Beko and Barca fatten UNICEF coffers by €1m with #EatLikeaPro fundraiser
May 15 – Home appliances brand Beko has used its Barcelona sponsorship partnership to raise €1 million for UNICEF to help tackle childhood obesity.
Football Marketing
Nike locks out all 16 Chinese Super League clubs in $470m 10-year deal
May 12 – The Chinese Super League (CSL) has extended its kit partnership with Nike for a further 10 years – starting in June 2019 and taking them through to 2029.
Telstra and Aussie FA sign 5-year digital deal
May 11 – Telstra and Football Federation Australia (FFA) have signed a five-year digital rights and sponsorship agreement, with Telstra securing the live mobile rights for football until 2023.
Russian Cup launch gives gamers chance to qualify for FIFA eWorld Cup 2018
May 10 – Russia will have its own round of the EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series with VY Esports having struck a deal to for the Russian Interactive Football Cup to become an official qualifying competition.
Swedish fans chip in with tactical tips on Andersson’s walk to work
May 10 – At last, a FIFA World Cup story that is not about corruption. Sweden’s football fans are being given the opportunity to help national team manager Janne Andersson with his tactics for Russia 2018.
QNET take Man City Women’s sleeve in WSL first
May 9 – Manchester City Women have become the first team in the Women’s Super League to sign a sleeve sponsor with Asian firm QNET taking the branding position and becoming the official direct selling partner of the women’s team.
Rakuten launch #WheresBarça series on social using 360° illustrations
May 9 – Barcelona sponsor Rakuten have taken a leaf from the Where’s Wally books (Where’s Waldo in the US) and launched a digital #WheresBarça series on their Rakuten Arena Facebook channel.
Molten picks up official ball deal with AFC for its major competitions
May 8 – Japanese sports equipment manufacturer Molten Corporation has expanded its rights portfolio in football becoming the Official Match Ball supplier for the Asian Football Confederation’s national and club events, starting with the confederation’s AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
Music legend Dave Stewart versions BeMyBand talent search format for football market
May 4 – Music legend and multi-media entrepreneur Dave Stewart is releasing a version of his BeMyBand multi-media global format into the football market. The format technology and app is for federations, leagues and clubs who want to engage with fans in a positive and active environment, potentially identifying untapped talent but also generating interaction and loyalty.
Belgium to launch national eSports team with first match scheduled against France
May 4 – The Belgian FA (KBVB) has become the second national federation to announce they will have a national eSports team – the Belgian eDevils – to play on the EA Sports FIFA game platform.
Brand survey reveals the secrets to success in football shirt sponsorship
May 4 – Research by Brighton-based Brandwatch into the visibility of company logos on Twitter and Instagram provides a fascinating insight into the success of football-related visual marketing on the social web.
Sportradar joins with SPARK for data initiative and streetfootballworld for CSR
May 4 – Digital technology acceleration platform SPARK, and sports data and technology giant, Sportradar, have joined up to boost innovation in sports data.
Eleven secures LaLiga rights with OTT offering as Sky pulls out
May 3 – LaLiga is moving from Pay TV to OTT (over the top) in the UK after the Spanish league refused to accept an offer from Sky less than the £18 million a year deal paid in the previous cycle.
Women’s game comes of age with first Subbuteo teams sets released
May 3 – It will likely go down as a landmark moment in the continuing development of the women’s game, at least in the UK. Subbuteo is launching its first all-female team sets to co-incide with the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final this weekend.
Indonesians pick Genius Sports to revamp and drive their digital data proposition
May 2 – Genius Sports have signed a new partnership with the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to manage and commercialise their official match data in real-time.