Man City sign eSports starlet Kez to play for the club
July 8 – Manchester City have signed a new player. Kieran ‘Kez’ Brown will represent Manchester City in football gaming tournaments and fan events.
Football Marketing
Man City focus on developing in China as pre-season tour nears
July 7 – Manchester City, hard on the heels of its Cityzens weekend and the launch of various digital initiatives has now turned its attention back to China where it has extended its relationship with specialist business development company, Zhong An Holdings.
CIES releases new player transfer value tool
July 5 – How much is a player worth and will he do the job required are the perennial questions facing club owners and managers. There is no exact calculation that answers either of these questions for buyers, and no guarantee of value for money. A new player ratings tool might go some of the way to providing at least peace of mind to those splashing the cash.
Man City revamps web presence with new URL and mobile focus
July 5 – Manchester City have relaunched their website with a number of new features and at a new url, mancity.com. The new site is the result of a long consultancy process involving multiple rounds of focus groups, surveys, prototype designs, and user.
World Football Forum still open for late registrants
July 4 – There are still some tickets left for the World Football Forum later this week (July 7-8) in Paris. The two-day meeting opens Thursday with an iSportconnect Directors’ Club and WFF Cocktail Reception. Conference sessions are on Friday at the Hotel du Collectionneur.
Liverpool and BetVictor sign 3-year principal partner deal
July 4 – BetVictor have signed a new three-year deal to become a principal partner of Premier League club Liverpool. No figure was announced for the sponsorship.
BBVA ends naming rights deal as LaLiga focuses on global brand push
By Paul Nicholson
July 1 – Spain’s LaLiga has officially rebranded itself for the 2016/17 season with the ending of the BBVA title sponsorship deal. LaLiga and LaLiga2 are now the official names for the top two tiers of the league.
Man City host a weekend party to launch a ‘new era’ and welcome Guardiola
July 1 – This weekend Premier League Manchester City are throwing their doors open to fans in what is called a ‘Cityzens Weekend’ to celebrate the arrival of Pep Guardiola and the launch of club’s new badge, website and home kit.
Out the game? EA Sports call in tech teams after FIFA gamers claim rip off
June 30 – EA Sports has launched an investigation following reports of a “chemistry inconsistency” in FIFA’s 2016 Ultimate Team (FUT) game that has prompted scores of complaints from players demanding a boycott of the game over fears they’re being cheated.
Man City keeping it social with launch of Facebook Messenger account
June 30 – Manchester City have kept up the pace with their football leading social media output with the launch of a Facebook Messenger account, the first football club to open one.
Icelandic saga and Azzurri give big brands the blues on Euro’s Manic Monday
By David Owen
June 28 – Just when it looked like Euro 2016’s Battle of the Brands was about to come down to a straight shoot-out between Nike and Adidas, along came the tournament’s Manic Monday to make sure that four kit suppliers are still in with a chance of glory at the quarter-final stage.
Man City launch ‘hackathon’ in search for new insights into player performance
June 24 – Marketed as a ‘hackathon’ Manchester City is opening its doors and its player data to students and experts in technology, data and digital product design to come up with new innovations that will provide new insights on player performance.
New Balance kicks off new Audazo boot range
June 24 – Kit supplier New Balance, conspicuous by its absence as a national team kit provider at both the Copa America and Euro 2016 championships, has today officially unveiled its new Audazo football collection of boots with specialist footwear for small-sided football and futsal.
Saints head to US with Under Armour for pre-season prep
June 24 – Premier League Southampton are the latest English club to announce that they will spend some part of their pre-season preparation in the US. Although not competing in the International Champions Cup being held in the US in July, Saints will be on the East coast of the US at a training camp in Baltimore.
Iceland’s Erreà flies high at Euro 2016 as Nike consolidates lead
By David Owen
June 23 – Nike is running away with Euro 2016’s battle of the brands after a final round of group games negotiated without defeat by its six participating teams.