After 20 years, PSV swaps Nike for Umbro in new 5-year deal
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 19 – PSV Eindhoven has decided to swap Nike for Umbro as its kit supplier starting in the 2015/2016 Eredivisie season.
Football Marketing
Legia Warsaw enlist fans in Poland’s first military-themed affinity programme
February 19 – Football fans are often described as tribal. Polish club Legia Warsaw have taken it a step further with the club, and Poland’s, first affinity programme with fans given a military rank depending on the number of affinity points they accumulate.
Barca ditch Mediapro for TV powerplay with Telefónica
By Mark Baber
February 18 – The FC Barcelona board has agreed to sell their audiovisual rights for 2015/16 to Madrid-based multinational Telefónica, ditching long-standing partner Mediapro, in a strategic move ahead of legislation in the Spanish parliament expected to impose collective bargaining for television income on Spanish clubs.
Man Utd puts on pokerface and deals in fans for KamaGames launch
February 18 – The first on-line casino game resulting from Manchester United’s new partnership with KamaGames has been unveiled. Launched as a social game, United fans will be able to play poker against other supporters anywhere in the world.
NOS switches on to Portuguese league title sponsorship
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 13 – The top tier of Portugal’s football league has been renamed the Liga NOS for the next 3.5 years under a new sponsorship signed between the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) and local media company NOS.
NIVEA MEN debuts in Premier League with Liverpool deal
February 13 – Liverpool have added to their sponsorship roster with the announcement of NIVEA MEN as the Club’s Official Men’s Grooming Partner, the club’s first sponsor in this category.
FIFA sells 2026 World Cup TV rights for US and Canada
By David Owen
February 12 – FIFA has completed deals selling media rights for the 2026 World Cup in the key United States and Canadian markets. The deals give exclusive broadcast rights to FIFA competitions between 2023 and 2026 in the US to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, and in Canada to CTV/TSN.
West Ham finds new sponsor in “biggest-ever” commercial deal
By David Owen
February 7 – West Ham United, the Premier League football club preparing to move into London’s Olympic Stadium, has agreed a new long-term sponsorship deal with Betway, an online gaming brand. The deal installs Betway as the Hammers’ principal sponsor, with the company logo to appear on the front of the well-known claret and blue team shirts, starting with Sunday’s clash with Manchester United. Betway has also secured naming rights to the Boleyn Ground’s West Stand.
Romanian FA toasts return of Bergenbier to sponsor roster
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 6 – The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has unveiled its new sponsorship deal with Bergenbier, the country’s leading beer brand, the FRF said in a statement.
SPORT1 joins the Europa League with multi-platform rights deal
January 4 – Fast growing German media channel SPORT1 has acquired a three-year package of Europa League rights starting next season.
Forget Picasso or Dali, FC Barcelona’s museo is the cool place to visit
By David Owen
January 30 – Barcelona, one of the two giants of Spanish club football, are claiming that the FC Barcelona Museum has again won the title of most visited in Catalonia, outpulling museums devoted to the famous painters Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.
Selfies and new Japanese site drive Juve digital content strategy
January 30 – The general feeling of malaise spreading through Italian football after a poor World Cup and European club failure has not stopped Serie A giant Juventus driving out its successful digital content strategy.
Copa90 buys MLS Youtube channel KICKTV
January 29 – Major League Soccer has sold its KICKTV digital-media assets to the online fans’ network Copa90, the League announced today.
Abu Dhabi poised to get its name on Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium
By Mark Baber
January 29 – The sponsorship by in Real Madrid by Abu Dhabi through the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) will result in the stadium including the words “Abu Dhabi” in its name, according to comments made to the media by IPIC officials in Madrid. The stadium will be named the Abu Dhabi Bernabéu.
Top Eleven adds Mourinho and revamps graphics for 2015 game launch
January 28 – Computer game maker Nordeus has released the 2015 version of its Top Eleven football management game for tablets, iOS and android platforms. The new version has a number of upgrades from 2014 and comes with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s marketing endorsement.