FC Bayern Appoints Oliver Kahn To AG Executive Board

FC Bayern München AG Supervisory Board, the members have unanimously resolved to appoint Oliver Kahn to the FC Bayern München AG Executive Board.

Oliver Kahn has signed a five-year contract, effective 1 January 2020. Initially, the former FC Bayern captain, currently a businessman and entrepreneur, will serve as a member of the board. When Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s contract expires on 31 December 2021, Oliver Kahn will take over from him as chairman and CEO.

Supervisory Board Chairman Uli Hoeneß said: “With an eye on the future, we are convinced that Oliver Kahn is the perfect solution for the position of CEO of FC Bayern München AG. Oliver was an important player in the history of our club. He was captain of FC Bayern and the Germany national team for many years, he has won almost every title there is to win, and he has always led the way with dedication and determination. After his playing career, he earned an MBA in General Management and built up his own companies in parallel. Oliver Kahn knows football, he knows business, and he carries the DNA of FC Bayern. We are convinced that Oliver Kahn is the right man to lead FC Bayern into the future.”

Oliver Kahn said: “It is a great honour for me that I will first be entrusted with the office of FC Bayern München AG board member and later with the office of CEO and chairman of the FC Bayern München AG Executive Board. I would like to thank the Supervisory Board, headed by Uli Hoeneß, for this trust. I am deeply connected with the club and it has decisively shaped my life. Sporting and financial success, solidarity with the fans, a responsible approach towards the club’s history and values – that is what FC Bayern stands for. I would like to further develop these attributes in the future together with the staff, as well as my colleagues on the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board.”

AS Roma To Bet With Allwin City

Seria A club AS Roma has named Asian betting firm Allwin City as official regional betting partner.

The partnership will see the club collaborate on AWCBET promotions and marketing campaign across multiple Asian territories.

Francesco Calvo, Chief Revenue Officer at AS Roma, praised the deal: “We are proud to announce this partnership, the second agreement signed with a leading brand in Asia over the last few years.This is an agreement that confirms, once again, the club’s strategic development objectives – with a particular focus on important markets like Asia.”

The partnership will be developed through multiple strategic tools in order to achieve important milestones together in the Asian market.

These include the use of AS Roma’s brand and images to promote the platform on digital and new media and other activities dedicated to all sports fans.

Andrew Wong, Brand Director at AWCBET.com, added: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with AS Roma. I believe this partnership will create a new journey as a premium brand for all of our fans, and it will be a great adventure for us.”

 

The Unique Transfer Tool That Benefits LaLiga Clubs

Summer is a time for vacations in many industries but in the world of football, the business of transfers becomes a top priority. For club directors in Spanish football, the summer of 2019 has been especially busy as some of the world’s best players have moved to LaLiga clubs. Importantly, every one of these acquisitions has been based on sound finances. In fact, reckless spending is made impossible by the competition’s financial controls.

One of LaLiga’s key initiatives since Javier Tebas assumed the league’s presidency in 2013 has been the implementation of financial control. A set of rules were established, after being unanimously approved by the member clubs, to assign a ‘squad cost limit’ for all teams based on both confirmed and projected data.

Read more here.

Liverpool FC Signs Dream Theatre To Develop Licensing Business In India

Liverpool FC has awarded the rights to develop the licensing business of Liverpool Football Club in India and South Asia to brand management and licensing firm Dream Theatre.

The company plans to launch a range of licensed products in various categories such as apparel, sporting goods and accessories as part of the mandate.

Jiggy George, Founder & CEO, Dream Theatre told Business Line that the Liverpool Football Club has a passionate fan base in India and South Asia. “We will forge long-term partnerships with licencees and retailers to offer authentic licensed products to fans,” he added.

Besides India, the company has also got the mandate to develop the club’s licensing business in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“At Dream Theatre, we have three key verticals — entertainment, sports and lifestyle. With the growth in the Indian market, the sports vertical has become a significant part of the business. We are thrilled to add Liverpool Football Club to our portfolio and are aiming for a 25 per cent increase in our sports portfolio,” he added.

George said, “Our main focus will be apparel and we will work with solid partners who have the wherewithal across product, distribution and marketing. We will also look at other lifestyle-related categories of footwear, innerwear, bags, personal-care and sporting goods. But our core proposition will be built around a strong apparel portfolio.”

The licensed Liverpool merchandise will be available at leading retail stores and on e-commerce portals.

