As the Olympics in Tokyo draw to a close this weekend, it brings about the end of an incredible summer of sport. When you look back at this summer and the events and history we’ve witnessed, you’ll realise what an incredible few months it has been. There’s no let up though as the Football League returned yesterday and the Premier League returns next weekend. There’s been a lot going on football wise in the world of sports business as well.
Here are the latest sports business news stories you may have missed this week…
Monday
F1 x BWT
We started the week off in the world of Formula One and the issue of sustainability as it was announced that F1 have expanded their partnership with Best Water Technology as they aim to eliminate all single-use plastics from F1 events by 2025.
BWT, the Austrian water technology company will be providing and offering reusable water bottles to individuals attending F1 events as well as water refilling stations. The BWT branding already appears on the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 cars and will now be more prominent and visible during race weekends.
Ben Pincus, director of commercial partnerships at Formula One said “Sustainability is hugely important to us as a sport and having BWT as an official partner demonstrates our commitment to making a positive change across our sport and we look forward to building on our exciting partnership,”
With the likes of Formula E and Extreme E using their sport to highlight the issue of sustainability in motorsport, Formula 1 must do what it can to do their bit.
Tuesday
The Italian FA ask for betting ban to be lifted
The Italian FA caught my attention on Tuesday and the conversation around gambling sponsorships in football rearing its head once again. Due to the financial impacts of covid-19, the Italian FA are asking the government to temporarily lift the ban on all domestic gambling-related sponsorships and advertisements.
The ban came into effect in 2019 and although clubs can make deals internationally, the pandemic has still had a big impact on finances, especially in Serie A. The proposal is to lift the ban for 2 years until 2023 which will hopefully give clubs enough time to secure deals that will see them through this difficult period.
Italian FA president Gabriele Gravina said “We are at a crossroads; we must act quickly to prevent the professional football crisis from obliging the clubs to block their activity, thus bringing the entire sports sector to its knees.”
Thursday
Sky Sports x Bundesliga
There was news on Thursday which sort of caught me by surprise if I’m honest. Sky Sports announced that they will be the new broadcast home of the Bundesliga in the UK for the next four years after they replaced BT Sport as the broadcast home of Germany’s top-tier in the UK.
Coverage starts next Friday as the Bundesliga gets underway, the deal will also see Sky broadcast the German Super Cup between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on the 17th of August. Sky will also be working closely with Bundesliga International to create innovative content formats and interactive experiences for viewers.
Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports managing director said “We’re delighted to have acquired the rights to the Bundesliga. Sky Sports customers will have the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world as well as some of the leading teams in Europe.”
Friday
The EFL x eBay
It’s a football heavy weeks this week news wise so one more won’t hurt, I suppose…
The EFL are linking up with eBay to launch ‘Small Business United’ that is aiming to support local businesses. The three-year partnership will see eBay provide advertising space for smaller businesses at the grounds of all 72 EFL clubs. The pandemic has impacted everyone, none more so than small businesses so this initiative from a big platform like eBay.
Ben Wright, the EFL’s chief commercial officer said “It is a fantastic opportunity for supporters of our clubs to see their own businesses advertised in EFL stadia nationwide, and demonstrates again how the EFL can support positive and impactful local community activation on a national scale.”
That’s us done for another week folks. Over the next couple of months, The Sports Business Weekly Wrap-up will be moving to an email newsletter format so in order for you not to miss out make sure you are signed up to receive our emails when they begin.
If there are any sports business news stories we may have missed this week then make sure you hit us up on Twitter @BehindSport!
Also, if you would like to read previous editions of the Sports Business Weekly Wrap-up then you can do so by clicking here.
