Sales platform eBay buys Serie A sponsorship; Bombeer in one-match deal
May 4 – Italy’s Serie A has signed and the online sales and auction platform eBay as an official partner across all its competitions.
Football Marketing
Serie A broadcasts debuts first live match in the metaverse in MENA
May 2 – Serie A broke new digital ground this weekend, with AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Fiorentina being the first football match ever broadcast on the metaverse.
Women’s World Cup and Euros to be added to UK’s protected events list
April 29 – The UK government has added the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the UEFA European Women’s Championship to its ‘listed’ events, ensuring the tournaments will remain available for free-to-air television broadcasters.
Turkish Süper Lig leaders Trabzonspor plan NFT drop to celebrate title
April 29 – Trabzonspor, who need just two points from four games to be crowned Turkey’s Süper Lig champions, will celebrate with the launch of their first set of NFTs.
Sorare adds SPFL license to its NFTs portfolio
April 21 – Sorare have added another European league to their NFT game portfolio, securing a multi-year license agreement with the Scottish Professional Football League.
Pique furiously defends €24m ‘fixers’ fee for taking Spanish Super Cup to Saudi
April 20 – Famed Spanish international defender Gerard Pique claims he has done nothing illegal after his sports event company, Kosmos, was reportedly paid a massive €24 million as part of the deal to move the Spanish Super Cup to the Middle East.
State gambling monopoly Veikkaus increases support for Finnish football
April 20 – The Finnish FA has agreed a sponsorship agreement with state gambling monopoly Veikkaus Oy for the country’s top-flight division, the Veikkausliiga, as well as the National League men’s Ykkönen and men’s Kakknen teams and the men’s and women’s Futsal league teams.
Belgian and Dutch team sponsors cold shoulder Qatar World Cup over human rights concerns
April 18 – A number of Belgian national team sponsors have followed in the footsteps of their Dutch counterparts and said they will stay away from the World Cup in Qatar over human rights concerns.
PSG adds lifestyle retail platform GOAT as sleeve sponsor
April 14 – Online footwear, apparel and accessories retailer GOAT will be Paris Saint-Germain’s new sleeve sponsor from the start of next season but joins the club as an official partner immediately.
ELEVEN steps up as major content and technical provider for new FIFA+ platform
April 14 – More detail of the new streamed FIFA+ OTT broadcast channel has been released with the ELEVEN media group announced it is supporting the service with bth production and rights.
Cazoo boosts its drive into Europe with first Bundesliga deal at SC Freiburg
April 14 – Online car retailer Cazoo, which has been driving its expansion across Europe through football club marketing, has announced its first sponsorship in the German Bundesliga with SC Freiburg.
FIFA unveils Xero as Women’s Football Partner for 2023 kick-off
April 13 – Business and accountancy software specialists Xero have signed on as a FIFA Women’s Football Partner in a multi-year deal that starts in 2023 and covers the World Cup Australia & New Zealand 202, as well as the 2024 and 2026 editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Liverpool plays its US card for plastic scousers
April 13 – Football club branded credit cards are back in marketing fashion. Premier League Liverpool have announced financial technology firm Cardless, as an official affinity partner for the launch of club’s first branded credit card for US supporters.
Betcris grows its Guatemalan base with CD Malacateco deal
April 12 – Online bookmaker Betcris, based in Costa Rica, has increased its sponsorship footprint in Central America with a three-year deal with Guatemalan club Toros del Malacateco (CD Malacateco).
Man City draw heat over betting partner Marathonbet’s Russian links
April 11 – Manchester City’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday captivated television audiences across the globe in the race for the Premier League title but off the field City faces more scrutiny, this time over its official global betting partner Marathonbet, which is approved by the Kremlin for its gambling operations in Russia.