 

FC Barcelona Drives Away With CUPRA As Official Automotive And Mobility Partner

FC Barcelona and CUPRA have joined forces for the next five seasons, through which Seat’s sports car brand will become the new Official Automotive and Mobility Partner of the club.

This strategic alliance goes beyond a traditional sponsorship arrangement, as besides collaborating on different activations through a wide variety of activities, both entities will work on the development of innovative projects aimed at the improvement of urban mobility.

The agreement with CUPRA is part of FC Barcelona’s objective of collaborating with partners whose values are in line with those of the club. Barça aim to continue as leaders and points of reference on and off the pitch. This new alliance is based around three strategic cornerstones: The origins of both entities, born in Barcelona, with a vision of strengthening the city’s image around the world; a global vocation and common values such as effort, ambition and teamwork; and a commitment to innovation and the promotion of talent.

Both entities will work together on different marketing and sponsorship actions, and will take a further step towards developing new solutions for micro-mobility and electro-mobility. The outskirts of the Camp Nou will also be used as a testing ground for new projects aimed at improving urban mobility.

The agreement includes a CUPRA VIP Room at the Camp Nou for every FC Barcelona home game, and brand visibility in the stadium facilities. Plans are in place to install an ephemeral space, to be decided together, in the exterior of the stadium to allow Barça fans to learn about the brand.

Josep Maria Bartomeu, FC Barcelona president said: “We celebrate the incorporation of CUPRA as FC Barcelona’s new Official Automotive and Mobility Partner. We are beginning a new journey together, based on shared values such as high standards, passion, ambition and teamwork. This innovative alliance will allow us to offer unique experiences to our fans around the world, through which we will also have the opportunity to collaborate in the development of new solutions that contribute to an improvement in urban mobility.”

Luca de Meo, SEAT President and Chairman of the Board of CUPRA said: “This innovative alliance with one of the world’s greatest football clubs shows our strong commitment to the CUPRA brand and the future of mobility in Barcelona. Furthermore, partnering with a universal institution such as FC Barcelona with a fanbase of over 340 million will support our globalisation strategy”.

LaLiga SmartBank Reaches A Global Audience With YouTube Partnership

Featuring historic clubs such as Deportivo La Coruña, Málaga CF and Real Zaragoza and some of the most exciting young players in world football, LaLiga’s second division, now named LaLiga SmartBank, commands a large audience both inside and outside of Spain. For millions of fans living abroad, staying up to date with the competition will be free for a second consecutive season after LaLiga agreed to continue its collaboration with YouTube.

Since January of 2019, all matches from each matchday have been broadcast via the platform to countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Over 145 different countries, from Australia to Zambia and from Armenia to Zimbabwe, will be able to view the competition through YouTube in 2019/20.

Find out more here.

Raiders To Transact With Credit One Bank From 2020

Raiders have named Credit One Bank, a technology and data-driven financial services company as the Official Credit Card of the Raiders and a Founding Partner of Allegiant Stadium.

“I am delighted to welcome Credit One Bank, a Las Vegas-headquartered company, to the Raiders family,” stated Raiders President Marc Badain. “This is an amazing opportunity for fans of the Silver and Black to reap the benefits offered by Credit One Bank, the Official Credit Card of the Raiders.”

As a partner of the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium, Credit One Bank will host a branded sideline club. In addition, game day activations, and numerous television, radio, and social media assets will be featured. Credit One Bank will continue its philanthropic efforts by launching, Credit One Bank for the Community, an initiative alongside the Raiders.

“With this partnership, Credit One Bank will become an essential part of the game day ritual for Raiders fans everywhere. From card member benefits and in-game activations, to exclusive experiences, fans of Raider Nation will see Credit One Bank’s commitment to the team on and off the field,” said John Coombe, senior vice president of marketing for Credit One Bank.

The announcement comes a year after Credit One Bank launched the Official Credit Card of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, and serves to bolster the company’s prominence in the world of sports. Credit One Bank is also the Official Credit Card of NASCAR®, the Big 12 Conference, and the Las Vegas Aviators.

 

Manchester City Names Superbloke As Official Blockchain-Based Gacha Partner

Manchester City has named sports service developer, Superbloke as the Club’s Official Blockchain-Based Gacha Partner in Korea, Japan and South East Asia.

Superbloke will incorporate City players into its ‘FC Superstars’ game to allow fans to combine their support for the Club with online gaming experiences.

