The Venue Plan for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 consists predominantly of two thematic and operational zones. Find out more on iSportconnect TV.
Tottenham Hotspurs Extends Official Partnership With AIA Until 2027
Tottenham Hotspur has extended its official partnership with AIA Group Limited (AIA) until the end of the 2026/2027 season.
This renewed agreement will see the strategic partnership span well over a decade between the Club and AIA, who originally came on board as Official Cup Shirt Partner in 2013. In the 2014/2015 season AIA became Official Shirt Partner in all competitions with the relationship extended in 2017 during Tottenham Hotspur’s post season tour to AIA’s home market, Hong Kong, as it became the Club’s Global Principal Partner.
The AIA brand will continue to appear on the front of the Club’s Men’s, Women’s and Academy team’s shirts in all competitions until 2027 with both parties remaining committed to promoting the importance of sport in the Asia-Pacific region as key to living Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.
Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy said: “This renewed and extended partnership demonstrates the strength and success of our well-established relationship with AIA and underlines the positive impact we have been able to bring to AIA’s brand and business. We are proud to have the immense support of AIA at such a significant time in the Club’s history. We shall continue to collaborate to drive the Club’s and AIA’s growth in Asia and support AIA’s commitment to healthy living in its Centennial year and beyond.”
Ng Keng Hooi, AIA Group Chief Executive & President, said: “The enormous popularity of the English Premier League and Spurs across our markets, coupled with the ongoing success of the Club on the field, which culminated in the Champions League Final appearance earlier this year, make this an ideal time to extend our partnership. As the Club’s Global Principal Partner, we will continue to create many opportunities for our customers, agents, employees and local communities to interact with Spurs players, coaching and support staff. We’ve already enjoyed a great deal of success together and I am very confident that both on and off the field there is much more to come.”
Warwickshire And PlayerLayer Extend Kit Supply Partnership
Warwickshire County Cricket Club has extended its partnership with performance sportswear brand PlayerLayer, to continue as the supplier of all playing and training kit for Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears teams.
PlayerLayer – which began supplying Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears men’s, women’s and county age group teams in early 2017 – will continue working with the club until at least the end of 2021 and have outlined ambitions to use sport as a driver for change with an increased focus on providing high quality, sustainable sportswear materials.
Alex Perkins, Head of Commercial at Warwickshire CCC, said: “PlayerLayer is an excellent partner of the club, which has ensured that all of our teams are supplied with kit that doesn’t just look great, but is lightweight and comfortable to meet the demands of the county season. Its designs have also proved very popular with our supporter base, with replica shirt sales at the highest level that we have known for many years.
“The company has recently made some great strides in introducing sustainable materials into its product range, and we’re committed to learning more and trialling this range to support our own ambitions of becoming the most sustainable cricket club and venue in the UK.”
In partnership with football club Forest Green Rovers, PlayerLayer recently introduced the first football shirts to be made from a 50 per cent bamboo mix, which significantly reduces the use of plastic materials.
Roderick Bradley, marketing director and co-founder of PlayerLayer, said: “Our relationship with Warwickshire CCC has built stronger and stronger. The team is ambitious and forward thinking, the venue is beautiful and the goal to become the UK’s greenest cricket club is a perfect example of why our bond is so strong. Using sport as a driver for change.”
West Ham United Partners Ivacy VPN For Online Safety
West Ham United has joined forces with Ivacy VPN as the Official VPN Partner, focusing attention on the rising importance of online safety and security.
The aim behind the partnership is to educate the Club’s fans around the world about the potential threats lurking on unsecured networks when they are online and to emphasize upon the need for encrypting internet connections for online safety.
West Ham United Digital and Commercial Director Karim Virani said: “We are pleased to have Ivacy VPN on board. Considering the ever-increasing amount of data shared online, our partnership will promote the use of effective cyber tools that secure data. We look forward to working with Ivacy to bring great cyber security offers to Hammers’ fans.”
