Shirt found in South Sudan becomes AC Milan’s first NFT in a charity initiative
April 8 – Italian giants AC Milan have launched their first official NFT, a 3D NFT of a Rossoneri jersey found in South Sudan.
Football Marketing
Bundesliga greenlights Supponor’s virtual ad technology for league-wide use
April 8 – Virtual advertising specialist Supponor has been given German league-wide approval to supply software-based virtual advertising, via its Supponor AIR solution, from the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL).
Konami takes AC Milan training kit deal for eFootball game brand
April 7 – AC Milan has unveiled video game maker Konami Digital Entertainment as the club’s first Official Training Wear Partner.
Hisense tunes into USL’s fast-growing leagues for multi-year sponsorship
April 7 – FIFA World Cup sponsor Hisense has expanded its sponsorship footprint in the US in a multi-year partnership with the United Soccer League (USL). The deal covers all of the USL’s professional and development leagues.
UEFA trades Panini for Topps as sticker and trading card partner
April 6 – UEFA have swapped Panini for Topps as its official UEFA EURO 2024 license partner for official stickers, trading cards and collectibles.
beIN rebuilds its AFC relationship adding Champiosn League and AFC Cup rights
April 5 – beIN Media Group is rebuilding its broadcast relationship with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) piece-by-piece with an agreement to extend it rights to cover the 2022 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup.
LaLiga grows its importance within Brand Spain eco-system
April 1 – LaLiga’s brand is growing, according to the latest Brand Finance annual report that ranks brand strength by countries.
European sponsorship business hit €27bn in 2021 but still €2.8bn off 2019 high
April 1 – The European sponsorship market bounced back in 2021 with a 17.8% uplift after a slow 2020, but has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to the 2022 ESA Sponsorship Market Overview.
Man Utd roadshow gets back on the road with Miami as first stop
March 31 – After a three-year hiatus Manchester United are taking their fan engagement event back on the road with Miami, Florida, as the first stop on April 16.
Messi signs with Socios.com to promote Fan Tokens
March 30 – Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi has agreed a three-year deal to promote digital fan token company Socios.com. Reports say Messi will earn $20 million from the endorsement.
LaLiga teams with Casillas’ SportBoost to match players to tech startups
March 30 – LaLiga has combined with SportBoost to create opportunities for athletes and ex-athletes by connecting them technology startups.
Monaco agree agency deal with Capital Block as it explore NFT opportunity
March 29 – Ligue 1 club AS Monaco has agreed a partnership with NFT consultancy Capital Block who will become the become the official NFT agency of AS Monaco.
Company Select end Antwerp sponsorship in protest over Overmars appointment
March 25 – HR Company Select has withdrawn as sponsor of Antwerp following the arrival of Marc Overmars at the Belgian club. The Dutchman exited Ajax in disgrace following allegations of improper conduct.
Liverpool to launch first NFT drop of illustrated player images
March 25 – Premier League Liverpool have launched their first NFTs, a collection of illustrations of 24 Liverpool men’s team players based on their individual likenesses and superhero characteristics.
ESA’s sponsorship sentiment tracker shows optimistic trend led by rights holders
March 25 – The European Sponsorship Association’s Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) – a rough measure of how confident the sponsorship sector is – shows rights holders as currently the most optimistic over the health of the industry.