Hublot takes over from Tag Heuer as Premier League timing partner
September 9 – The Premier League has unveiled Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot as its new Official Timekeeper from the start of the 2020/21 season.
Football Marketing
Premier League u-turn opens up September matches to live TV
September 9 – All 28 English Premier League fixtures that take place in September will be televised live following pressure from the government and fans groups to maintain last season’s arrangement of wall-to-wall games when the campaign resumed behind closed doors.
AC Milan punt on regional expansion with Yabo Sports deal in Asia
September 8 – AC Milan, which has renewed focus on creating regional sponsorships, has signed a three-year deal with casino and sportsbook operator Yabo Sports as an official regional partner across Asia.
Leicester City expand Vitality partnership to newly acquired women’s team
September 8 – Premier League Leicester City, whose owners King Power completed the acquisition of the women’s team of the same name last month, have signed the first major sponsor for their new team in health and life insurance firm Vitality.
Fulham land BetVictor as main sponsor for Premier League return
September 8 – Fulham, back in the Premier League at the first time of asking, have confirmed online bookmaker BetVictor as the club’s main sponsor.
Adidas adds another six years to Belgian kit sponsorship
September 7 – FIFA’s top ranked national team Belgium have renewed their kit partnership with Adidas, taking them through to 2026.
Liverpool becomes Cadbury’s fifth Premier League club 3-year global deal
September 7 – Chocolate brand Cadbury has added a fourth Premier League club to its sponsorship roster, becoming Liverpool’s first Official Global Chocolate Partner.
Corinthians engineer stadium debt relief with 20-year Neo Química naming rights deal
September 4 – Brazil’s Corinthians have taken a significant step towards paying off the $98 million debt of its stadium development with a the signing of a naming rights deal.
Premier League asked to rethink UK TV deals to open more live games to locked out fans
August 28 – The Premier League is coming under government pressure to make more live games available to fans while stadia remain closed.
‘Buy now, pay later’ Man City sign Laybuy as payment provider sponsor
August 28 – Manchester City who just avoided falling foul of the ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality when it won its CAS appeal against UEFA’s sanction for overspending and breaking its financial fair play rules, has somewhat appropriately signed a new financial sponsor who offers exactly that kind of consumer service.
EFL and Sky agree streaming deal to let fans in for non-TV games
August 27 – The English Football League (EFL) has agreed a streaming deal for non-TV matches with its anchor UK broadcaster Sky Sports to give fans access to games while stadium attendance is restricted during the Covid-19 crisis.
Liverpool refuels expanded HollyFrontier sponsorship
August 27 – Premier League champions Liverpool has expanded its partnership with Petro-Canada Lubricants to include parent company HollyFrontier.
UEFA unbottles 5-year PepsiCo deal for Women’s competitions
August 26 – US food and beverage giant PepsiCo has taken a deep step into the women’s game in Europe with the signing of a five-year sponsorship running through to the end of the 2025 season.
Saints dump shirt sponsor LD Sports as Sportsbet.io take a one-year punt
August 26 – Premier League Southampton have signed a one-year shirt sponsorship with cryptocurrency-based sports betting platform Sportsbet.io.
JD Sports takes Leeds United sleeve patch in one season sponsorship
August 25 – Sports fashion retailer JD Sports has become the first official sleeve sponsor for Premier League returnees Leeds United in a one-season deal for 2020/21.