Inter Milan put on the style with new store opening in upmarket city centre
May 25 – Italians are noted for their fashion style, so you would expect Italian football club retail outlets to have a certain amount of good taste and panache.
Football Marketing
Corinthians close in on naming rights deal to ease debt pressure
By Samindra Kunti
May 19 – Brazilian club Corinthians are closing in on a naming rights deal for their stadium, but which could maintain the name ‘Arena Corinthians’.
BT drops pay platform to broadcast European club finals on Youtube and freeview
By Tom Parsons
May 12 – BT Sport has announced it will show the Champions League and Europa League finals free-to-air on its YouTube channel and freeview channel after recent criticism about the broadcaster’s low viewing figures for European football on the pay channels.
Chelsea to pay £40m to exit adidas kit deal
May 12 – Having ensured a miserable season on the pitch by their own standards, Chelsea are to end their shirt sponsorship deal with German sportswear giants Adidas six years earlier than scheduled.
Raul spearheads La Liga brand building challenge in the US
By Paul Nicholson in Mexico City
May 12 – La Liga has targeted the US as a key development country and has sent Real Madrid goalscoring legend Raul to deliver the partnerships and win American hearts and minds.
Scottish League Cup becomes Betfred Cup in £1m deal
By Mark Baber
May 11 – The Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) has confirmed that Warrington-based bookmaking company Betfred has agreed a three-year deal to become the exclusive title sponsor of the Scottish League Cup which will now be known as The Betfred Cup.
Belgians launch Red Devils app in time for Euro2016
By Samindra Kunti
May 11 – The Belgian FA, the KBVB, has launched an exclusive Red Devils app as coach Marc Wilmots will announce his squad for EURO 2016 on Thursday.
Man City trials first live VR match in London, New York and Melbourne
By Paul Nicholson
May 11 – Manchester City has taken a deep media step into the opportunities of Virtual Reality with a test of last weekend’s game against Arsenal that was broadcast to a select group of fans in London, New York and Melbourne.
Watford think global with FX partner Divisa Capital
May 11 – Premier League Watford has agreed a three-season sponsorship with Divisa Capital who will become the club’s new Official Foreign Exchange Partner. No fugure was announced for the deal.
Gazprom refuels Schalke 04 with €120m shirt deal until 2022
By Mark Baber
May 10 – Schalke 04 and Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom have agreed to an extension of their shirt sponsorship deal, which had been due to expire in 2017, until 30 June 2022 in a deal reported to be worth at least €120 million.
Man City build with new Chinese partners in advance of July tour
May 9 – Manchester City, who have recently taken on board a $400 million investment from Chinese investors in their City Football Group ownership group, have added two new Chinese partners in advance of their July pre-season trip to the country where they will play Borussia Dortmund and local rivals Manchester United.
Football is as exciting as sex, the science proves it is true
By Paul Nicholson
May 9 – Champions League sponsor Nissan has developed an Excitement Index with Loughborough University that found that the average heart rate reached a peak 122 bpm during exciting moments in the match, which is comparable to the peak heart rates found in scientific studies of couples having sex.
UK-K8.com rolls the dice in Premier League with £5m West Brom shirt deal
By Mark Baber
May 5 – West Bromwich Albion have signed a two year sponsorship deal with Chinese online casino operator the K8 Group which will see the UK-K8.com emblazoned on the club’s new shirt from 2016/17.
Dafabet puts its money on Celtic shirt as SPL sees Rangers return
May 5 – Scotland’s Celtic, who celebrated a fifth consecutive Scottish Premier League Championship last weekend, have followed this up with the announcement of what they say is the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the history of Scottish football.
Premier League’s new brand strategy calls for a Carling
By Mark Baber
May 5 – The Premier League’s new ‘clean brand’ strategy took a big step forward as Carling was announced as Official Beer Partner of the Premier League in a new deal which will cover the three seasons from 2016/17 to 2018/19.