August 4 – Under the new Chinese ownership of Tony Xia, England’s once great Aston Villa are expecting to be challengers for an immediate return to the Premier League. They will be hoping that success in achieving that will also transmit to their new challenger brand betting partner EnergyBet.
July 29 – UK based sports marketing agency CSM has announced a new partnership with US Club Soccer, a National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation to develop programmes for the organisation’s 500,000+ members.
July 25 – Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer, official sponsor of Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League, has expanded its footprint announcing it is the Official Timekeeper and Global Partner of Manchester United.
July 12 – Spanish giant Barcelona have announced a new mobile game that is in development with Hugo Games, an interactive entertainment developer and publisher.
July 12 – French champions Paris St-Germain, who are heading to the US for pre-season International Champions Cup matches this month, have announced they will open a pop-up shop in Los Angeles with Parisian boutique Colette.
July 7 – Manchester City, hard on the heels of its Cityzens weekend and the launch of various digital initiatives has now turned its attention back to China where it has extended its relationship with specialist business development company, Zhong An Holdings.
May 31 – Tottenham Hotspur have moved quickly to expand their commercial opportunity in South Korea following a rapid 30% growth in the club’s fanbase in the region as the club’s challenge for Premier League honours has raised its profile.
By Paul Nicholson in Mexico City
May 12 – La Liga has targeted the US as a key development country and has sent Real Madrid goalscoring legend Raul to deliver the partnerships and win American hearts and minds.
May 5 – Scotland’s Celtic, who celebrated a fifth consecutive Scottish Premier League Championship last weekend, have followed this up with the announcement of what they say is the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the history of Scottish football.
By Mark Baber
April 15 – Southampton FC has agreed a 7-year partnership with US-based global sports brand Under Armour which will come into effect on July 1. No figure was announced for the deal.
April 8 – News from the Chinese football market is generally about big money acquisition of football assets outside the country, or the import of what look like very expensive international players. But there are signs that the domestic football marketing opportunity is not being lost with Super League clubs who are usually owned by one funding sponsor or business conglomerate.
March 22 – Manchester City have signed a regional partnership with Chinese firm SoccerWorld to provide better access to facilities and coaches for young Chinese footballers. The agreement is part of the City Football Group’s (CFG) wider ambition to expand its business in China.
By Mark Baber
March 18 – Nike’s kit launches for the England and US national teams were met with scorn from fans and media on Thursday, whilst panic-stricken executives cancelled the launch of the Brazil shirt in Rio due to unwarranted concerns about demonstrations.
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – Premier League giants Liverpool and Manchester City have both announced digital media upgrades with Liverpool relaunching their social portal via Vixlet, and City Football Group (CFG) shifting three of their club brands to web development platform Wix.com who become the clubs’ Official Website Design & Hosting Partner.
By Paul Nicholson
February 4 – The expected entry of the giant US Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators into the so-far under exploited European markets has happened with a bang, with Boston-based DraftKings landing in the English market with deals with Arsenal, Liverpool and Watford.