Man City plug in Midea global partnership for another term
October 21 – Manchester City has extended its global partnership with consumer appliances producer Midea for a third season.
Football Marketing
UEFA issues tender for Champions League cryptocurrency partner
October 20 – UEFA has opened up a new cryptocurrency rights category, inviting bids for the licensing rights to the Champions League for the 2021-24 cycle.
FIFA strips Globo of digital rights as it opens up its Brazilian media packages
October 20 – Brazilian broadcast giant TV Globo has lost exclusivity to the digital rights for the 2022 World Cup, with FIFA breaking out streaming rights and offering packages to Youtube, Facebook and TikTok.
UEFA Nations League finals smash TV viewing and social media records
October 19 – UEFA is reporting that its just completed Nations League final tournament in Italy delivered a 30% growth in TV audience figures from the inaugural edition in 2019, helo in Portugal.
Monaco mine Russian base for Liga Stavok deal
October 15 – Russian owned Ligue 1 club AS Monaco has announced a partnership with Russian sports betting firmLiga Stavok, who will become a regional partner for the 2021-22 season.
Lazio join Italian crypto club revolution with €30m+ Binance deal
October 14 – Serie A’s Lazio has struck a €30 million deal with Binance that will see the cryptocurrency exchange giant become the club’s main shirt sponsor as well as launch the $LAZIO fan token.
Qualtrics joins as Man City partner with mission to improve fan experience
October 14 – Manchester City today have partnered with Qualtrics who will become the club’s official Experience Management Software partner.
UEFA to ‘evolve’ its commercial model with landmark sales and marketing tender
By Paul Nicholson
October 13 – UEFA has issued an open tender for a partner to market the commercial rights to its men’s club competitions in what the European governing body says is an ‘evolution’ of its approach to marketing and sales of the properties.
MLS and Continental Tire stay on the same road
October 8 – The MLS has renewed its sponsorship with Continental Tire for a new multi-year term. The tyre brand has been an MLS partner since 2010.
LaLiga and Microsoft launch Beyond Stands enhanced data portal for fans
October 7 – LaLiga and Microsoft have combined to launch a new football statistics portal, Beyond Stats, that they say will revolutionise the fan experience with deeper insights into game play.
ELEVEN grabs AFC rights to drive Asian expansion
October 6 – Fast growing broadcast platform ELEVEN has secured a package of Asian football rights from the AFC to spearhead the launch of its channels into Hong Kong and five south-east Asian territories.
Bundesliga joins LaLiga on Sorare fantasy platform with player card NFTs
October 6 – Bundesliga International, the marketing arm Germany’s Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, has agreed a non-fungible tokens (NFTs) deal with fantasy football game Sorare.
Serie A world first with integration of ISG-Supponor latest virtual tech into IBC
October 6 – Use of virtual advertising technology has been a slow build but a new deal with Italy’s Serie A by UK-based Interregional Sports Group (ISG) and Supponor could prove to be a significant step towards more widespread acceptance.
AFC dials in Japanese telecoms giant KDDI for renewed term
October 5 – The AFC has renewed Japanese telecoms provider KDDI as a regional partner for its major national team competitions for the 2021-2024 rights cycle.
eToro bullish in Serie A with launch of 8 club partnerships
October 4 – Online trading platform eToro has secured partnerships with eight clubs in Italy’s Serie A for the coming 2021/22 season.