Chief marketing officer at Ivacy VPN said: “In recent years, Ivacy has proved its mettle as the leading online security solution, with thousands of users around the world. We ensure the provision of an economical, robust, and high-speed network that protects users round the clock.
“We are honoured to partner one of the biggest football clubs in the world. We, through this collaboration, hope to equip football fans with the right tools to defend themselves digitally on the internet. A greater awareness about cybersecurity is the need of the hour in an ever-evolving society which is digitally connected today, more than ever. Using a VPN is no longer an option, rather a necessity.”
Newcastle United Secures StormGain As Official Sleeves Partner
Newcastle United has signed cryptocurrency platform StormGain, which will see the company’s logo appearing on all 2019/20 first team shirts.
The club’s new PUMA away kit, which features dark green shirts, shorts and socks, was revealed on Friday morning, giving supporters a first glimpse of the StormGain logo on record signing Joelinton and teammates Miguel Almíron and Sean Longstaff.
StormGain, which has recently launched a new app for investing and trading in cryptocurrency, will also be displayed around St. James’ Park, at the club’s Training Centre and within various club communications.
As Newcastle United’s Official Sleeve Partner, StormGain will engage with supporters by providing a range of special offers and unique opportunities, such as competitions to win tickets, matchday hospitality, signed merchandise and VIP meet and greets with first team players.
Alex Althausen, CEO of StormGain, said: “We are confident that this partnership will help us to expand our brand and activity in the most effective way, using the worldwide draw of Premier League football. We share many core values with Newcastle United – effort, determination and the pursuit of success – and we could not have imagined a better partner to start such an exciting adventure with.”
Newcastle United’s head of commercial, Dale Aitchison, said: “We are delighted to welcome StormGain on board as Newcastle United’s new Official Sleeve Partner. We are always looking to support the club’s development by pursuing new commercial opportunities and this represents another important partnership for the club. StormGain will offer a range of incredible opportunities and money-can’t-buy experiences for fans, so we are really excited to be working together.”
GB Taekwondo Appoints Caytoo To Manage Partners
GB Taekwondo has appointed the new data-driven sports marketing business Caytoo to help it better manage and source sponsors and commercial partners.
Caytoo will provide GB Taekwondo and their sponsors with better visibility on how the commercial partnerships are working. It will help sponsors extract more value from the partnership and help GB Taekwondo.
The appointment comes after Caytoo won the tender from Manchester City Council and World Taekwondo to measure the media, commercial and economic impact of the recent World Championships held in Manchester.
Matt Archibald, GB Taekwondo’s CEO, says it was a “real eye-opener to see the way caytoo employed a data-led and scientific approach to see how things were currently working and the different directions we should be looking at to target new sponsors.”
Archibald says that despite having a number of repeat Olympic and world champions, taekwondo “doesn’t have the profile of the bigger sports, so we need to be much smarter and results-oriented in how we market ourselves to brands.”
Jeremy Thompson, CEO of Caytoo said : “The desire to take a more data-driven approach to sourcing and managing commercial partners combined with the frustration of ‘lazy agencies talking to the usual partners . The most contentious question facing the PR industry was what is the value of my PR coverage and this idea of value or impact is something the sponsorship industry has been talking up more recently.”
Ajax Seals A €12m Deal With Budweiser Until 2025
Dutch soccer club Ajax has signed a 12 million Euros worth partnership with Ab InBev’s Budweiser until 2025.
The agreement will cover both Ajax’s men’s and women’s teams.
Ajax commercial director Menno Geelen said: “The fact that a renowned brand such as Bud is committed to us for a long time offers many new opportunities. After we have already extended the collaboration with Adidas and Ziggo for a long time, this improved contract is also a confirmation that we believe in sustainable partnerships.”
Nicolas Bartholomeeusen, managing director of AB InBev Netherlands said: “It is about realising your dreams, which is close to Bud’s brand values. The choice of Budweiser in the US to support, for example, women’s [soccer] on both international and club level, we show that we go for values outside the field, we go to clubs and leagues with that ambition.”
