CVC to enter football with £2.3bn deal for 10 per cent of Spain’s LaLiga August 4, 2021 CVC Capital Partners is set to make its first major football investment by paying €2.7bn (£2.3bn) for a minority stake in Spain’s top league, LaLiga. The private equity giant, which has invested heavily in rugby in recent years, has an agreement in principle for around 10 per cent of LaLiga. “LaLiga confirms a strategic agreement [...]
Socios: The blockchain-enabled fan token platform promising to unlock revenue from the global fanbases of sport’s most famous teams July 31, 2021 Football’s transfer market may have lacked headline-grabbing deals so far this summer but the same can’t be said for Socios. The platform, which sells “fan tokens” offering supporters the chance to influence decisions at their team, has instantly increased visibility with a clutch of major partnerships. Last week Socios announced the launch of an Arsenal [...]
Gary Lineker joins LaLigaTV in ‘multi-year’ deal July 30, 2021 Gary Lineker has joined LaLigaTV as a presenter in a “multi-year agreement” to front coverage of Spain’s top-flight football league. The former England striker will present key fixtures on the 24-hour channel and feature regularly on its Viva LaLiga studio programme broadcast live from Barcelona. Lineker, who played for Barcelon during his career, already presents [...]
European football market contracted by £3.4bn in first few months of Covid-19 pandemic, Deloitte report finds July 29, 2021 The European football market shrunk by 13 per cent in the first few months of the pandemic, according to analysis by Deloitte. Total revenue fell by €3.7bn (£3.4bn) to €25.2bn (£22.1bn) in 2019-20, the first decrease since the global financial crisis struck more than a decade earlier. Clubs suffered as leagues were postponed and resumed [...]
Ineos strikes deal with New Zealand Rugby to add All Blacks to sporting stable that includes Formula 1, cycling and football teams July 28, 2021 New Zealand Rugby has announced Ineos is to become its official performance partner in a six-year deal beginning in 2022. The deal sees New Zealand Rugby’s national teams, including the All Blacks and the Black Ferns, join the growing Ineos sporting stable, which is owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe. They will join Mercedes-AMG [...]
Fulham sign up blockchain telecoms network World Mobile as principal commercial partner on three-year-deal July 27, 2021 Fulham have signed World Mobile, a telecoms network that uses blockchain technology, as their new principal commercial partner. The three-year deal sees World Mobile replace bookmaker BetVictor as the club’s main sponsor. The agreement will see World Mobile appear on the shirts of the Fulham men’s, women’s and youth teams. Fulham’s men will be hoping [...]
Crystal Palace report £58m loss for pandemic-hit 2019-20 season July 26, 2021 Crystal Palace have announced a £58m loss for the 2019-20 season as a result of Covid-19’s impact on football. The Premier League club saw revenue fall £13m to £142m, while operating expenses increased by £15m to £154m. The drop in income was largely due to the effect of matches in the second half of the [...]
Arsenal and Man City scrap overseas trips as Covid-19 hits Premier League pre-season preparations July 22, 2021 Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester City have had their preparations for the new season disrupted by issues relating to Covid-19. Arsenal were forced to cancel a pre-season trip to the US to compete in the Florida Cup alongside Everton, Inter Milan and Colombian side Millonarios. The North London outfit returned a number of positive [...]
Team GB start Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a win as women’s footballers beat Chile – but favourites USA suffer shock defeat July 21, 2021 Team GB have made a winning start to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after their women’s football team beat Chile 2-0. In a major shock elsewhere in the competition, world champions the USA lost their opening match 3-0 to Sweden. While the Games officially get underway on Friday, some events in Japan started today. Ellen White [...]
Burnley sign spread betting and trading platform Spreadex as main sponsor on one-year deal July 20, 2021 Burnley have signed up spread betting and financial trading platform Spreadex as their main shirt sponsor for next season. The one-year deal will see the company’s sports fixed odds and spread betting arm, Spreadex Sports, replace Chinese brand LoveBet as principal partner. Spreadex is understood to be paying slightly less than LoveBet, whose £7.5m deal [...]