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Adidas and Nike have got involved in an off-the-pitch row about which is the biggest global brand in football. It would all be a bit reminscent of ‘my dad is bigger than your dad’ if there weren’t large sums of money and brand reputations at stake. Nike has identified further expansion of its football business as a key part of a broader objective of increasing its total sales by 40 per cent from $19bn to $27bn.
Football kit is a fiercely contested global market, not least between Germany’s Adidas and its US challenger Nike. Adidas is the leading brand and is determined to hold on to that status but is in a fight with Nike for market share. The World Cup is a great chance to showcase what they have to offer.
Royal Bank of Scotland is transforming part of its London office into a virtual football stadium to entertain clients during the World Cup. About 3,000 clients will be invited to watch matches at one of its main offices near the City, although the space will hold only about 350-400 people at any one time.
Curry’s is offering fans who buy a television worth more than £599 a reward of £10 in cash for each goal scored by England. Wayne Rooney had better be on form!
The retail chain is owned by DSG International who also own the PC World chain. They are expecting to sell as many televisions during the World Cup as they would during the Christmas peak. It’s just one indication of how the important the World Cup is in economic and business terms and why England has put so much effort into its attempts to hold the 2018 tournament.
The Football Association, which has never fully recovered from the collapse of Setanta, has hit new sponsorship problems. Admittedly, National Express is a second tier sponsor and parts of the deal may yet be salvaged. However, they did not think that the deal represented good value for money, although there had been a change of personnel at the top of the firm since the original agreement was signed.
The Northern Premier League have signed a three-year deal with adhesive manufacturers Evo-Stik. For 16 years the competition was known as the Unibond League, a long time for one competition sponsor to stay in place. Now Unibond have been replaced by their business rivals. The deal is worth six figures per season and clubs can expect a generous increase on their existing payments. Evo-Stik are also going to invest money into facilities and community initiatives.
Why has no one bought Everton? It’s a good question to ask as the club has effectively been on the market for years. This thorough report tries to give an answer. Part of the answer is about the city of Liverpool – it’s not a wealthy city. True, but it’s also a fanatical football city, albeit with two teams.
It appears that you don’t have to be a Premiership club to secure a good shirt sponsorship deal. Indeed, Coventry City have secured a deal that is better than that received in the last year or so by some lower level Premiership clubs.
Npower is to be the new sponsor of the Football League when Coca-Cola’s contract finishes at the end of the season. The deal is worth £21m over three years. Apparently the Football League turned down a better offer from a gambling company as they thought it would not be appropriate. Gambling is, however, a legal activity and engaged in by many football fans. But perhaps the energy company’s name fits, suggesting power but of an uncertain quantity which perhaps is typical of players at that level.
Manchester United have signed a five-year sponsorship deal with communications group Telkom Malaysia making it the ‘integrated communications partner’ of the club in Malaysia. United has a big fan base in Malaysia, reflecting its general success in the Asian market.