January 26 – Mitre, a brand of UK-based Pentland Group, has been unveiled as the new official match ball sponsor of Singapore’s S. League in a new five-year deal which sees the world’s oldest manufacturer of footballs become the league’s official football and product supplier.
January 25 – Premier League club Manchester United has unveiled a second appareil sponsor with Columbia Sportswear becoming the club’s first official outdoor appareil sponsor. The club’s main kit deal is with Adidas who took over from Nike in a 10 year deal that started this season.
By Paul Nicholson
January 14 – This week the first paid Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) games made their Atlantic crossing from the US, debuting in the Italian market. Boston-based gambling firm Mondogoal have launched their football games in partnership with Italian online sports betting platform Intralot.
By Mark Baber
January 14 – Lionel Messi has been announced as the first Global Ambassador for Dubai’s World Expo, taking on a role as a champion for Expo 2020 Dubai.
January 13 – Supporting Liverpool is clearly an emotional experience as the club agonisingly battles to return to former domestic glories and trophies. In a city that wears its emotions very high on its sleeve, Kopites now can add a LFC emoticon to their Skype communications following a new partnership.
By Paul Nicholson
January 12 – The daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators have been given permission to continue operations following a decision by a panel of four judges from the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court to grant a further stay while a case against DraftKings and FanDuel is being reviewed.
January 12 – Tottenham Hotspur have announced EZTrader as its Official Binary Options Trading Partner. Spurs are the sixth football club partner for the binary options broker.
By Paul Nicholson
January 8 – The last two weeks have seen a huge amount of tweeting by Premier League clubs who, combined, averaged just over 7,000 tweets a week compared to an average of about 4,500 tweets a week, in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
By Mark Baber
January 7 – The Liberian Football Association (LFA)and the country’s sports minister are at loggerheads after the minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe entered into a sponsorship arrangement with LoneStar Cell/MTN the rival to Cellcom GSM, the LFA’s partner and apparently holder of sole rights to sponsorship of football-related activities at LFA stadiums.
By Samindra Kunti
January 7 – Rio-based club Fluminense have teamed up with sportswear manufacturer Dryworld in a five-year kit supply deal.
January 7 – Manchester United is to launch its dedicated TV channel in China with Sina Sports. The multi-year deal is exclusive to Sina Sports.
January 6 – In the battle to bring innovative broadcast technology to football, Canal+ in Spain has turned to Norweigan company Vizrt to revamp the look and feel of its popular ‘Mucho Más Deporte’ (Much More Sports) show.
By Mark Baber
January 5 – Herbert Hainer has excited world-wide attention after the Adidas boss criticised the playing style of Manchester United – the club with whom he signed a world record £75m a year kit deal in 2014.
By Paul Nicholson
January 5 – The daily fantasy sports (DFS) business that has taken the US fantasy gaming market by storm and is preparing for entries into the European football market, is facing a defining moment this week in the New York courts as to whether it will be allowed to continue.
January 5 – China’s Super Sports is now 30 days into its 38-day English Premier League ‘carnival’. The Chinese broadcast rights holder has been promoting the league and its clubs with events focussed in the Aegean Shopping Mall based in Tianjin.