AC Milan Women open new account with Banco BPM
August 11 – AC Milan Women, who are ploughing their own sponsorship furrow separate to their men’s team, have announced Italian bank Banco BPM as their new shirt sponsor.
Football Marketing
PSG connect with Hisense for multi-year sponsorship
August 10 – Paris Saint Germain, one of the wealthiest clubs in world football, have signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Chinese consumer electronics and home appliances company Hisense.
Sticky fingers: Chelsea raise their sponsorship bar with Cadbury
August 7 – With England’s prime minister Boris Johnson opening a national campaign against obesity, chocolate brand Cadbury has unveiled their third Premier League club partnership with Chelsea.
LaLiga and Puma get pumped up for new season with ball unveil
August 6 – Sporting goods giant Puma and La Liga have revealed the match ball for the 2020/21 Spanish topflight season, with Accelerate, in traditional white colours, the primary ball and Adrenalina, with a more catchy design, used for ‘El Clásico’ and other marquee matches.
Champions League-headed Sevilla extend Nike kit deal for a further season
March 6 – LaLiga’s Sevilla have extended their kit supply deal with Nike for another year, taking them to the end of the 2021-22 season.
Bwin double up on Belgian Pro League and Eleven Sports with three-year deal
August 5 – Belgium’s professional game, settling down to a new format following a summer of political and legal chaos, has positive news to report with bookmaker bwin being confirmed as its new betting partner.
Big 5 club sponsorships hit €3.3bn with airlines, Adidas and Nike flying highest
August 5 – The total value of sponsorship across the big five football leagues in 2020 is now more than €3.3bn annually, according to a report by KPMG Football Benchmark.
Crystal Palace change bookie with W88 taking shirt sponsorship
August 4 – Crystal Palace FC have replaced one betting firm with another as the club’s main shirt sponsor. Online gaming brand W88 will take over from ManBetX for next season.
Inter Milan push videogaming with EA as Chinese social numbers grow 73%
August 4 – Inter Milan are boosting fan engagement activities via two new initiatives: a partnership with video gamemaker EA Sports for its FIFA game and a new WeChat virtual community for its Chinese fans.
Brewer switches brands with Europa League renewal as Heineken 0.0% takes Amstel slot
August 3 – Heineken has signed a new sponsorship with UEFA for the Europa League that will begin with the resumption of the competition this week and run through to June 2024.
NWSL numbers shatter records and put women’s league on the TV map
July 29 – Viewing figures from the US show record numbers for the women’s club game and a significant breakthrough for the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League).
AC Milan land renewed Emirates deal but at reduced €10m a year
July 28 – AC Milan have held on to their main shirt sponsor Emirates airline in a three-year deal that will see them take a reported annual €4 million cut in the sponsorship fee.
Leicester builds on its Thai commitments with one-year tourist board deal
July 27 – Leicester City have announced a one-season partnership with Tourism Authority of Thailand to launch the ‘Thailand Smiles With You’ campaign and promote the country as a tourist destination as it recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
Sending a signal. CTV switches channels on Premier League as China-UK row heats up
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – The burgeoning political and diplomatic feud between Britain and China has spilled over into top-flight football with English Premier League games reported to have been pulled from Chinese state television (CTV).
Globo’s power under threat as CBF match schedule sees TV rights split
July 23 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) has published a tentative match calendar for the Brazilian top flight with a TV schedule that will intensify the on-going domestic TV rights battle.