Inter Milan add 7th Chinese academy with Hong Kong launch
August 1 – Inter Milan has launched another of its Inter Academy projects in China, this time in Hong Kong, taking the number of Chinese academies to seven.
Football Marketing
Premier League shirt sponsorships top record £313m in value
July 31 – Premier League clubs will generate a combined record £313.6 million for the 2018/19 from shirt sponsorships, according to a Sportingintelligence analysis, the ninth time they have conducted this report.
Neymar dives into more criticism after Gillette mea culpa ad backfires
July 31 – Brazil’s World Cup talisman Neymar has come clean about his histrionics in Russia, admitting in an advertisement that he ‘exaggerated’ his reactions when fouled during the tournament, but his mea culpa has already backfired, the player coming in for heavy criticism in Brazil.
SBOBET signs up for Borussia Dortmund’s Asian expansion
July 31 – Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, who recently announced a push into expanding in Asia with the opening of a Singapore office, has agreed a deal with SBOBET to become the club’s official betting partner in Asia.
Barca women tooled up with record 3-year Stanley shirt deal
July 30 – Barcelona’s women’s team have secured the biggest shirt sponsorship deal to date for a women’s team, according to the club. Stanley Black & Decker have become the team’s first shirt sponsor in a 3-year deal starting this season.
10Bet build EFL Championship presence with West Brom deal
July 27 – Online sports betting operator 10Bet has added West Bromwich Albion to its EFL Championship sponsor portfolio in a one-year deal believed to be worth £1 million.
Hyundai drive deeper into Euro club sponsorship market with Serie A’s Roma
July 24 – Hyundai have added their first club sponsorship in Italy becoming AS Roma’s new Global Automotive Partner in a three-year deral that will see the Hyundai logo on the back of AS Roma shirts.
Amazon Prime releases Man City docu-series trailer
July 24 – Amazon Prime Video has released a trailer for its Manchester City docu-series that will launch on the streaming service August 17.
Premier League granted further blocking order in battle against live match piracy
July 23 – With broadcast piracy issues increasingly concerning sports rights owners anxious to maintain their TV deals and value in an increasingly disrupted marketplace, the Premier League has won a further blocking order in the UK High Court forcing pirate streams to shut down.
MUTV expands channel distribution to Amazon, Apple, Roku and Xbox
July 23 – Premier League club Manchester United have expanded TV channel distribution platforms to streaming services Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Xbox. The club last season launched MUTV on iOS, Android and on the web at MUTV.com.
Amazon builds its football presence with dedicated on-line Napoli store
July 20 – US digital giant Amazon is inserting itself deeper and deeper into football’s economic foodchain with the launch by Serie A’s Napoli of its own store on the ecommerce platform.
Hong Kong logistics firm Royale admitted to the Crystal Palace
July 20 – Asian sponsors for Premier League clubs have generally been from the betting industry unless local sponsors. Crystal Palace have expanded away from the betting sponsor focus with a global partnership with Hong Kong logistics brand Royale International.
Name drain. £450K and still no sponsor partner for West Ham’s London Stadium
July 19 – Nearly £450,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent trying to find a sponsor for West Ham United’s London Stadium, formerly the capital’s Olympic stadium, according to reports.
Brazil wins Instagram World Cup while Ronaldo is the social media player of the tournament
July 18 – Brazil won the World Cup of Social Media with more than 193 million interactions on Instagram, according to data technology specialists Primetag. Across the whole World Cup there were more than 990 million interactions generated by the content on the platform.
AS Roma stream pre-season friendly live on Twitter
July 17 – Twitter, which has ruthlessly axed hundreds of football accounts without explanation or recourse to appeal, has broadcast its first full match live with a team from Italy’s Serie A.