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.
January 13 – Supporting Liverpool is clearly an emotional experience as the club agonisingly battles to return to former domestic glories and trophies. In a city that wears its emotions very high on its sleeve, Kopites now can add a LFC emoticon to their Skype communications following a new partnership.
By Mark Baber
December 16 – The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has announced that China League One, the second tier professional soccer league in China, has agreed a partnership deal with South Korean based Team Twelve Inc, a part of the Dentsu Sports Network.
November 20 – Daily fantasy football platform Oulala.com, which launched its first English language game last month, has secured its first partnership with a Premier League club becoming the Official Fantasy Football Partner of high flying Leicester City.
November 13 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have extended their long-term deal with Carlsberg. The brewer will continue as the Club’s Official UK Beer Partner for another three seasons.
By Samindra Kunti
October 6 – The ICSS and the Aspire Academy have renewed their partnership, while the French Football Federation have made a pledge for a closer cooperation with their Qatari counterpart. The agreements were announced at the Aspire Academy Global Summit on Football Performance and Science in Berlin.
By Mark Baber
September 15 – Arsenal have appointed Cheshire-based DJI Holdings as their Official Lottery Partner in China despite the ongoing suspension of on-line lotteries by the Chinese government.
By Mark Baber
September 8 – EA Sports FIFA 16 is today (depending on geographical location) available to users in demo version. The company has been promoting the new game through release of its ratings for players, including a top 50, with the full version of the game due for release around September 22.
By Paul Nicholson
August 21 – Expanding the digital experience to connect with more fans in more locations and in different ways, has become a holy grail for clubs worldwide. It is all about building big numbers of connected people to your brand. But what if that digital experience could be turned into a physical experience. Rather than just hearing and seeing action as it happens you could physically feel it as well.
August 11 – Manchester United are exploiting the increasingly influential Asian commercial market by announcing a partnership with Korean-based online games developer and publisher, Nexon, bringing the club closer to the 15 million followers it has in the country.