Nike becomes London City Lionesses sponsor as well as kit partner in world record deal Sport Business Nike has extended its partnership with London City Lionesses to become the Women’s Super League club’s front-of-shirt sponsor as well as kit maker for a world record fee of over £3m. The sponsorship is described as a multi-year deal and comes as Nike has also extended its kit contract with London City until 2032. The [...]
Extraordinary athletes, ordinary content: why even Nike should make more of its talent Sport Business Nike’s former global editor, Dan Rookwood, argues that brands are leaving value on the table by wasting their allocated time with star athletes. Since landing my first job on the sports desk of The Guardian’s website in 2000, I’ve spent a good chunk of my career interviewing athletes. Sometimes it has been a joy – [...]
Where Mbappe will go if he breaks up with Nike Sport Business With rumours swirling about Kylian Mbappe’s future with Nike, marketing expert Steve Martin breaks down what could come next. I have spent more than 30 years working in sports marketing, and one of the most consistent truths I have learned is that the football boot market is one of the most tightly controlled consumer categories [...]
Adidas shares plunge after hike in World Cup marketing spend July 30, 2026 Adidas shares sank this morning after the sportswear behemoth missed quarterly profit expectations amid a hike in World Cup marketing spend. Shares in the German firm opened more than 15 per cent down after missing second quarter profit expectations. The dent came despite revenues rising 14 per cent to £5.7bn but the firm maintained its [...]
Manchester United debt pile may force owners to fund new stadium June 24, 2026 Doubts have emerged over Manchester United’s capacity to fund their £2bn-plus new stadium unless the owners inject cash. The club announced on Monday that they had secured the land required to build the 100,000-seater venue – dubbed a “Wembley of the North” – from Indurent, which lets industrial units. The 25-acre site is only 350m [...]
Cole Palmer: Chelsea footballer launches range of ‘premium craft ice’ for £2 a bag June 22, 2026 Chelsea and England footballer Cole Palmer has put his World Cup snub behind him by launching a new range of “premium craft ice” with grocery delivery platform Gopuff. The “Cole’d” product range – a nod to his nickname “Cold Palmer” – includes chewable “pebble ice” with added electrolytes, and large, football-shaped “ice spheres”, and is [...]
Why 2026 World Cup is when AI becomes the interface between fans and football June 21, 2026 The 2026 World Cup is the first AI-shaped major sports event and will change football fandom forever. Jon Williams outlines what sponsors, broadcasters and brands need to do about it. Football, like the creative advertising business I work in, thinks the biggest gains from AI are operational – speed, efficiency, and more. They’re not. AI’s [...]
2026 World Cup: How England went from misery to magnet for blue chip brands June 16, 2026 As they begin their 2026 World Cup campaign, the England brand is unrecognisable from 10 years ago – and it is paying off in growing revenues for the FA. This month marks a decade since one of the darkest days in the Football Association’s history, when England’s men were humbled by Iceland – a nation [...]
Adidas, Burberry and so much Beckham: The six best 2026 World Cup ad campaigns June 13, 2026 An unnecessarily serious review of the best ads around the 2026 World Cup, including campaigns by Adidas, Nike and Burberry, as picked by amateur footballer and professional creative Harriet Russell-Vick. Football ads in 2026 finally remembered a crucial detail: football is supposed to be fun. After years of ultra-serious slow-motion shots of rain hitting crossbars [...]
Real Madrid underline financial power by signing new €1bn kit deal with Adidas June 10, 2026 Real Madrid have received a financial boost after signing a new eight-year kit deal with Adidas that is believed to be the most lucrative in world football. The 15-time European champions and the German sportswear behemoth have opted for an early extension to their partnership, which will now run until at least 2034. Real Madrid’s [...]