Here are some of last week’s top stories from around the global soccer industry…
Players, Brands and Marketing Opportunities in Soccer (Business of Soccer)
In today’s market, athletes are one of the most sought after groups of professionals for endorsements of products across a wide range of industries and categories. Companies look to leverage an athlete’s appeal, recognition, and following within the general public to create a strong, positive association between a fan favorite and their brand(s) to drive increased awareness and conversion within their target audience.
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Adidas Knocks Soccer Heroes Off Their Pedestal in Debut Campaign From 72andSunny (AdAge)
Adidas knocks soccer giants off their pedestal in the brand’s first work to debut out of new agency 72andSunny. The new ad, “Create Your Own,” shows an aspiring football pro leveraging his creative skills to take on some of the sport’s icons including Leo Messi, Gareth Bale, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and James Rodriguez — and even NBA pro Ricky Rubio.
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The Job Insecurity of an English Soccer Manager (Wall Street Journal)
Dear first-time managers of the English Premier League:
Congrats! You made it! You are the envy of world soccer, finally coaching in the most prestigious league on the planet.
Eddie Howe of Bournemouth, Alex Neil of Norwich City, Quique Flores of Watford and Slaven Bilic of West Ham, welcome. This weekend, you will all claim dugout seats as Premier League managers for the first time.
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The Krafts Have Brought in a Financial Heavy Hitter for a Soccer Stadium Plan (boston.com)
The Kraft family, which owns the New England Patriots and New England Revolution, is working with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs to finance a soccer stadium in Boston. Representatives of the Krafts most recently met with city officials in early July.
Goldman Sachs has developed a reputation in sports circles as a hub of venue financing deals. Before he got to Goldman Sachs, the leader of its stadium financing team worked with the Krafts to help finance Gillette Stadium, according to a January profile by Bloomberg.
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Soccer Field Deal Between Atlanta United and Dekalb Debated (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Supporters and opponents of a proposed $30 million soccer complex in DeKalb County are debating whether it’s a good deal for taxpayers before Tuesday’s vote on the plan.
The county is pitching the project’s benefits to the community beyond serving as practice fields for Atlanta United FC, with the ability to host major youth soccer tournaments, other sporting events and school graduations.
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North American Soccer Body’s General Secretary Sanz Fired (Reuters)
The head of soccer’s governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, Enrique Sanz, has been fired following the FBI investigation into alleged corruption in FIFA, his lawyer said on Friday.
The regional body, known as CONCACAF, had put Sanz on “indefinite leave” from his job as general secretary following the indictment on corruption charges of the body’s president Jeffrey Webb in May. Sanz was also “provisionally suspended” from all football-related activities by FIFA in June.
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San Jose Earthquakes Welcome FanKave Partnership (Soccerex)
Major League Soccer (MLS) side San Jose Earthquakes have partnered with engagement platform FanKave.
The deal will see the messaging-based platform provide an interactive community for the Earthquake’s fans to access content, real-time social media feeds and have exclusive interaction with the team’s players and coaches in and around Avaya Stadium.
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Lawyer Ghandi Said to Join FIFA Task Force Amid Internal Probe (Bloomberg)
Samir Ghandi, the American lawyer who is reorganizing scandal-hit regional soccer body Concacaf, has been nominated to join the task force that will suggest reforms at FIFA, the ruling body that’s seeking to recover from the worst crisis in its 111-year history.
Ghandi, a partner in New York at Sidley Austin LLP, and Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian Soccer Association, will represent Concacaf on the panel, according to a person familiar with the matter. Concacaf is soccer’s governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.
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Juventus Expands Asian Retail Presence (FC Business)
Juventus have announced the launch of six online club stores for the Asia Pacific Region.
The Italian Serie A champions and Champions League finalists have opened dedicated online retail stores in “Australasia” (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea), “Mainland China”, “Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan”, “Japan”, “South Korea” and “South-east Asia” (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos).
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Hangin With…FuboTV Co-Founder & CEO David Gandler (Sports Business Journal)
DAVID GANDLER is the co-founder & CEO of N.Y.-based online provider of live football content fuboTV. The company, which went live on Jan. 8 and has since signed up 175,000 registered users, announced earlier in the week that it raised $4M in Series A funding. Customers pay a subscription fee of $6.99 per month for access to a variety of football content including La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. FuboTV drew more than 1.5 million visits to its platform in June, with Gandler estimating that 80-85% of the traffic came from inside the U.S.
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This article originally appeared on Business of Soccer. To learn more about BOS you can follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
