Licensing & Merchandising

Italian Serie A outfit Napoli has announced it has become the football club in the world to launch its own exclusive ‘Brand Store’ in partnership with internet company Amazon.

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the official players’ union of the American football league, has entered into a strategic investment and partnership agreement with augmented video company Octi.

Biometric identity platform Clear has partnered with North America’s Major League Baseball and Tickets.com to introduce biometric ticketing at participating ballparks from 2019.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has renewed its data-focused partnership with sports technology company AltiusRT. The new deal will run until the end of 2019

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has extended its partnership with Gracenote and is keen to expand the scope of its relationship with the US data and technology company

Roger Federer has commenced his title defence at the Wimbledon tennis championships by securing a lucrative new apparel deal with Japanese retailer Uniqlo.

The Formula One motor-racing championship is facing up to the prospect of having to pay compensation to 3M after it emerged that the US conglomerate has filed opposition to F1’s trademark application for its new logo.

US swimming superstar Katie Ledecky has signed a record endorsement deal with Californian sportswear company TYR as she focuses efforts on a professional career.

The NFL American football league has entered into a partnership with online sports apparel and merchandise retailer Fanatics.

Russian marketing agency SportConcept has agreed a deal to become the new official merchandise partner of the Ice Hockey World Championship.

The Formula One motor-racing championship has agreed a deal for online sports apparel and merchandise retailer Fanatics to become its exclusive merchandise retail partner at grand prix weekends and online.

In this week's China sports industry round-up: Second Formula E team becomes Chinese-owned; US-China trade war threatens sportswear production; Chinese World Cup attendance will be strong, if overstated

Steve Davis tells Ben Cronin how Fanatics is developing additional international merchandising opportunities for its existing roster of clients and forging new relationships with European and Asian rights-holders. 

In just half a season, the Golden Knights NHL expansion team has captured the imagination of the US sports world with its success on the ice and, just as importantly, shattered the long-standing myth that Las Vegas is not a viable market for a major sports team.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Cleveland Indians have announced that the ‘Chief Wahoo’ logo will be removed from the team’s kit, effective with the 2019 season, following decades of protests that the image is racist.

The Formula One motor-racing series is facing questions over its new logo after it emerged that US conglomerate 3M is already using a similar brand.