By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – The global sports sponsorship spend looks set to fall by $17.2 billion, from $46.1 billion in 2019 to $28.9 billion (37% year-on-year decrease) in 2020 as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
May 14 – LaLiga, Mediapro and Asia-based Super Sports Media have formed a joint venture in China to promote the Spanish league’s commercial assets.
May 7 – Scottish top tier club Hibernian have donated next season’s premium front of shirt sponsorship position to the NHS and is launching a series of events and activities that will raise money for the health service in Scotland.
May 5 – Scottish Championship club Ayr United, who in previous years have hit the headlines with body-painted models showcasing their new season kit launch, have not been put off by the restrictions of lockdown.
May 1 – With clubs and leagues scrambling to keep sponsors engaged, new research from the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) finds that while sponsors are changing their approaches during lockdown, there is confidence in the long-term health of the sponsorship industry despite short term uncertainty and a root and branch disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
May 1 – The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has unveiled a multi-year partnership with Farmer John, making the specialty meat brand the ‘Official Packaged Meat Partner of LAFC’ beginning with the 2020 season.
April 28 – LaLiga will have more flexibility in negotiating its broadcast deals following the Spanish government’s scrapping of a three-year licensing restriction on TV rights contracts.
April 27 – Canal+ and beIN SPORTS and have reached an agreement outside their existing broadcast rights contract that will see them accelerate much needed payments to France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and its clubs regarding the rights to matches already aired.
April 22 – FC Barcelona will sell the naming rights to its famous Camp Nou stadium but donate the proceeds to coronavirus funds.
By Paul Nicholson
April 16 – Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has said that the confederation is committed to completing the Final 4 play-offs to decide its first Nations League champions, but that it will likely have to rethink the qualification process for its 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
April 15 – Arsenal has opened an official account on Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok, the world’s fastest-growing social media platform.
April 8 – With esports providing pretty much the only opportunity for competitive action as the coronavirus lockdown grips the world, clubs and increasingly broadcasters are picking up the opportunity to engage fans.
April 8 – A football merchandise price comparison website based in the north-east of England has secured a £1.625 million round of investment to fund its global expansion plans.
April 1 – Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt is changing the name of its stadium sponsor, swapping banks from Commerzbank to Deutsche Bank in what the club describes as a “long-term Premium Partnership”.
March 31 – French football is staring down the financial barrel as domestic broadcaster Canal Plus, a long-time rights holder of Ligue 1, is holding up the release of a scheduled €110 million payment.