Leo roars in as Galatasaray’s number one digital fan
October 13 – Turkey’s Galatasaray has upped its game in terms of its innovative approach towards fans, becoming the first club in the world to officially present its first “digital fan”.
Football Marketing
National Football Museum records summer spike in visitors
October 13 – The Manchester-based National Football Museum welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors this summer, as numbers shot up 35% from 2022, eclipsing pre-Covid figures.
Fitzdares extend Mayfair Club theme to Fulham’s Craven Cottage
October 13 – Premier League Fulham have extended their partnership with London bookmaker Fitzdares until the end of the current season on the back of a “highly successful” debut year for the partnership last season.
Cypriot FA agrees national team deal with Greek online bookie Stoiximan
October 12 – Greek online gaming operator Stoiximan has become a sponsor of the Cyprus national football team in a four-year deal signed with the Cyprus FA.
Concacaf debuts on WhatsApp Channels platform with 1.6m users in first month
October 12 – Concacaf has upped its digital engagement game by becoming an early adopter of the new WhatsApp Channels service recently launched by Meta, announcing itself as one of the first major sports organisations to communicate directly to fans on WhatsApp.
ESPN beats off telecoms rivals to renew Eredivisie domestic rights until 2030
October 10 – ESPN has agreed an extension to its broadcast rights for the Netherlands’ Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie and KNVB Beker until 2030.
AC Milan and Fanblock combine to offer virtual pitch ownership to fans
October 11 – AC Milan and Fanblock have agreed a first-of-its-kind partnership that will enable the Rossoneri to purchase ‘Fanblocks’ representing sections of AC Milan’s virtual pitch.
Arsenal book in Hotels.com for multi-year sponsorship
October 11 – Premier League joint-leaders Arsenal have agreed a multi-year sponsorship with hotels.com that will see the booking website become the club’s exclusive hotel partner.
Nike launch limited run of Earps shirt that sells out in hours
October 10 – Following months of anticipation and controversy, Nike has at long last unveiled a limited batch of highly sought-after Mary Earps England kits, causing a frenzy as they flew off the shelves within a matter of hours.
LaLiga and SportsBoost push deeper into AI developer worlds
October 6 – LaLiga partnered with sports startup accelerator SportsBoost, set up by legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, to hold a conference on Tuesday that probesd into the benefits of artificial intelligence through the lens of the sporting world.
Becks bangs the drum for a happy LGBTQ+ experience in Qatar as he launches Netflix doc
October 5 – David Beckham has fiercely defended his decision to accept millions of pounds from Qatar to serve as a football ambassador for last year’s World Cup.
EAFC ramps up launch promotion with Pepsi MAX deal
October 4 – Pepsi MAX and EAFC have partnered in a deal that will see EAFC 24 players have the chance to win exclusive in-game items via codes found on Pepsi MAX products.
Besiktas signs record sponsorship with Tüpraş for Istanbul stadium naming rights
October 5 – Turkey’s Besiktas says it has signed the most valuable sponsorship deal in its 120-year history with Turkey’s largest industrial Turkey – Tüpraş.
Panini to launch first WSL sticker collection
October 4 – The FA has announced a licensing partnership with Panini to create the first ever UK domestic football sticker collection to celebrate the Barclays Women’s Super League.
EFL offers new cycle of overseas broadcast rights as EPL partnership discussion on-going
October 3 – The English Football League (EFL) is tendering international broadcast rights to its three division (72 teams) for the 2024 to 2028 period.