Harlequins To Wash Laundry With Persil

Harlequins has named Unilever’s laundry brand, Persil as the its Official Community Partner and Official Laundry Partner.

Under the three-year agreement, Persil will support the work of the community team to augment and accelerate its offering of grassroots rugby through camps, schools and club programmes in order to encourage more children and families outside.

Unilever Vice President of Home Care Gemma Cleland added: “We are very excited to be partnering with Harlequins to deliver Persil’s promise to ensure more children and families enjoy the great outdoors. Harlequins’ grassroots offering is the perfect platform for us to achieve this and we are looking forward to working with the various teams to realise our goal.”

Jim Eyre, Harlequins Chief Operating Officer commented: “We are delighted to welcome Persil on board. It is a great joining of brands with similar objectives – to get people outside, to learn and enjoy rugby and of course get dirty. We look forward to working with such an exciting partner who will help us continue to deliver one of the best community rugby coaching programmes in the country.”

 

Super League And Betfred Announce Their ‘Biggest Commercial Deal’

Super League and Betfred have extended their partnership with their “biggest commercial deal” in the history of the rugby league competition.

Betfred is set to make a multi-million-pound investment until the end of the 2021 season. As part of the new sponsorship, Super League and Betfred will continue to support the ‘Gamble Responsible’ campaign, which is currently promoted at Super League games.

Robert Elstone, Chief Executive Super League, said: “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Betfred who have become synonymous with Super League. They have been a vital part of our journey over the last three years and we look forward to working with them in what is a hugely exciting time for Super League and the sport. To have the support of someone like Fred who is so passionate about Super League and who shares our vision for its future is fantastic.”

Rhodri Jones, Chief Commercial Officer Super League said: “This is a historic and ground-breaking deal for the sport and shows a huge commitment from Fred, his senior management team, and all his staff who are so passionate about Super League. It is a significant increase on previous sponsorships and reflects the growing popularity and value of the Super League brand.”

Fred Done, the Boss of Betfred,said: “The real passion for this game shown by the players, the media and, most importantly, the fans, is for me the main reason why this has proved to be such a great sponsorship for us. Therefore, I had no hesitation in extending the deal for a further two years and Betfred look forward to working with Super League to help grow the terrific game of rugby league.”

 

Arsenal Women FC To Transact With Mastercard

Women’s Super League champions Arsenal Women FC has named Mastercard as its first major official partner.

Under the agreement, Mastercard will make investments to support the team activities.

Arsenal Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham added: “Arsenal Women has such a rich history of success and the club’s long-standing commitment to growing and developing the women’s game has ensured the team has stayed at the top of their own game for over 30 years.

“We’re the most successful team in women’s football in England – something we’re all incredibly proud of at Arsenal – but we don’t want to stop there.   Partnering with a global player like Mastercard is a huge statement for women’s sport.  The partnership will help us build on our success, but it will also promote the women’s game globally and continue to develop and attract the world’s best talent and inspire generations of young sportswomen.”

Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Mastercard, said: “By investing significantly in women’s football, as a professional and influential sport, we have an opportunity to directly impact the lives of athletes and help build sustainable programmes to which girls and women around the world can aspire.”

Arsenal’s Commercial Director, Peter Silverstone concluded: “This partnership is extremely important for the growth of the women’s game. Mastercard’s partnership with us isn’t just an investment into our own team, but is a powerful statement for the women’s game at large.  We’re delighted that Mastercard has partnered with our women’s team to help the brand reach a broader audience to show its investment in, and commitment, to women’s sport.”

 

 

 

Premier League Extends IMG Productions Partnership

The Premier League has extended its partnership with IMG until 2022.

Under the agreement, both will work together to operate Premier League Productions (PLP).

IMG will further broadcast all 380 Premier League matches and in addition, there are seven magazine shows each week, as well as the Premier League Content Service, which will be run by some of the League’s broadcast partners as a full 24/7 channel.

Paul Molnar, Premier League Director of Broadcasting, said: “We are now entering our 16th year in partnership with IMG for the management of Premier League Productions (PLP). The suite of programming and service provision delivered by PLP is best in class and we look forward to continuing our work with IMG to further improve this service to our international broadcast partners over the next three seasons.”

Nick Morgan, Managing Director, Premier League Productions, said: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with the Premier League and to be playing our part in bringing live coverage of the most watched and popular football league in the world. We continue to strive to enhance and improve our offering to international broadcast licensees to enable the very highest production values for them and their millions of viewers around the world.”

 

BeIN Sports Adds Copa America Rights In Australia, New Zealand

BeIN Sports will be the exclusive broadcaster of the Copa America in Australia and New Zealand, among the 27 international markets covered in its latest agreement with CONMEBOL.

The agreement was brokered by Japanese marketing agency Dentsu.

It’s the second South American football deal that beIN has made this year. In January, CONMEBOL named beIN as its partner for the Libertadores, Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana football tournaments in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and 24 territories in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mike Kerr, Managing Director of BeIN Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to have secured the rights to this year’s CONMEBOL Copa América football tournament in Australia and New Zealand – which beIN SPORTS will also exclusively broadcast in France, the Middle East and North Africa – as we continue to bring the best of South American football to our customers all around the world.”

In addition to the Copa America, BeIN Sports will be showing every match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations live and exclusive during six weeks of football across June and July.

 

 

European Tour To Drive With Enterprise Rent-A-Car

The European Tour has named Enterprise Rent-A-Car as an official supplier.

