Man Utd freeze Old Trafford season tickets for 8th season running
March 5 – Manchester United are freezing their season ticket prices for the 2019/20 season, as well as individual match day tickets.
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ESPN swoops for MLS rights in South American and Caribbean
March 5 – ESPN has replaced Fox Sports as the Major League Soccer Spanish-language rights holder in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a four-year deal until 2022.
Zoom focuses on Man City to drive international expansion
March 5 – US video communications provider Zoom has signed on to become Manchester City’s Official Enterprise Video Communications Partner in what is described as a multi-year deal. No figure has been put on the partnership.
Sunderland target football fanbase in North Korea
March 5 – Overseas branches of football clubs are nothing new but English tier-three Sunderland have gone where few, if any, have so far sought to tread.
J.League enters esports with 40 clubs to compete on Konami’s PES platform
March 4 – Japan’s J.League is the latest big league to announce it is entering the competitive esports arena with it clubs lined up to play in tournament on Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) game. Other leagues have generally opted for the EA Sports FIFA 19 platform.
Dominican Republic’s FEDOFUTBOL in groundbreaking OTT tie-up with OZ Sports
By David Owen
March 1 – The Football Federation of the Dominican Republic (FEDOFUTBOL), to which a FIFA normalisation committee was appointed last November, has agreed a deal with the production company OZ Sports covering the country’s professional football league.
Puma and Man City owner CFG sign £320m+ multi-club kit deal
By Paul Nicholson
February 28 – City Football Group (CFG) owners of Manchester City, have signed a kit sponsorship with Puma which will see the sportswear company supply five of CFG’s clubs in what Puma says is its biggest deal ever.
FIFA lands Conotoxia as first local sponsor to U-20 World Cup in Poland
February 28 – Conotoxia has signed as the first local sponsor for the U-20 World Cup Poland 2019.
Keeping it in the family. Man City to make Japan debut against Yokohama F. Marinos
February 27 – Manchester City will visit Japan for the first time in the club’s history this Summer as part of their pre-season preparations and will play fellow City Football Group-owned club Yokohama F. Marinos.
Arsenal and Fantastec launch collectibles app based on blockchain and gamifiction
February 26 – Sports technology innovator Fantastec has launched an app for Arsenal fans aloowung them to own and trade genuine digital Arsenal collectibles.
A$5m name game: Fox and FFA lock horns over new ‘Melbourne-ish’ franchise
February 25 – Australian club Western United’s decision to not incorporate ‘Melbourne’ in its name could cost Football Federation Australia (FFA) A$5 million in annual TV rights as Fox Sports seeks to challenge its obligation to increase future payments for the broadcasting deal.
Roy of the Rovers scores new boot deal with Gola
By Paul Nicholson
February 22 – Goalscoring legend Roy Race, the iconic Melchester Rovers striker who has created more ‘wonder moments’ than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi combined and has never been convicted of tax evasion, has a new boot deal.
PSG sign Accor loyalty programme ALL as new shirt sponsor
February 22 – Paris St Germain have signed Accor’s new loyalty programme – ALL – as the club’s principal partner in a deal that will see the leisure group’s brand replace Emirates on the front of the PSG shirt from the start of next season.
LaLiga opens up China for its clubs with centralised social media service
February 21 – Spanish clubs are pushing deeper into China via an expanded social media presence with the help if LaLiiga.
Marriot adds Man Utd ‘experiences’ for relaunched rewards programme
February 21 – Hotel group Marriott International has rebranded its Rewards programme and relaunched it with the help of a Manchester United partnership to its 120 million members.