Licensing & Merchandising
J.League appoints Rakuten as NFT licensee
Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten has signed a licensing agreement with the J.League, the top division of Japanese football, to produce a range of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
LaLiga embarks on board games venture with Superclub
LaLiga, the organising body of the top two divisions of Spanish club football, has signed a deal with Norwegian game developer Superclub in what is said to represent the first global licensing agreement…
Sponsorship payments under pressure as Bitci ‘hit by Turkish controls’
Turkish blockchain company Bitci is thought to have requested payment delays in some of its deals with sports rights-holders and has paused fan token issues because of growing cryptocurrency regulations…
Birmingham 2022 appoints commemorative stamp and coin licensees
Organisers of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and CGF Partnerships, the commercial vehicle established by the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Sportfive agency, have agreed exclusive licensing…
Aston Villa signs Jeton Wallet for rest of season, Liverpool renews with EA Sports
English Premier League club Aston Villa has added payment provider Jeton Wallet to its sponsorship portfolio
NCAA to keep men’s, women’s Final Fours separate
Governing body also calls for review of NIL activity, impact
Fanatics, celebrity group acquires Mitchell & Ness in $250m deal
Global merchandising and sports retail company Fanatics has continued to expand its business portfolio by teaming up with a celebrity group to acquire lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness from Juggernaut Capital…
McLaren terminates Bitci deal after less than a year
Formula 1 motor racing team McLaren has terminated its commercial agreement with Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Bitci.
McLaren initially partnered with Bitci
Legends extends record hospitality run at Super Bowl LVI
Concessions and merchandise spending sets new mark for full-capacity Super Bowl
Bybit named Principal Team Partner of Red Bull Racing; Alpine F1 agrees Binance deal
Formula 1’s Red Bull Racing has signed cryptocurrency exchange Bybit as a sponsor.
Alibaba launches ‘virtual influencer’ to promote Beijing 2022 merchandise
Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba has unveiled a “virtual influencer” for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
IOC to launch NFTs series based on Beijing Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen
Non-fungible tokens (NFT) featuring Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen are to be released as part of a range of official Beijing 2022 digital collectables, the International Olympic Committee…
Bing Dwen Dwen and Eileen Gu spur Winter Olympics spending in China
Organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have pledged to increase the production of official merchandise following higher-than-expected demand in China
Webinar replay | The key things sports clubs need to consider in an NFT launch
In this recording of the second webinar in our NFT series, we explain what sports rights-holders need to consider when launching NFTs and how their approach should differ from other sectors
Asian Football Confederation issues RFP for 2023 Asian Cup licensee
The Asian Football Confederation has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) as it seeks a master licensee for next year’s Asian Cup, which will be held in China from June 16 to July 16.
Washington’s NFL team officially rebranded the Commanders
NFL franchise completes extensive process for new nickname
Ohtani to grace cover of ‘MLB: The Show 22’
Angels two-way phenom makes sports video game history