August 5 – Belgium’s professional game, settling down to a new format following a summer of political and legal chaos, has positive news to report with bookmaker bwin being confirmed as its new betting partner.
August 5 – The total value of sponsorship across the big five football leagues in 2020 is now more than €3.3bn annually, according to a report by KPMG Football Benchmark.
August 4 – Crystal Palace FC have replaced one betting firm with another as the club’s main shirt sponsor. Online gaming brand W88 will take over from ManBetX for next season.
August 3 – Heineken has signed a new sponsorship with UEFA for the Europa League that will begin with the resumption of the competition this week and run through to June 2024.
July 28 – AC Milan have held on to their main shirt sponsor Emirates airline in a three-year deal that will see them take a reported annual €4 million cut in the sponsorship fee.
July 27 – Leicester City have announced a one-season partnership with Tourism Authority of Thailand to launch the ‘Thailand Smiles With You’ campaign and promote the country as a tourist destination as it recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
July 22 – Globalisation and digital media have rapidly changed the market for top tier football sponsorship. That market is now being challenged again by the coronavirus pandemic.
July 22 – Leeds United, back in the English top flight for the first time in 16 years next season, have announced a “record-breaking” official kit partnership with Adidas.
July 16 – Real Madrid will have a new official bank from the start of the 2020/21 season. An agreement with Liberbank will see the financial institution take over from Caixabank.
July 13 – Inter Milan have announced their first sleeve sponsorship with Australia-based currency broker IC Markets, an online provider of FX services and ECN trading capabilities.
July 9 – After a one-season separation, Juventus and Cygames are back together with the Japanese video game developer taking the Italian champions’ back-of-shirt position.
July 3 – Gambling sponsorship on football shirts in the UK should be banned as a deterrant to young people being lured into betting, a British House of Lords report has recommended.
July 2 – At last good news for French league football. Online bookmaker Betclic has agreed a three-season deal to become a marquee partner of the Ligue de Football Professional’s (LFP) Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 championships.
June 30 – The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has released results from the second edition of its ESA Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker, indicating that there is a growing confidence in the sponsorship business as coronavirus lockdown is eased across Europe.
By David Owen
June 29 – Aston Villa, the famous old Birmingham-based club currently lying next to last in the Premier League table, have signed online car retailer Cazoo as their new shirt sponsor and “principal partner”.