Bradley referred 21st Century Fox’s £11.7 billion bid for full control of Sky to communications regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority – Sky are the Premier League’s dominant TV partner. In France, Qatari owners have pumped in another €600 million into beIN Sports to cope with losses believed to at more than 1 billion.
Does the end of Hayatou also spell the end for Lagardère and its $1bn rights package?
By Paul Nicholson
March 16 – With Issa Hayatou no longer president of the Confederation of African Football and the future of CAF general secretary Hicham El Amrani uncertain under the incoming presidency, there is also a question over whether the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) and Presentation Sports will continue with their complaint against CAF over the award of a 12-year marketing rights package to Lagardère Sports for $1 billion.
Twitter: Everton maintain weekly lead over Spurs as Man Utd and Arsenal gallop ahead
March 15 – The past week has been a good one for growth in Twitter followers to Premier League clubs. Manchester United topped the weekly growth stats again with 70,500 new followers compared to 59,200 the previous week.
Walkers renames crisp brand to support Leicester’s Champions League push
March 14 – Leicester City, battling to save their Premier League season and status, have received encouragement from their long term sponsor, snack manufacturer Walkers, who are rebranding “one of its most popular flavors of crisps in a sign of support” ahead of the club’s Champions League tie tonight (Tuesday) against Spain’s Sevilla.
Liverpool adds local distillers Halewood to sponsor roster
March 13 – Premier League Liverpool have added a new official partner with Halewood Wines and Spirits joining the club’s sponsorship roster.
Man City top Facebook, Man Utd snap Instagram lead, Chelsea keep building
March 10 – Manchester City continue to dominate growth on Facebook with 133,600 new Facebook likes this week – a 0.57% growth. This is 55,000 more new likes than local rivals Manchester United who grew by 78,780.
CONCACAF breakfasts on Post Brands sponsorship of Gold Cup 2017
March 9 – CONCACAF has signed Post Consumer Brands as an official sponsor of the 2017 Gold Cup to be played in the US this June. No figure has been announced for the one-tournament only deal.
Tianjin TEDA push eco message with new club sponsor deals
March 8 – Signs that the focus of Chinese football money is not solely on acquiring European clubs and sports assets have been seen in Tianjin where Tianjin TEDA have announced new sponsorship deals with TEDA Holding and the Elion Group for the 2017 Chinese Super League season.