AS Roma stream pre-season friendly live on Twitter
July 17 – Twitter, which has ruthlessly axed hundreds of football accounts without explanation or recourse to appeal, has broadcast its first full match live with a team from Italy’s Serie A.
Football Marketing
Plug pulled on Arsenal’s BYD deal after sponsor intermediary turns out to be a fraud
July 17 – Premier League Arsenal look set to lose their recently announced sponsorship by Chinese electric vehicle makers BYD. The club appear to have been caught in a suspected sponsorship fraud after the carmaker announced that a suspect had been arrested for securing fraudulent deals.
Saudis ‘welcome’ FIFA legal action in KSA as beoutQ piracy continues
By Paul Nicholson
July 16 – Saudi Arabia quickly responded to FIFA’s statement that it was to take legal action in Saudi Arabia against pirate television channel beoutQ that broadcast every match of the World Cup in Russia illegally to the kingdom, saying that it welcomed the FIFA action.
West Ham trade up with Basset & Gold as new shirt sleeve sponsor
July 16 – Premier League West Ham United is swapping its MRF Tires sleeve sponsor for financial services firm Bassett & Gold. No term or value was given for the deal that sees an expanded sponsorship package than the previous one-year deal with MRF.
Renault test drive first football sponsorship with 3-year PSG deal
By Paul Nicholson
July 13 – French champions Paris Saint-Germain have signed a three-season official partnership with French motor manufacturer Renault.
FIFA promise legal action and urges Saudi Arabia to intervene in beoutQ piracy
By Paul Nicholson
July 12 – FIFA has stepped back into the beoutQ piracy debate ‘urging’ Saudi Arabia to support efforts to stop the copyright theft taking place in the country and saying that it will take legal action in Saudi Arabia to protect its rights.
US giant Kohler debuts in Premier League as Man Utd’s first sleeve sponsor
July 12 – US brand Kohler has become a global partner of Manchester United in a multi-year partnership that will see the company take the club’s sleeve branding.
Dafabet secure Premier League returners Fulham with record shirt sponsorship
July 12 – Championship play-off winners Fulham – who in doing so guaranteed themselves a £160 million three-season Premier League income stream – have capitalised further on their promotion with a club record two-year sponsorship with global betting brand Dafabet.
Betway agrees three-year AS Roma deal despite potential gaming sponsor ban in Italy
July 11 – Online bookmaker Betway, which has just added two top-tier LaLiga clubs to its sponsorship roster, has now signed its first Italian club, AS Roma.
Man City builds bridge over troubled water issues with Xylem partnership
July 11 – Manchester City have announced a global multi-year partnership with water technology company Xylem. The company will also partner with Man City’s sister club New York City FC and the Manchester City women’s team.
Facebook adds LaLiga to fast-growing live football rights roster
July 10 – Reports are that Facebook has snapped up its second major European league with a live TV rights deal with LaLiga for the Indian subcontinent.
Adidas dependent on Belgium to prevent all-Nike World Cup final
By David Owen
July 10 – Belgium will try to keep the Adidas flag flying at Russia 2018 in St Petersburg tonight.
Chelsea sign Vitality as official health insurance partner
Sobaclieu.com
July 10 – Vitality, already the stadium naming partner at Premier League Bournemouth, has become Chelsea’s official health insurance partner.
US Soccer to build its digital touchpoints with hackathon for new ideas
July 9 – The US Soccer Federation is to hold its first football-specific hackathon on Chicago, July 14-15, at the 1871 – Chicago’s Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Serie A says betting sponsorship ban will destabilise Italian football’s economic model
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – Italian football faces a sponsorship crisis following a government proposal to ban on all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies.