TikTok signs sponsorship with UEFA in time for Euro 2020
February 11 – Short-form mobile video app TikTok has signed an official partnership with UEFA for the rescheduled Euro 2020 Championship that kicks off this summer.
Football Marketing
Man City supersizes its perimeter boards with two-tier LED system
February 10 – Manchester City are going big with a new ‘Supersized LED’ perimeter board system that is currently being installed at its Etihad Stadium.
Serie A TV deals reach crucial point as CVC shows signs of cold feet
February 10 – The new Serie A deals for domestic and international broadcast rights – revenue that will underpin the league and its clubs – have reached crucial and sensitive stages at the same time.
AYX onboard with Roma to bring Asian focus as regional betting partner
February 10 – The market for betting sponsorship of Italian clubs may be drying up domestically as gambling authorities move in with new rules, but the appetite for promotion in international markets is still there.
Premier League’s data giants take ticketed fans to court for collecting stats
February 9 – The battle over who can collect match data from Premier League stadia took another ugly turn early this week when official data provider Genius Sports Group sued Sportradar in the UK saying it was illegally sending ‘data scouts’ to matches.
AFC adds new broadcasters in Asia and Europe for 2021-24 rights cycle
February 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has increased the pace of its broadcast rights sales with two new partners announced for its 2021 to 2024 rights cycle, one in Europe and one Asia.
Manchester and Liverpool clubs join for anti-racism message; FIFPro demands social media clean-up
February 8 – The four Premier League clubs from Manchester and Liverpool have joined forces to condemn the online racial abuse suffered by players in recent weeks.
Ozil’s new club Fenerbahce pushes beIN to limit, sparking fear over next SuperLig deal
By Paul Nicholson
February 8 – Mesut Ozil, no stranger to conflict and controversy in recent years, may not find Fenerbahce the calm and safe haven club he was looking for.
MLS pushes deadline on securing pay deal with players union, but key differences remain
February 5 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has again extended the deadline for negotiating a new pay deal with its players union. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) has to be in place before the start of the new season in the Spring.
Canal+ throw LFP a €35m lifeline for more TV rights to end of season
February 5 – France’s professional leagues have been handed a badly needed lifeline to help them over their broadcast rights crisis after Ligue 1 reached an agreement with Canal Plus to screen the remainder of matches this season following the spectacular collapse of a record contract with Mediapro.
Fluminense signs online gambler Betmotion for one-year ‘shirt’ deal
February 5 – Brazil’s Fluminense have agreed a sponsorship with online gaming operator Betmotion that will see its logo on the club’s shirt in what is described as a ‘chest seal’ (see picture).
Social media firms warned of £ billions in fines unless they tackle racist abuse
February 4 – The British government has threatened social media companies with fines which could amount to “billions of pounds” if they fail to tackle abuse of footballers on their platforms.
Molten rolls over Europa League deal for new 3-year term and adds Conference
February 4 – UEFA has renewed Japanese manufacturer Molten Corporation as the official match ball supplier for its Europa League. Molten will also pick up rights to the new Europa Conference League that kicks off in July.
EA Sports renews Champions and Europa League exclusivities for FIFA series
February 4 – Electronic Arts (EA) has renewed is exclusive license with UEFA for its Champions League and Europa League video games, keeping both competitions on the FIFA platform.
Vermantia ups the pace with Virtual Football League in i-gaming space
February 3 – Greece-based Vermantia, which offers content to lotteries, gaming and betting operators, has added a new Virtual Football League igaming product to its portfolio.