As Official Supplier, Enterprise Rent-A-Car will get extensive involvement at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Foundation, Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Porsche European Open, BMW PGA Championship and Open de France.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car will also be an Official Supplier at European Tour tournaments in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Republic of Ireland.

Guy Kinnings, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Ryder Cup Director at the European Tour, said: “We are excited to have Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a worldwide leader in mobility, on board as an Official Supplier for the next three years. It is a global brand that shares our passion for innovation. We are looking forward to working with the Enterprise team at many of our biggest events on the European Tour.”

David Howell, five-time European Tour winner and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ambassador, added: “I’m thrilled that the European Tour and Enterprise Rent-A-Car have entered into this exciting partnership that will extend across our entire golfing calendar. It will be a huge benefit to all our staff and most importantly, to our fans, who will now have greater opportunities to access a truly first-class mobility and vehicle rental experience when they attend some of the best golf events on the global stage.”

 

Sheffield United To Sell Tickets With SeatGeek

The newly Premier League promoted club Sheffield United has named SeatGeek as its official primary ticketing partner.

The club has already sold a record Season Ticket over half of which were processed online via the club’s new online ticketing portal. Apart from Sheffield United, SeatGeek already has existing partnership with Manchester City, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as EFL Championship teams including West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Derby County and Bristol City.

Sheffield United’s CEO Stephen Bettis said: “We are delighted to have launched the first phase of our new ticketing solution rollout with SeatGeek utilising the system to help facilitate one of our most successful rounds of season ticket sales.

We selected SeatGeek after an extensive review of the ticketing marketplace and it was hard not to be impressed with the levels of functionality on offer and the excellent client base using the SeatGeek platform across UK Sport and beyond.

“This season’s huge success on the field has run in parallel with an amazing amount of hard work and planning by our backroom teams to help develop and enhance the customer experience at all levels and the ticketing touchpoints are obviously a critical part of our operation. We look forward to the launch of next season’s Premier League fixtures, which we know will be in huge demand from our amazing supporters.”

 

Fans Interest In Atmosphere Of UK Sporting Events On Decline

The atmosphere of UK sporting events is seeing a decline, as per a latest research by cashless solution company tappit.

The company undertook a survey of over 1,000 UK fans of football, rugby, cricket and motorsports and found that  queues were the fans’ biggest pain point at matches.

Long queues at food and drinks stands are considered the worst part of buying something at a match by 73% of football fans, 62% of rugby fans, 54% of cricket fans and 49% of motorsports fans.

The report further highlighted how fans complained about receiving personalised marketing content especially motorsports fans. The study found that the majority of fans across all sports would prefer to use contactless, NFC or prepaid cards or wristbands to pay for something at a match over cash, with 57% of football fans, 69% of rugby fans, 65% of cricket fans and 64% of motorsports fans expressing a preference for cashless payments.

Jason Thomas, CEO of tappit, said: “Our research shows that fans are clearly expecting more from their live sports experience. And while sectors like retail and hospitality are forging ahead with ways to enhance the consumer experience, there’s still more that sports clubs and venues can do. With more and more competition for people’s attention and spend, hopefully this will be the wake-up call that the sports industry needs to ensure fans keep coming back for more.”

The FA Appoints Dark Horses For Mental Health Campaign

The Football Association (FA) and Heads Together have roped in sports marketing agency Dark Horses and Fuse to create their mental health campaign.

The campaign features The Duke of Cambridge and England manager Gareth Southgate along with Kelly Smith, members of Barnet Walking Football Team, and the founders of FC Not Alone, Matt Legg and Ian McKenzie.

Heads Up will be launched at The FA Community Shield in August 2019 and will culminate at The Emirates FA Cup Final in May 2020. The campaign will be visible across all levels of football in England throughout the course of the 2019/20 season, including the men’s and women’s England teams, FA competitions and grassroots.

Stephen Hutchison, Fuse Managing Director, said: “There couldn’t be a better time to launch this campaign with The FA and Heads Together, with the conversation on mental wellbeing being powered by something people feel passionately about – football. We are thrilled to be working on this campaign and think it is a game changer for the discussion around mental health.”

Dark Horses founder Simon Dent commented: “The current narrative around mental health is leading to perceptions that mental health is a black and white issue; it’s something you suffer from you or you don’t. This campaign tries to get people to recognise that mental health is something that we all have and need to maintain, just like our physical health.”

 

Team GB And McVitie’s Sign Partnership Until Tokyo 2020

Team GB ha signed British biscuit brand McVitie’s as an official partner until 2020.

Under the agreement, both brands will undertake promotional activities, retail partnerships and internal colleague programmes.

Nick Bunker, Managing Director at pladis UK and Ireland (the owner of the McVitie’s), said: “We’re incredibly proud to be working with Team GB, bringing together Britain’s favourite team with Britain’s favourite biscuit brand. We know that the nation is passionate and proud of its British sporting heritage as are the 22 million households up and down the UK who feel equal love for our McVitie’s brand, so this partnership feels like a very natural fit. We have exciting plans for the partnership and are looking forward to seeing it come to life ahead of the much-anticipated Games next year.”

Team GB Commercial Director Tim Ellerton, said: “We’re delighted to welcome a great British brand in the shape of McVitie’s to the roster of supporters for Team GB as we head towards Tokyo.

“McVitie’s come on board at the perfect time as we prepare to launch our one year to go campaign for Tokyo 2020, which we have no doubt will be an incredible Olympic Games.”