Kappa adds Benítez’s Napoli in five-year kit deal
By David Owen
April 29 – Kit-maker Kappa have added Napoli to their stable of Italian Serie A clubs.
Football Marketing
Liverpool hit record visitor numbers for stadium tour and museum
April 28 – Premier League Liverpool have announced record numbers through the turnstiles for the Anfield Tour and Museum over the past 12 months. Nearly 200,000 visited the club attraction, up from 50,000 the previous year.
Man Utd top PL twitter worldwide, but lag behind Arsenal and Chelsea in UK
By Paul Nicholson
April 27 – They may lag behind rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in the Twitter follower rankings if you just take into account their English language twitter feeds, but Man Utd are top of the world when it comes to total number of Twitter followers when adding in all language accounts held by clubs.
Man Utd push deeper into China with WeChat launch
April 27 – Manchester United has expanded its social media presence in China, launching on WeChat, China’s largest and fastest growing social messaging platform.
PSV seek new shirt sponsor as Philips takes a step back
By Mark Baber
April 23 – One of the longest shirt sponsorships in professional football is coming to an end as PSV Eindhoven and Philips announced on Wednesday that Philips will no longer be the shirt sponsor of PSV from the start of the 2016-17 season.
Bayern break into US with Beckenbauer spearheading MSN content deal
April 21 – Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have agreed a new media partnership with MSN for the broadcasting and publication of the club’s content in the USA.
Hat-trick of Asian deals boost Infront sales portfolio
By David Owen
April 20 – Infront Sports & Media, the Swiss-based sports marketing company recently acquired by Chinese businessman Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group, has unveiled new deals with three Asian football associations.
FC Twente under pressure as XXImo pulls out of main sponsorship
April 16 – FC Twente and its main sponsor XXImo have reached an agreement to terminate their contract. The Dutch club is going through troubled times after losing the Dutch Cup final against PEC Zwolle.
Man City fuelled for new deal with Vivo Energy in Botswana
By Mark Baber
April 15 – Manchester City have agreed that Vivo Energy, the company that distributes and markets Shell branded fuels and lubricants across Africa, will be the Club’s Official Fuels and Lubricants partner in Botswana, extending an existing association with the company, unveiled at the end of 2014, which covered the Ivory Coast.
Cola wars: Coke fizzes to US finish line to oust Pepsi deal
April 14 – US soccer is changing its Cola brand. PepsiCo, which has been a core sponsor of the MLS since 1996, is making way for Coca-Cola who take over as the official non-alcoholic beverage of the MLS and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
FC Augsburg signs new lead sponsor in increased revenue deal
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 13 – German Bundesliga club FC Augsburg has secured a new sponsorship deal with Germany’s insurance group WWK Versicherungsgruppe. The insurer will tale over as the club’s main sponsor in a deal estimated to be worth €3 million per year.
Deltatre and Vizrt roll out enhanced TV graphics package to broadcast market
April 13 – Sports media services company delatratre has teamed up with TV graphics producer Vizrt to launch a new virtual sports graphics solution for broadcasters.
Twitter stats: Man Utd accelerate growth, Man City lose even more ground
By Paul Nicholson
April 9 – The trends of the previous six weeks were followed last week with no change in the Insideworldfootball table of Premier League club Twitter followers. Manchester United again surged forward to continue their standout gains against their rivals as they chase the total number of followers to overtake Arsenal and Chelsea who head them in the overall table.
Man Utd team with Aon for affinity product into Pakistan market
April 8 – Manchester United have extended their partnership with insurance giant Aon into the Pakistan market with an insurance affinity programme, the first in the region.
Twitter ranking: Man Utd on the charge with record gains over Arsenal and Chelsea
By Paul Nicholson
April 2 – In the week to March 27, Manchester United more than doubled their average weekly gain in Twitter followers over closest rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.