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Roger Hampel Image: FIFA During the final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held on 5 December 2025 in Washington, D.C., FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the tournament’s final will feature the first-ever Super Bowl–style halftime show.The announcement signals a major shift in the event’s commercial and entertainment strategy, aligning the World Cup more closely with the U.S. sports-entertainment model as the competition heads to North America for the first time

Roger Hampel Image: Pogon Siedlce Pogon Siedlce (Polish Second-Division) has become the centre of one of the most unconventional sponsorship stories, after announcing that Kropliczanka, the fictional mineral-water company from the Polish adaptation of The Office , will serve as the club’s shirt sponsor for its 6 December league match against Wieczysta Krakow. The agreement, initiated by Canal+, represents a deliberate blurring of the line between scripted entertainment and r

Roger Hampel Image: FIFA The LEGO Group and FIFA have announced a new global collaboration in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup 2026™, introducing the first officially licensed 1:1 scale LEGO model of the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The partnership combines one of the world’s most recognisable consumer brands with football’s most commercially valuable international property, signalling another expansion of FIFA’s retail and fan-engagement ecosystem ahead of the tournament. The LEG

Roger Hampel Image: Palermo FC Palermo FC has unveiled a fully redesigned digital ecosystem built in collaboration with IM*MEDIA, the club’s Official Digital Partner. The project represents one of the most comprehensive digital overhauls in Italian football this season, consolidating the club’s online environments—including the website, e-commerce, ticketing and mobile apps—into a unified platform supported by shared authentication and advanced fan-data architecture. The init

Roger Hampel Image: Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps FC have announced a partnership with Sports Interactive, becoming the first Major League Soccer club to formally collaborate with the creators of Football Manager. The deal grants the club access to FMDB Pro, Sports Interactive’s professional-grade data platform used by clubs and federations worldwide for scouting, benchmarking and player-performance evaluation. The move signals a continued shift in North American

Roger Hampel Image: Real Madrid Real Madrid and the Community of Madrid have signed a formal collaboration protocol to create the Madrid Innovation District (MID), a large-scale technological and economic development zone to be built on 85 of the 120 hectares surrounding Ciudad Real Madrid. The project is designed as a multi-stakeholder hub where companies, research institutions, sports organisations, entrepreneurs and citizens will coexist, forming one of the region’s larges

Roger Hampel Image: MLS Major League Soccer has confirmed that Inter Miami CF will host the 2025 MLS Cup Presented by Audi, facing the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The match will mark Inter Miami’s first MLS Cup appearance and continues a postseason marked by notable audience growth across linear and streaming platforms. Broadcast coverage will span FOX, FOX Deportes, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, TSN, and RDS, with the championship match av

Roger Hampel Image: Fecafoot-Officiel Samuel Eto’o has been re-elected president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) after securing 85 of 87 votes at the organisation’s General Assembly. The former striker, who first took office in 2021, will now serve another four-year term through 2029. The election featured Eto’o as the sole candidate, consolidating his control over the federation during a period marked by both reform efforts and institutional tension within Cam

Roger Hampel Image: LaLiga LALIGA’s Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly has formally approved the league’s consolidated annual accounts for the 2024/25 season as well as the proposed income and expenditure budget for 2025/26, following a weighted secret ballot held among the 42 professional clubs. The outcome confirms substantial alignment around the league’s financial strategy at a time when most European competitions face tightening revenue conditions and rising cos

Roger Hampel Image: Al-Qadsiah Club Al-Qadsiah Club has announced a new partnership with Ouden Roastery & Café, naming the Khobar-based specialty coffee company the club’s Official Coffee Partner. The agreement expands the club’s commercial network in Saudi Arabia’s growing consumer and lifestyle sector, and reflects the broader trend of professional clubs in the region collaborating with local premium brands as part of their hospitality and matchday experience strategies. Th

Roger Hampel Image: UnsplashDavid Vives LALIGA has closed the domestic audiovisual rights tender for the 2027/28–2031/32 cycle, securing over €6.135 billion in total domestic revenues — a 9% increase compared with the current 2022–2027 cycle. The result stands out in a global context in which several major leagues have faced stagnation or declines in media-rights valuations. The new cycle once again splits LALIGA EA SPORTS (first division) residential broadcasting rights betw

Roger Hampel Image: Sevilla FC Sevilla FC has renewed its long-standing partnership with Cruzcampo, extending a commercial relationship that now spans more than five decades. The new multi-year agreement ensures that the beer brand remains an official partner of the club and continues its visibility across key fan-facing assets, including matchday integration at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium and the back-of-shirt sponsorship on the Sevilla FC Women’s team. The renewal rei

Roger Hampel Image: Olympique de Marseille (OM) Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) have signed a multi-year framework agreement formalising a long-term collaboration between the Ligue 1 club and one of France’s largest academic institutions. The partnership covers four strategic pillars: sports performance, re-athletisation and return-to-play, education & employability, and social impact across the Marseille region. The agreement reflects a broader

Roger Hampel Image: Como 1907 Como 1907 has announced the launch of the Como Gaming Club, a new project that moves the club into the gaming and digital culture space — but notably not as a conventional esports department. Instead, the initiative functions as a creative extension of the club’s brand identity, designed to connect Como with younger audiences, digital creators and contemporary cultural communities. The project reflects a broader strategic direction pursued by Com

Roger Hampel Image: Juventus Juventus has introduced a redesigned version of its “Gallery of Captains,” a curated space inside the Allianz Stadium complex dedicated to the club’s historic leaders. The updated gallery forms part of the broader evolution of Juventus’ Museum & Stadium Tour, a key component of the club’s visitor-experience business model and one of its most consistent non-matchday revenue streams. The new gallery brings together visual storytelling, historical ma

Roger Hampel Image: Nelson Ndongala / Unsplash Arsenal has announced a new global partnership with Paramount+, bringing one of the world’s largest streaming platforms deeper into elite football as competition for fan attention accelerates across sport and entertainment. The agreement positions Paramount+ as an Official Partner  of the club and integrates the streamer’s branding and content into Arsenal’s matchday and digital ecosystem throughout the 2025/26 season. The deal r

Roger Hampel Image: FC Schalke 04 FC Schalke 04 has executed a significant restructuring of its debt portfolio following the successful placement of its sixth corporate bond, a €90 million issuance maturing in 2025/2030 (ISIN: DE000A460AT6). The placement on 26 November marks one of the club’s strongest capital-market operations to date and enables the early, full repayment  of two outstanding bonds issued in 2021/2026 and 2022/2027. The development reflects Schalke’s ongoing

Roger Hampel Image: Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Mönchengladbach will rename its stadium for the first time in the club’s history, entering into a long-term naming-rights partnership with ista, the German energy-management and building-efficiency company. Beginning with the 2026/27 season, Borussia-Park will officially become ista-Borussia-Park — marking a milestone in the commercial evolution of one of the Bundesliga’s most tradition-conscious clubs. The agreement exten

Roger Hampel Image: Borussia Dortmund Borussia Dortmund has announced the launch of its first permanent international academy in South Korea, expanding the club’s global youth development footprint and strengthening its long-standing ties with the Asian football market. The new BVB International Academy is located in Suwon, next to the Suwon World Cup Stadium, and will operate year-round with daily training sessions for young players. The academy is being developed in partner

Roger Hampel Image: FIFA The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and FIFA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a financing framework of up to USD 1 billion in concessional loans to support the construction and rehabilitation of FIFA-certified stadiums and essential surrounding infrastructure in developing countries. The initiative positions sport — and football in particular — as a tool for national development, economic growth and social inclusion. The agreeme