‘FC Superstars’ is an online game where users can build a digital team by collecting, training and growing specially designed Manchester City digital player cards using real-life match stats and in-game training.

Damian Willoughby, senior vice president of partnerships for City Football Group, commented, “This new partnership with Superbloke marks another exciting milestone in City’s growing relationship with gaming and will create unique experiences for fans to engage with the Club through digital platforms. We look forward to welcoming Superbloke to the Manchester City family and growing our knowledge of this developing industry through this partnership.”

Superbloke chief strategy officer Nak-Hyoung Kim said, “It is fantastic to cooperate with Premier League champions, Manchester City. Superbloke has a vision to use blockchain technology to help football fans so that they can permanently own players’ tokens they have collected. We expect that this partnership with Manchester City will be the first step to get closer to our vision.”

LaLiga & CFA Unveil GoalFuture Project

LaLiga and the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have come together in Beijing to present the GoalFuture project, which seeks to establish a system to aid elite player and coach development, whilst strengthening the ties between the organisations with a view to developing competitions and promoting youth football.

The initiative, which features programmes relating to both the male and female game, has been launched in an effort to build on the achievements of the permanent training centre that the CFA and LaLiga opened in Madrid last year and which has received visits from China’s Under-14 and Under-17 men’s teams and the nation’s Under-15 women’s side.

The partnership will see LaLiga provide its member clubs with up-to-date information on the progress of young China-based talents. Meanwhile, Chinese footballers and coaches will have the chance to improve their game during stays at clubs competing in the greatest league on the planet.

LaLiga’s country manager for China, Sergi Torrents, had the following to say about the link-up: “This agreement represents a logical continuation of the work we’ve been carrying out in China for a number of years now. We always look for our projects to be mutually beneficial. In this case, we’re helping Chinese football to grow and develop from the bottom up, whilst also creating windows of opportunity for LaLiga clubs in the country. We’re convinced that GoalFuture will deliver on both fronts.”

As a result of the collaboration, the LaLiga clubs, who are set to receive informative sessions over the coming weeks, will be offered more in-depth data on the brightest young talents in Chinese football. As noted by LaLiga’s director of marketing and international development, Oscar Mayo, such insight “could offer the LaLiga clubs some massive opportunities.”

“We can point to Lei Wu as a prime example of what can be achieved with a good scouting system. We’re sure that, with the right information and monitoring, other Chinese players will follow in his footsteps. Where required, we at LaLiga will advise both parties, although under no circumstances will we involve ourselves in any transfer negotiations,” declared Mayo.

The working groups established as a part of the project are set to begin their coordination and scouting endeavours during the course of September. However, no dates have currently been set for the arrival of players and coaches to Spain, given that, as explained by Torrents, “the aim is to reach agreements that benefit both the clubs and the players.”

Eurosport Joins Forces With International Swimming League

Eurosport has signed a two year deal with International Swimming League.

The deal will see Eurosport screen the new ISL. All seven matches to be screened on Eurosport and Eurosport Player.

The ISL is set to feature some of the world’s finest swimmers including Adam Peaty, Katie Ledecky, Cate Campbell, Federica Pellegrini and Florent Manaudou in the first professional sports league for elite swimming, with Eurosport securing exclusive rights (live and delayed) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 and 2020 (except Australia).

The ISL will engage swimming fans and beyond through cutting-edge production and a never-been-seen before live show during the meeting itself.
With the Olympic Games under a year away, the International Swimming League will be last opportunity for fans to watch the best swimmers on the planet compete against each other before they head to Japan next summer.

As part of the agreement with the ISL, Eurosport will also have digital rights to the competition and exclusive sublicense rights worldwide (except the USA and Australia).
Laurent Prud’homme, SVP Rights Acquisitions and Syndication, Eurosport, said: “The agreement with the ISL is strategically important for Eurosport, strengthening our portfolio of premium rights and continuing to tell our Olympic story with over 70% of Summer Olympic disciplines screened on our channels across the globe.

“The ISL will give world-class swimmers the platform to perform and we are thrilled to be able to showcase this exciting new competition to millions of fans all over the world on all screens.”

Konstantin Grigorishin, ISL President, added: “We are delighted to partner with Eurosport, one of the best and major sport fans destination on the planet. With this agreement, International Swimming League will benefit from an unprecedent massive coverage in Europe for a brand-new competition”

Featuring teams from the USA, Great Britain, Italy and Hungary, the seven “match” International Swimming League launches in Indianapolis in October and culminates with December’s final at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.