Sports Ticker #128: Goodison's new tenants, Fnatic's Happy Deal and Barclays' latest sponsorships - a speed read of commercial updates from the sports world

In a fortnight which saw Andy Murray part ways with Novak Djokovic and Jamie Vardy reach 200 goals for Leicester City in his 500th and final game for the club (as well as Leicester being charged with an alleged breach of the Championship’s profit and sustainability rules for the 2023/24 season), we bring you news of Fnatic’s Happy Deal with McDonald’s, an insight into Barclays’ sponsorship deals with the O2 Arena and Co-Op Live, and the news at Everton’s Goodison Park.

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A New Era at Goodison: Everton’s Women Take Centre Circle

Everton Football Club’s historic Goodison Park will become the new home of the club’s women’s team after the men’s side moves to Bramley-Moore Dock this summer. Originally slated for demolition, the 132-year-old stadium will now remain in use following a review by new owners, The Friedkin Group. Goodison, with a capacity of 39,572, will become the largest dedicated women’s football stadium in the UK. The Blues, who previously played at the much smaller Walton Hall Park (a seated capacity of just 500), hope to benefit from improved facilities and increased visibility. Goodison will also host academy matches, with a view to bolstering the Toffees’ youth development programmes. Fans and former players have welcomed the move, seeing it as a long-overdue homecoming. The club aims to restore past glories with strong investment and a world-class platform.

Happy Deal: Fnatic partners with McDonald’s

Fnatic, one of the world’s leading esports brands, has announced a new partnership with McDonald’s UK. In what has been described by the Golden Arches as the fusion of “two icons of culture – food and gaming”, the partnership aims to focus on authentic engagement by leveraging the overlap between Fnatic’s existing influence amongst millions of dedicated esports fans and McDonald’s’ hold over fast food aficionados globally. As part of the arrangement, the two will work together to produce creator-driven content and host live gaming events for their fans, with both brands committed to exploiting the synergies they perceive as already existing between their collective customer bases. According to Fnatic’s founder, Sam Mathews, “[the] collaboration is all about bringing people together; whether it’s over epic plays or bold flavours. We’re just getting started, and we can’t wait to show fans what’s coming next.” The deal marks the next chapter in Fnatic’s partnership strategy this year, following a partnership with Redbull in January and IMG in March (see our take on the latter here).

Ben Sulayem’s FIA Overhaul: What’s the steer?

President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Mohammed Ben Sulayem has proposed significant changes to the statutes of motorsport’s governing body. A confidential document seen by BBC Sport outlines revisions which would ostensibly allow Ben Sulayem greater control over presidential election eligibility, the FIA Senate and key committees. One alleged change would give the former rally driver turned motorsports executive the right to bar rival presidential candidates on the basis of ‘professional integrity’, with oversight handled by committees aligned to the president. It is also reported that Ben Sulayem seeks to appoint all Senate members directly, removing many existing internal checks and balances within the body. Ben Sulayem suggests that this would allow “flexibility” in an otherwise rigid system, but critics cast doubt on the president’s intentions. The new regime is set to be voted on at the FIA General Assembly in June; the FIA has yet to publicly comment. 

TNT Sports lands explosive broadcasting deal with Premiership Rugby

Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) have both entered into new multi-year broadcasting deals with TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland. This latest TNT Sports extension (see our take on its recent agreement with MotoGP here) will see the broadcaster remain the main home of English domestic club rugby for at least the next several seasons. Under the renewed agreement, TNT Sports or its streaming service discovery+ will broadcast at least one game per round of the PWR until the conclusion of the 2028/29 season, including both Semi-Finals and the Final, as well as broadcasting every Gallagher Premiership Rugby match live until the end of the 2030/31 season. The announcement comes hot off the back of reported record audience numbers for both leagues. “Our recent partnership with TNT Sports has helped drive record audiences and attract a million new fans to the Gallagher Premiership”, confirmed CEO of Premiership Rugby, Simon Massie-Taylor, who hopes the extended partnership will “allow both parties to invest in the long-term growth” of the league. Genevieve Shore, Executive Chair of PWR, was similarly upbeat about the extension, saying, “the huge rise in viewing figures last season shows the potential of PWR, and together with TNT Sports, we will continue to grow women’s rugby”.

Barclays banks sponsorship deals with the O2 Arena and Co-op Live

Barclays has announced two deals which will see the bank become a founding partner of Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena and the principal partner of the O2 Arena in London, both over a multi-year period. Barclays, who already hold sponsorship deals with the English Premier League, Women’s Super League, Lords Cricket Ground and the Lawn Tennis Association, secure two additions to its sports partnership roster through the agreements, with both venues playing host to a regular stream of the UK’s most elite sporting events. London’s O2 Arena, as well as being a mainstay to the world’s most prominent performers, is a destination of choice for brands such as the UFC, WWE and Super League Basketball and is also set to host the Premier League Darts final later this year. The Co-op Live, which only opened its doors last year, has already hosted a number of prominent sporting events, with its developers setting their sights on the venue becoming a destination of choice for basketball, tennis and esports, amongst others. As recently confirmed to Advertising Week Europe by its Group Chief Marketing Officer, Nina Bibby, Barclays’ sports sponsorships strategy, which kicked off with being title sponsor to the “Barclays” Premier League from 2001 to 2016, offers a “profound way to connect” the business with its customers, tapping into “part of the cultural fabric” of the country. 

Extra time...

…and finally, it appears that Pope Leo XIV is an avid sports fan after the new supreme pontiff confirmed his support for AS Roma by exclaiming “Forza Roma!” to a fellow Giallorossi supporter. The latest Bishop of Rome’s passion for sports also extends to baseball with his chosen team being the White Sox (given his Chicago roots), much to the disappointment of rival Cubs fans. Both AS Roma and the White Sox have welcomed and expressed their support for the new pope following the discovery of his admiration for their sides, with the latter even sending a jersey and a hat to the Vatican. However, it appears that Pope Leo XIV’s favourite sport is actually tennis, which is fitting given that the Italian Open was being played a stone’s throw from the Vatican during his election at the papal conclave. After hearing that he is a regular player, Greek pro Stefanos Tsitsipas stated that he would be happy to hit some balls with Pope Leo XIV - if he has time - indicating that an epic playoff could soon be on the cards.