By Mark Baber
February 26 – Barcelona have extended their agreement with UNICEF to 2020, continuing a key relationship which has endeared the Catalan club to supporters around the world and helped them ride out the storm over their breaking the regulations aimed at preventing the child trafficking of young footballers.
By Ben Nicholson
23 February – The Bank of Montreal (BMO) has added ten years to its agreement with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), operators of Toronto FC, for the naming rights to its recently renovated stadium.
February 23 – Sunday’s big London derby FA Cup clash between Spurs and Crystal Palace – two of the teams that have shown they have the capability to upset the traditional old order in the Premier League – was a battle between two clubs that are investing deeply in players and stadium infrastructure to achieve their improved status. But as well as sharing an ambition to change the accepted English club hierarchy, they also have another commonality in that they either had or have a sponsor relationship with online casino Mansion.
By Mark Baber
February 22 – English Football Pools owner Sportech plc is in talks with its former chief operating officer Ian Hogg over a proposal to set up a new London stock market isted company to buy the institution for £100 million.
February 19 – Manchester United overtook Arsenal today to become the English Premier League club with the most Twitter followers. Having overtaken them, they soared to a lead of more than 500 followers within hours.
By Mark Baber
February 19 – Nike has won plaudits for ending its relationship with Manny Pacquiao, but its ongoing sponsorship of Nigerian football shows its apparently principled stand against homophobia is little more than a marketing device.
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – Premier League giants Liverpool and Manchester City have both announced digital media upgrades with Liverpool relaunching their social portal via Vixlet, and City Football Group (CFG) shifting three of their club brands to web development platform Wix.com who become the clubs’ Official Website Design & Hosting Partner.
By Samindra Kunti
February 16 – The Brazilian FA CBF and sponsor Michelin have parted ways as the CBF’s crisis continues well into 2016.
By Mark Baber
February 16 – Carlsberg, the Official Beer of UEFA EURO 2016 and the England team, has launched its campaign for this summer’s Euros and claims the tournament will be worth £60 million to pubs in the UK.
By Paul Nicholson
February 12 – The long held lead by Arsenal as the Premier League club with the most Twitter followers is likely to end this week with Manchester Untied having closed the gap on their London rivals to just 6,500 followers.
February 10 – Top Eleven has launched the 2016 version of its online football game and added in functionality allowing game players to train their squads and manage their clubs. The game, which has over 130 million registered players on Android and iOS apps, has also upgraded its browser-based version of the game. A Facebook version is planned.
February 9 –The Premier League has unveiled its new logo for the 2016/17 season. Gone is the Barclays title sponsorship but retained is the crowned lion’s head giving a nod to the past while providing for a shiny upgrade to the league’s visual identity.
February 8 – Manchester United, giants of the small screen when it comes to TV ratings, have hooked up with big screen Hollywood film distributors 20th Century Fox to promote the studio’s films at its home game.
By David Owen
February 5 – AC Milan have followed local rivals Internazionale in announcing a partnership with Le Sports, the Chinese internet company. The former LeTV is becoming the Italian club’s official new media partner in mainland China. The deal is said to “span three consecutive seasons” culminating with 2017-18.
By Paul Nicholson
February 4 – The expected entry of the giant US Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators into the so-far under exploited European markets has happened with a bang, with Boston-based DraftKings landing in the English market with deals with Arsenal, Liverpool and Watford.