Football

UEFA executives have announced that the governing body of European football will introduce ‘Video Assistant Referees – VAR’ technology for its flagship UEFA Champions League competition, beginning at the round-of-16 knockout stages from 16 February 2019. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirmed the mandatory VAR Champions League enforcement at yesterday’s ‘special meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee’ hosted in Dublin. Governing …

From sponsorship to the ever-expanding world of football media coverage, when it comes to the business of football, SBC has you covered. This edition looks at the postponed Copa Libertadores final and a broadcasting expansion for DAZN. Copa Libertadores heads to the Santiago Bernabeu After the second leg of the Copa Libertadores Final was postponed twice due to fans attacking …

Inevitable anticipation accompanies the recommencing of club football, however thanks to UEFA’s much scorned Nations League tournament, this international break filled fans with the same excitement and elation that would normally only be associated with club football. It was formerly a regular feature of international breaks for games to fade to a conclusion, with both sides settling on what they …

Liverpool FC and England international striker Daniel Sturridge has been summoned by FA officials to explain alleged breaches of football’s code of conduct with regards to football betting, an activity strictly prohibited by FA rules. Sturridge (29) is alleged to have breached Rule E8 concerning FA registered professional athletes, managers, coaches, and club staff wagering on football matches, events or …

Industry-independent watchdog and standards body, The Senet Group has praised Ladbrokes (GVC Holdings) for its commitment to promoting Responsible Gambling through its marquee sponsorship of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Promoting safer gambling, Ladbrokes marketing confirms that the Senet Group’s ‘When the Fun Stops, Stop’ message will appear across all SPFL players’ shirts for the 2019/20 season. David Macdonald, Sponsorship …

Galatasaray SK, Turkey’s biggest sports club has confirmed that it has secured a 2-to-3 year sponsorship with Intralot subsidiary Bilyoner Interaktif (Bilyoner.com) becoming its new ‘official betting partner’. Updating the media, Galatasaray Chairman Mustafa Cengiz disclosed that Bilyoner had committed to a 2-year sponsorship agreement set at TRY 8 million per season (€1.3 million) – a new deal valued at …

From sponsorship to the ever-expanding world of football media coverage, when it comes to the business of football, SBC has you covered. This edition looks at two possible destinations for the 2021 Champions League final, as well as a new partnership for Kylian Mbappé. Munich and St Petersburg in the running to host the 2021 Champions League final Uefa has …

Working alongside Spanish gambling regulator DGOJ, La Liga’s integrity unit has reported 39 suspicious betting alerts during the 2017/18 Spanish football season, which resulted in nine criminal court cases prosecuting match-fixing offences. This week, La Liga and DGOJ officials presented Spanish media, with the results of their working collaboration on maintaining Spanish football’s integrity against corruption and match-fixing. For season …

For its new football sponsorship, the Custom Group has chosen to partner with sports marketing agency Infront, a firm that manages a portfolio of international agencies and is specialises in sports sponsorships, event management, media rights distribution and production. Already sponsoring MotoGP and volleyball with LCR Honda and Top Volley Latina respectively, the group is aiming to increase its brand …

Celtic Football Club will make its first foray into motorcycle racing at next month’s Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, having joined forces with international road race winners Dafabet Devitt Racing. Both the seven-in-a-row Scottish champions and the multiple Isle of Man TT-winning race team are sponsored by online betting company Dafabet, and will use the event to promote the Glasgow club …