By Paul Nicholson
October 8 – The warning signs have been there for a while, the reality may only just be starting to hit home to a football business that is “still sleep-walking to a financial cliff”. Broadcast and media rights revenues that underpinned football’s massive growth are about to burst, and spectacularly so.
October 8 – The Welsh FA has announced BT as its exclusive lead partner in a deal that will run until 2024.
By David Owen
October 8 – As we used to say in the TV era, “Do not adjust your set”: Italy really will be wearing green when they take on Greece in a European championship qualifier in Rome on Saturday night.
October 8 – Manchester City has announced health and wellness brand Vejo as the club’s Official Smart Blending Device Partner in a deal that will see co-branded retail product.
October 7 – Italy’s Serie A has followed the lead of its Big 5 European league rivals LaLiga and Bundesliga, and opened an office in the US.
October 5 – US broadcast giant ESPN are set to carry a record amount of coverage this weekend for the final round of the regular MLS season.
October 2 – UEFA and MATCH Hospitality have teamed up for the exclusive sales of Euro 2020 hospitality tickets and packages. The agreement covers Spain, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Peru and Colombia.
October 1 – Germany’s Bundesliga, which has been targeting commercial expansion in the US market, has secured a six-year broadcast deal with subscription streaming service ESPN+.
Exclusive by Osasu Obayiuwana
September 30 – The 12-year billion-dollar contract between Lagardere Sport (LS) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is at risk of being a casualty of the ongoing CAF governance reforms being spearheaded by FIFA.
September 26 – Manchester City owners City Football Group has beefed up its club partnership with video game maker EA Sports, tuning it into a global deal across all seven of its owned clubs.
September 26 – The sales processes for UEFA’s club competitions for the 2021-24 commercial cycle has been launched following approval of the sponsorship ‘concepts’ by UEFA’s executive committee.
September 25 – Germany’s Bundesliga has tested the first applications of its 5G mobile stadia plan with Vodafone at Vfl Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena as part of a live demonstration for their home game against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
September 24 – New Balance are battling to hold on to their kit deal with Liverpool and have filed a High Court to do that, though has said that it hopes a resolution to the dispute can be found outside of court.
September 23 – Qatar Airways have expanded their portfolio in football, becoming the shirt sponsor of Belgian club KAS Eupen, despite a $639 million loss in the 2018-19 cycle for the airlines.
September 23 – Premier League Arsenal have signed Global Kapital Group as the club’s Official Forex Trading partner.