Football Business News

The online news portal for the business of football. Covering investments, sponsorships, media rights, law and governance.

Latest Articles

• Alibaba lands UEFA partnership covering EURO 2028 and men’s club competitions - Alibaba Group has struck a multi-year partnership with UEFA and UC3 to supply AI, cloud and e-commerce capabilities across UEFA EURO 2028 and UEFA’s men’s club competitions, tightening the link between technology infrastructure, fan engagement and commercial delivery. 2026-05-29 brief
• Simon and adidas take football experiences to US malls - Simon and adidas are rolling out a summer programme of live football-themed events and in-store activations across select US shopping destinations as both groups chase footfall, brand engagement and incremental retail sales. 2026-05-29 brief
• MetLife and Ares in dispute over Eagle Football restructuring - MetLife’s resistance to Ares Management’s Eagle Football restructuring highlights how stadium-backed insurance capital can collide with private credit when a multi-club group runs into refinancing and regulatory risk. 2026-05-29 brief
• Riquelme pledges 20,000-seat Alfredo Di Stéfano upgrade in Real Madrid bid - Enrique Riquelme has put stadium investment at the centre of his Real Madrid election bid, pledging a 20,000-seat upgrade for the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium as part of a wider members-led redevelopment plan. 2026-05-29 brief
• LaLiga signs Altava to build webtoon fan play in East Asia - LaLiga has struck an exclusive licensing deal with Singapore-based Altava to develop a football webtoon targeting fans in China, Japan and South Korea. 2026-05-29 brief
• UEFA to choose between Camp Nou and Wembley for 2029 Champions League final - UEFA will decide in September 2026 whether Barcelona’s rebuilt Spotify Camp Nou or London’s Wembley Stadium hosts the 2029 UEFA Champions League final. 2026-05-29 brief
• Arsenal return to top five in Football Benchmark valuations - Arsenal’s Premier League title has helped lift their enterprise value to €4.93bn and pushed them back into the world’s top five most valuable football clubs, according to Football Benchmark. 2026-05-29 brief
• Newcastle United appoint BlueprintX to overhaul data and CRM strategy - Newcastle United have appointed BlueprintX to lead a transformation of their commercial and fan engagement data strategy as the club seek to scale revenues and personalise supporter experiences. 2026-05-28 brief
• Inter extend Socios.com deal until 2028 - Inter have extended their partnership with fan engagement platform Socios.com until 2028, reinforcing their digital fan strategy around blockchain-based loyalty and rewards. 2026-05-28 brief
• Orange Belgium takes Union shirt front and main sponsor slot - Orange Belgium has agreed a new three-year main sponsorship with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise that includes front-of-shirt rights from the 2026-27 season. 2026-05-28 brief
• Macron signs record technical deal with Śląsk Wrocław - Macron has signed a new technical sponsorship with Śląsk Wrocław in what the club says is its biggest kit partnership to date. 2026-05-28 brief
• FIFA stops Vancouver charity’s World Cup ticket raffle over ticketing rules - FIFA has forced a Vancouver spinal injury charity to cancel a World Cup ticket raffle, highlighting how strictly the governing body is enforcing ticketing and trademark rules ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026. 2026-05-28 brief
• Fanatics Markets launches official FIFA World Cup 2026 prediction hub in US - Fanatics Markets has launched an official FIFA World Cup 2026 prediction hub in the US with ADI Predictstreet, packaging regulated event contracts with tournament news and official player data in a bid to deepen in-app engagement during the competition. 2026-05-28 brief
• Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate global social media following in CIES ranking - Real Madrid and Barcelona have opened a clear lead in global football’s social media race, with the top 10 clubs now accounting for 2.36 billion followers across the major platforms. 2026-05-27 brief
• New York and New Jersey subpoena FIFA over World Cup 2026 ticketing at MetLife - New York and New Jersey have subpoenaed FIFA as part of an investigation into alleged ticketing practices at MetLife Stadium for FIFA World Cup 2026, including claims of misleading seat allocations and engineered scarcity. 2026-05-27 brief
