Football

The ESFA PlayStation Schools’ Cup, a grassroots football competition, has announced its return for a fifth successive season. The partnership with the English Schools’ FA (ESFA) will present over 200,000 school children with a chance to compete in national tournaments to celebrate the spirit of competition, fair play and teamwork.

Chelsea Football Club has extended its partnership with Singha for a further two years.

The commitment brings a continuation of the club’s longest-running partnership, which began in 2010 and has seen Singha served exclusively at Stamford Bridge since.

Chelsea has visited Singha in Thailand for matches in 2011, 2013 and 2015, with the academy also touring in Bangkok in 2012.

Everton FC has become the latest Premier League club to secure its first sleeve sponsor, after agreeing a deal with mobile gaming giant, Rovio, to promote its Angry Birds platform.

The multi-year deal will see the Angry Birds logo appear on the team’s kit sleeve, which debuted in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester United. 

Crystal Palace FC has signed Apollo Tyres as the official tyre partner of the club, who will have a presence at all the club’s Premier League and domestic cup matches throughout the partnership.

The agreement will also provide Crystal Palace with opportunities to engage its fanbase with new initiatives, while Apollo Tyres will run a series of campaigns that will include social media, consumer events and exclusive content.

Sky Sports has signed a new £600m deal to show live coverage of the EFL until 2024. The new agreement means that from the start of the 2019/20 season, Sky Sports Football will show up to 183 matches live each year in the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One, Sky Bet League Two, Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy - a 26% increase in the number of games on the current deal.

The deal, worth around £120million a year, represents an increase on the £90m-a-year terms of the current deal. Channel 5 have rights to show Football League highlights until 2018.

Nissan has confirmed a three-year extension to its global partnership with the UEFA Champions League, including the UEFA Super Cup.

The agreement comes ahead of the first game of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season and will see the Japanese manufacturer stay as an official partner up to and including the 2020/21 season, in a deal which began at the start of the 2014/15 season.

Performance sportswear brand, SKINS, and BBD Perfect Storm are launching a new campaign looking to reform football club ownership and management.

‘Fans Not Numbers’ intends to mobilise people from the world of football – whether supporters, owners or professionals within the game – and lobby the government to put in place the legislative powers required for the FA to implement better governance around club ownership and management.

AFC Bournemouth has confirmed details of its new shirt sleeve partnership, with the Mansion.com logo appearing on the left shirt sleeve of the club’s home and third shirts, while another of Mansion’s brands, Casino.com, will feature on the sleeve of the club’s away shirt.

Mansion have a history of sporting partnerships, including being AFC Bournemouth’s main shirt sponsor during the last two seasons.

“I am delighted to further expand our partnership with Mansion,” said AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake.

Scottish Women’s Football has announced a new sponsor for their two top senior leagues, with Scottish Building Society agreeing a six-figure sponsorship deal over the next three years.

The building society becomes title sponsor of two Scottish women’s senior leagues, with the new investment set to ensure continued growth and development for the sport. It will also ensure that for the first-time prize money will be presented to the league winners from 2018.

UEFA has announced Kia Motors has signed a three-year agreement to become an official partner of the UEFA Europa League. The sponsorship will commence at the start of the 2018/19 season and run through to the UEFA Europa League final in 2021.