Football

Men’s health charity Prostate Cancer UK is set to bring football rivals together as part of its campaign to raise funds and awareness of the disease. 

The charity has agreed new partnerships with two sets of traditional local rivals: East Midlands clubs Derby County and Nottingham Forest; and London’s Millwall and Queens Park Rangers.

The deals with the EFL Championship teams will see the clubs unite off the pitch throughout the 2018-19 season.

Lagardère Sports has been named West Ham United’s exclusive digital sponsorship and activation agency.

The development builds on a long-standing partnership between the global sports marketing agency and the London Premier League club.

The deal was made public as the Hammers launched a new Lagardère-built mobile application, promising fans “an immersive and interactive experience.”

West Ham’s first ever mobile app, fully optimised for both iOS and Android, forms part of a push by the club to increase its digital presence. 

Fulham FC marked its return to the Premier League at the weekend with an innovative launch video, created in partnership with new sleeve sponsor ICM.com.

The deal with the financial trading firm was revealed to the club’s Instagram followers on the morning of the newly-promoted Cottagers’ first home game of the season.

The social video invites fans to #FollowFulham in the Premier League, taking viewers on a journey through London that culminates at Craven Cottage.

To announce McDonald’s renewal of its partnership with the four home nations Football Associations for a further four years, England and Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and England and Manchester City striker Nikita Parris joined children from every home nation to play some of the best loved fun ‘rules’ of football together.

The children taught Jordan and Nikita how to play games such as Rush Goalies, One on Ones, the Numbers Game and even took on the wheelie bin challenge.

Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. director Richard Payne and marketing and business manager Edward Willis have tracked and debated the reaction to some of 2018’s most talked about transfers through their social monitoring tool SMS INC. Radar.

Here, they pick out ten of their favourite transfer announcements of recent years.

Creative agency MATTA has revealed an extension to its relationship with Umbro as the kit manufacturer increases its presence among English football’s top flight.

MATTA, shortlisted for Young Agency of the Year at the BT Sport Industry Awards in 2018, originally won the Umbro account in 2017.

Following kit launches for PSV Eindhoven and AFC Bournemouth last season, MATTA has overseen five new season kit campaigns this summer – including for Premier League teams Everton and West Ham, the Bundesliga’s Werder Bremen and FC Schalke and Dutch giant PSV Eindhoven.

Manchester United has added Chivas whisky to a global partner portfolio that now includes 24 brands.

The Scotch brand has agreed a three-year deal to become the club’s Official Spirits Partner, announcing the news via a launch film released on social media.

Chivas plans to activate the partnership with a campaign encouraging fans to “celebrate the blend that makes them unique”, based on a message that collaboration underpins all achievement.

The brand is working with agency Octagon to design and implement its strategy.

Renault is to reunite with brand ambassador Thierry Henry in an updated “va va voom” campaign around the new football season.

The news comes as the French car giant prepares to launch its sponsorship of Sky Sports' Premier League coverage.

The French striker, who recently announced his departure from Sky Sports’ commentary team, will return in a new series of Renault brand idents bookmarking live and non-live content on the channels.

Eleven Sports has announced a deal with Facebook that will see the social media giant become the broadcaster’s free-to-air partner in the UK.

As part of the agreement, at least one match per week from both LaLiga and Serie A will be shown live and free of charge on Eleven Sports' UK Facebook page. A selection of games from the other top-flight football leagues available on Eleven Sports will also be shown on Facebook across the season.

Sports research agency YouGov/SMG Insight has revealed exclusively to Sport Industry Group data analysing the performance of some of FIFA’s key World Cup sponsors in the UK.

adidas v Nike

Although more or less level-pegging on the field, with Nike providing the kits of 11 teams and adidas 12, the German manufacturer took an off-field advantage into the tournament as FIFA’s official partner.