June 5 – The first football sponsorship fall-out from the cutting of diplomatic ties by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt with Qatar, has been the cancellation of Saudi club Al Ahli’s shirt deal with Qatar Airways.
June 6 – Australian football, currently challenged by a slow moving reform process at federation level, has better news for stakeholders on the broadcast front with Ten Network announcing it has acquired the exclusive free-to-air rights to A-league and national team matches.
June 2 – Italian league and Cup double winners Juventus who tomorrow face Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Cardiff, have confirmed that their Juventus Stadium will be renamed Allianz Stadium from July 1.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA’s links with China have been further cemented by the announcement of another Chinese World Cup sponsor, with smartphone company Vivo named as the latest commercial backer for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
May 30 – New Balance has added its first European national team to its roster, picking up the kit sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland (FAI) national team from the start of the 2017/18 season. The US sportswear firm is also sponsor of Costa Rica and Panama.
May 26 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have extended their shirt deal with insurance group AIA until the end of the 2021-22 season. The club announced the extension while on their post-season tour to Hong Kong at AIA Group’s headquarters.
May 25 – Premier League West Bromwich Albion have quickly signed Chinese construction for Palm as the club’s main sponsor after Chinese online betting firm K8 pulled out of their two-year deal after just one season.
May 22 – Manchester City have signed Carlsberg as their Official U.S. Beer Partner. Carlsberg, through its US distributor St. Killian, will promote initially around the Man City pre-season tour to the US.
May 19 – German Bundesliga club Schalke 04 will have an integrated chip in its replica shirts next season allowing fans to pay for services in the Veltins-Arena.
May 17 – Everton have confirmed SportPesa as the club’s new shirt sponsor in a five-year deal that chief executive Robert Elstone said is the biggest deal in the club’s history.
May 16 – Newly promoted Newcastle United are swapping shirt sponsors with pay day loans company Wonga making way for online bookmaker and casino FUN88 in a three-year deal.
May 12 – Premier League Everton have cleared the way for the announcement of a new shirt sponsor after the club unveiled current sponsor Chang was shifting over to a new three-year community partnership.
May 7 – On the eve of the week of their Congress in Bahrain FIFA have signed a new airline sponsor. Qatar Airways becomes Official Partner and the Official Airline of FIFA in a sponsorship deal that will take through to 2022 when their home country hosts the World Cup.
May 1 – The timing could perhaps have been better with Joey Barton having just received an 18-month ban for betting on football matches, but the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is poised to announce an extension of its naming rights sponsorship with bookmaker Ladbrokes.
April 27 – Kenyan-based online gaming firm SportPesa has expanded its football sponsorships in Europe becoming the official African betting partner of Spain’s La Liga in a three-year deal.