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Australian football has been going through a testing period financially, but the Football Federation Australia (FFA) is at least to prepared to try out new ideas. They are proposing a cup competition which would also involve minor league teams from the state leagues.
The Scottish League Cup will need a new sponsor after Cooperative Insurance announced that they would not renew their contract when it expires at the end of the season. Originally as CIS, they have been sponsors since 1999.
Fans of Premier League football clubs are increasingly sharing the costs of season tickets, according to a new survey by Virgin Money that covered 3,900 responses.
One in eight Man U supporters said they shared their ticket with mates, whilst one in 11 fans of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham admitted sharing tickets. Only one in
20 Chelsea fans said they did so – as they waved their wads at anyone who walked by…
Coca-Cola may be the first corporate sponsor to drop Wayne Rooney after the revelations about his private life. The London office of the firm is resisting moves from the Atlanta headquarters to get rid of Rooney, arguing that he was signed up to attract young men to the brand rather than bolster its family image. In particular he has been used to boost Coke Zero, sometimes called ‘bloke coke’ because it targets young men.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two most popular football clubs in Europe according to a survey conducted by German sports consultancy Sports + Markt. They interviewed 10,200 fans acrooss Europe who were asked to name their favourite club or clubs. They were allowed multiple answers.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has upset the Toon Army by reviving plans to sell off the naming rights of St James’ Park. Part of the scheme involves erecting giant advertising hoardings which would dominate the skyline at the stadium and this step requires planning permission from Newcastle Council. This has enabled the Football Supporters’ Federation to mobilise opposition to the plan.
The idea dreamt up by Spurs of having a different shirt sponsor for Champions League and cup competitions seems to have paid off. Management firm Investec have signed a deal thought to be worth £5m over two years to complement the £20m main deal with Autonomy. If Spurs had not recovered from the initial 3-0 deficit against Young Boys in Berne last night, Investec may have been questioning the value of the deal. There is, after all, no guarantee that Spurs will be in the Champions League next season ev
Why do leading companies pay Fifa as much as £16m a year for exclusive World Cup sponsorship rights? Because it creates forms of brand engagement which are not possible with more conventional forms of advertising, leading to more sales.
The recession proof character of the Premier League is shown once again by the fact that shirt sponsorship deals have soared this season. A study by Sporting Intelligence shows that the value of the deals is nearly £100m, up £71.8m from last season.