• New Újpest stadium faces uncertainty after Hungary government change - MOL’s plan to build a new stadium for Újpest FC has moved into a political risk phase after Hungary’s change of government put the project’s fast-track status under review. 2026-05-27 brief
• UEFA launches US Spanish-language rights tender for men’s club competitions - UEFA has opened a US tender for the next cycle of Spanish-language rights to its men’s club competitions, setting up a high-value auction around a fast-growing football audience segment. 2026-05-27 brief
• Liverpool FC renew Wasabi partnership to scale global content - Liverpool FC and cloud storage firm Wasabi have renewed their global partnership as the club leans on AI-enabled media workflows to scale content output and fan personalisation worldwide. 2026-05-27 brief
• Unilever goes social-first for FIFA World Cup 2026 personal care push - Unilever has launched what it calls its biggest-ever sports partnership activation after becoming FIFA World Cup 2026’s Official Personal Care Sponsor, putting creator-led storytelling and retail-ready brand building at the centre of its tournament plan. 2026-05-27 brief
• MLS partners with World Wide Technology to scale AI personalisation for fans and sponsors - Major League Soccer has signed World Wide Technology as an official technology solutions partner to build and scale AI-led personalisation tools aimed at boosting fan retention, ticketing, merchandise and sponsorship value. 2026-05-27 brief
• Coca-Cola signs Football Australia deal for Socceroos and Matildas World Cup campaigns - Coca-Cola has signed on with Football Australia to run two national team marketing campaigns tied to the men’s World Cup this year and the women’s tournament in 2027. 2026-05-27 brief
• Loewe to dress Spain teams on travel duty until 2030 - Spain’s football federation has appointed luxury fashion house Loewe as an official partner to supply travel wardrobes for its national teams, while Football Australia has renewed a commercial tie-up with Coca-Cola on a new two-year term. 2026-05-27 brief
• NWSL owners back Senda as fair-trade boot challenger targets World Cup runway - Senda Athletics has raised US$1.5m from investors including NWSL owners Michele Kang and John Neace to scale a fair-trade boot launch that targets World Cup visibility and a bigger move into 11-a-side football. 2026-05-27 brief
• Zee enters talks with FIFA for India World Cup rights - Zee Entertainment has opened talks with FIFA to secure India’s broadcast and streaming rights for the 2026 World Cup as the rights package remains unresolved weeks before kick-off. 2026-05-26 brief
• Liga MX returns to EA Sports FC in multi-year licensing deal - Liga MX has agreed a licensing deal with Electronic Arts to return as a fully branded competition in EA Sports FC from the FC 27 release cycle, giving the league a global youth-facing distribution platform ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Mexico. 2026-05-26 brief
• Lineker-backed Goalhanger launches venture arm and makes first creator investments - Goalhanger has launched an investment arm, Goalhanger Ventures, taking an equity stake in creator-led publisher Invisible Media and striking a commercial partnership with Backyard Cricket. 2026-05-26 brief
• Bournemouth win approval for Vitality Stadium expansion - AFC Bournemouth have secured unanimous planning approval to expand Vitality Stadium beyond 20,000 seats, unlocking new matchday and hospitality revenues while positioning the project as an economic boost for the local area. 2026-05-26 brief
• FIFA launches tap-to-unlock Fan ID for World Cup 2026 matchdays - FIFA has launched a free physical Fan ID for FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holders, using a tap-to-unlock digital layer to deepen fan engagement and drive official merchandise and rewards activity across all 16 stadiums. 2026-05-26 brief
• Burberry turns to football terraces for A Good Sport campaign - Burberry has launched its A Good Sport campaign to tap football fandom as a cultural force ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. 2026-05-26 brief
• Iran switch World Cup base camp to Tijuana after FIFA approval - Iran have moved their FIFA World Cup 2026 base camp from Arizona to Tijuana after securing FIFA approval, a switch aimed at reducing visa and security uncertainty while keeping travel tight to their early matches. 2026-05-25 brief