Northampton Saints To Hydrate With iPro Sport
Northampton Saints has named iPro Sport as the club’s official hydration partner.
iPro Sport will provide the men in Black, Green and Gold with healthy hydration drinks for training and matchdays for the 2019-20 season, with their low-sugar formula aiding recovery for the Club’s players.
Tom Bullough, Northampton Saints’ head of athletic performance said: “We want to leave no stone unturned in order to improve; often that improvement comes through marginal gains in areas such as nutrition. iPro Sport’s products are designed with elite athletes in mind, using top-quality natural ingredients that not only taste great but also provide superior hydration which we hope can give us an edge on the pitch, so we’re looking forward to kicking off this new partnership.”
Lucy Darrall, iPro Sport’s commercial manager, added: “We are excited to team up with Northampton Saints ahead of the 2019-2020 season as their official hydration partner. It is important for professional athletes to have the option to access healthy products as part of their nutritional routine so that they are able to perform at their best.
“This partnership provides them with this choice placing iPro Hydrate as the players preferred healthy rehydration drink. We look forward to supporting the team to success next season and wish them the best of luck.”
LaLiga Becomes World’s First Sports League To Have LINE IDOL Status
LaLiga has added LINE IDOL to its ever-growing list of social media platforms and will now be available in over 15 languages across 12 platforms.
Becoming the first sports league to have LINE IDOL status will mean LaLiga will be able to get closer to its fans than ever before. LaLiga will be featured on LINE TV, the social media company’s embedded video platform, as well as LINE Today – the news platform within the media’s ecosystem. Opening a LINE IDOL account will allow LaLiga to gain greater visibility allowing followers easy access to news and content from the league.
LINE joins the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, VK, OK, Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, TikTok and Toutiao as platforms where LaLiga has a strong social media presence.
Over the course of the 2018/19 season LaLiga has aimed to service fans across all the leading social media platforms. It saw a rise of almost 48%, from 59.1m to 87.5m users during this time, further showing the appetite for LaLiga content and the desire for fans to stay connected to the best league in the world.
LaLiga’s Director of Digital Strategy Alfredo Bermejo hailed today’s announcement: “The launch of LaLiga´s account on LINE Thailand is another step in the process of our globalization, which seeks to connect with fans around the world and offer the best content adapted to each market. For us it’s a very proud moment to have become the first sports competition with a LINE IDOL account.”
Formula 1 Announces Debut Esports Series In China
Formula 1 has announced the F1 New Balance Esports Series to China for the first time.
The F1 New Balance Esports Series China Championship is the first regional competition of the series and will last from August to end of the year.
The China Championship will open with qualifications across the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Midwestern regions of China in search of the country’s top sim racing talents. Racers will then compete in Regional Finals, with the very best 100 Chinese sim racers participating to the Grand Final.
The champion and runner-up of the China Championship will join other talents in the 2020 F1 Esports Pro Draft for the chance to compete for a seat with an official F1 Esports Team.
Julian Tan, Head of Growth & Esports, Formula 1 said: “We are thrilled to be launching the F1 Esports Series China Championship, our first ever regional qualification championship, only two years after our entry into the burgeoning world of esports.
“China is an incredibly important market to Formula 1 and we believe there is massive potential to grow the passion for motorsport and cultivate the love for F1 as a sport in this region through F1 Esports, particularly amongst our next generation of fans. We want to engage with them in new and innovative ways and esports is a powerful tool to do that. We cannot wait to meet our first ever Chinese F1 Esports qualifiers and welcome them to our 2020 Pro Draft.”
Olivia Xue, General Manager, Juss Intellisports said: “We are extremely proud to partner with Formula 1 to take its Esports Series to China. For the first time in history, racing fans and enthusiasts in China will have the opportunity to take part in this prestigious sport. We will witness records to be made and broken and will wish all aspirants great luck. China is the first country or region to participate in F1 Esports Series globally and we are fully confident that the tournament will be a success this year.”