By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA’s links with China have been further cemented by the announcement of another Chinese World Cup sponsor, with smartphone company Vivo named as the latest commercial backer for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
By Samindra Kunti
May 31 – Brazilian broadcast giant TV Globo has fallen out with the Brazilian FA (CBF) and will not cover the national team’s two friendly fixtures in June in Australia.
May 30 – New Balance has added its first European national team to its roster, picking up the kit sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland (FAI) national team from the start of the 2017/18 season. The US sportswear firm is also sponsor of Costa Rica and Panama.
May 26 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have extended their shirt deal with insurance group AIA until the end of the 2021-22 season. The club announced the extension while on their post-season tour to Hong Kong at AIA Group’s headquarters.
May 25 – Premier League West Bromwich Albion have quickly signed Chinese construction for Palm as the club’s main sponsor after Chinese online betting firm K8 pulled out of their two-year deal after just one season.
May 24 – Manchester United convincingly topped the Twitter growth stats for the 2016-17 season putting on more than 2 million followers over the season. Arsenal also increased their Twitter followers more than 2 million while another two clubs – Chelsea and Manchester City – had increases of more than 1 million over the season.
May 24 – New Balance has taken over as official kit supplier for Spain’s Athletic Club (also known as Athletic Bilbao). New Balance will supply the squad with kit, training wear and equipment from the 2017/18 season in a six-year deal, taking over from Nike.
May 24 – The Chinese FA has upgraded its partnership with insurance firm Ping An in a new four-year deal that will see the firm became the main sponsor of the Chinese Super League (CSL) as well as the official financial sponsor of the national team.
May 22 – Manchester City have signed Carlsberg as their Official U.S. Beer Partner. Carlsberg, through its US distributor St. Killian, will promote initially around the Man City pre-season tour to the US.
May 19 – German Bundesliga club Schalke 04 will have an integrated chip in its replica shirts next season allowing fans to pay for services in the Veltins-Arena.
May 18 – Everton broke new ground for thie final Premier League home game of the season last Friday by streaming Snapchat social media content live to the big screens in Goodison Park using Tagboard technology, a first in the Premier League.
May 18 – Liverpool have signed a three-year partnership deal that with babywear manufacturer Joie to become the club’s first Official Family Partner and Global Baby Gear Partner. No figure was announced for the deal.
May 17 – Everton have confirmed SportPesa as the club’s new shirt sponsor in a five-year deal that chief executive Robert Elstone said is the biggest deal in the club’s history.
May 17 – CONCACAF has secured another cornerstone broadcast partner for its blue riband Gold Cup and Champions League competitions. Canadian sports network TSN has signed a multi-year rights deal for Canada that begins with the upcoming Gold Cup this July.
May 16 – The International Champions Cup are having a second shot at staging the first ever Manchester derby outside Manchester. This time the US organisers are looking to play the game at the NRG Stadium in Houston Texas.