Shorts: Blackburn Rovers, EFL, Sportradar
Championship club Blackburn Rovers have signed a back-of-shirt sponsorship deal with digital current account provider Suits Me.
The new agreement will see the Suits Me brand logo feature on the back of the men’s first team playing shirts for the duration of the 2025-26 season.
Suits Me offers an alternative to traditional high street banking, providing current accounts and debit cards to UK customers. The partnership marks a new commercial deal for the Ewood Park-based club as it builds its partner portfolio.
The deal will see Suits Me join the club’s other key sponsors, including front-of-shirt partner Venky’s and kit supplier Macron. Financial terms of the single-season agreement were not disclosed.
Zachary Spicer, Rovers’ Commercial Sales Manager, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Suits Me as our new back of shirt partner at the start of our 150th anniversary season.
“This is an exciting partnership. We are delighted to have an award-winning company in Suits Me join our partnership portfolio bringing enormous value to the club and our fans.“
The University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) and the English Football League (EFL) have partnered to provide students with industry access, which includes the launch of a new scholarship for women.
As part of the collaboration, the two organisations have launched the ‘Women in the EFL Scholarship’.
The initiative will support two female undergraduate students, one at UCFB Manchester and one at UCFB Wembley. The scholarship provides funding, the opportunity to apply for mentorships, and a post-graduation internship at the EFL, as part of a shared commitment to creating a more inclusive football industry.
The wider partnership will also provide all UCFB students with guest speaker sessions from EFL executives, placement opportunities at major events such as the EFL Play-Off Finals, and insight days at the league’s headquarters.
Students will also have the chance to contribute to collaborative research projects, applying academic theory to challenges facing the modern game.
Brendan Flood, Chief Executive at UCFB, said, “Partnering with the EFL represents a major milestone in our mission to prepare students for careers at the heart of the football and sports industries. This collaboration opens the door to experiences and connections that are simply not available in traditional academic settings.”
David McArdle, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the EFL, commented, “At the EFL we are committed to making the football workforce more representative of the communities that our Clubs represent. This innovative collaboration with UCFB will help to create more pathways and opportunities for students to get into a range of roles across the game, and I have no doubt that the work experience opportunities on offer will be of real benefit to their future careers.”
Bundesliga International has strengthened its longstanding agreement with Sportradar to launch a new suite of fan engagement products for the 2025-26 season.
The new solutions are designed to enhance the viewing and betting experience for fans by leveraging access to over 3.6 million data points from every Bundesliga match. The launch marks the latest development in a partnership between the two organisations that dates back to 2005.
The suite of products includes Live Player Markets, which uses AI to create around 240 new in-match betting opportunities; the award-winning Sportradar 4Sight streaming technology with AI-driven animated overlays and insights; and an enhanced Live Match Tracker powered by tracking data. Sportradar was a winner in the ‘Best Use of Technology’ category at the 2024 Sport Industry Awards for its 4Sight product.
Patrick Mostboeck, SVP Fan Engagement at Sportradar, said, “We are thrilled to further deepen our collaboration with Bundesliga, one of the most popular football leagues in the world.
“Over the course of our nearly twenty-year relationship, we’ve worked together to develop some of the most innovative and engaging football solutions for fans across the globe. And we continue to work together to power new ways to engage audiences and deliver unmatched value to the global football ecosystem.”
Team GB have partnered with consumer electronics brand TCL ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
The activation is part of TCL’s eight-year global deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an official worldwide Olympic partner. The collaboration will see TCL support British athletes and share their stories with fans in the UK.
The partnership marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to sport in the UK from the brand, which will run for the entirety of the eight-year IOC agreement.
The deal further cements TCL’s position as a global supporter of sport, holding the worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partnership with the IOC in the home audiovisual equipment and home appliances category.
Tim Ellerton, Chief Commercial Officer at the British Olympic Association, said, “We’re delighted that TCL are getting behind Team GB athletes, particularly at such a crucial stage along the road to Milano Cortina 2026. We’re proud of the work we have done to date to bring sports fans across the nation into the heart of the Olympic Games, and we look forward to working with TCL to take this another step further.”
England Rugby’s Red Roses have partnered with Merlin Annual Pass in a new deal aimed at inspiring more girls to play the sport ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
To launch the partnership, the Red Roses squad visited Thorpe Park for a team-building day, riding Hyperia, the UK’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster.
The collaboration supports the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) ambition to grow female participation in the sport to 100,000 players by 2027. As part of the initiative, Merlin Annual Pass is backing Girls’ Activity Days at 400 rugby clubs across England. The free, family-friendly events will offer beginner-friendly rugby sessions led by qualified coaches, themed arts and crafts, and the chance for girls to meet new people in an inclusive environment.
Participants will also have the chance to win Merlin Annual Passes through a “Design a Rugby-Themed Ride” competition and will be offered a 25% discount on passes.
UK Live sports broadcast technology company Salsa Sound has renewed its bronze sponsorship of SVG Europe.
The company, which develops AI and DSP methods to track events in live sports, uses real-time data to produce enhanced audio experiences for both conventional and object-based broadcasts.
Rob Oldfield, Salsa Sound co-founder and CEO, said, “We are delighted to be renewing our sponsorship with SVG Europe. The organisation provides a fantastic platform for us to connect with the sports broadcast community and we look forward to continuing our support of their events and initiatives.”
Salsa Sound is set to enhance its offering at IBC2024 with several new product releases, including the latest version of its MIXaiR software for AI-driven automatic audio mixing for live sports.
UK online sportsbook operator SBK has launched a fully AI-generated marketing campaign ahead of the new Premier League season.
The campaign, titled ‘Betting without the B******t’, was created by London-based agency The Tenth Man and marks a first for the sports betting marketing category. The 360 campaign is led by a 20-second hero advert that takes aim at the clichés and gimmicks often used in the industry.
Conceived, designed, and produced entirely using advanced AI tools, the campaign showcases SBK’s ‘Best Price’ product innovation and best odds promise. The campaign is now live across SBK’s digital and social platforms, with placements timed to coincide with the Premier League kick-off.
Adam Baylis, Marketing Director at SBK, said, “At SBK, we’ve always stood for fairness, transparency, and the best odds in the market. ‘Betting without the Bullshit’ says exactly that; no gimmicks, no spin as well as a subtle nod to our roots in finance.
“Partnering with The Tenth Man on a fully AI-generated campaign allowed us to move quickly, stand out from the crowd, and launch something genuinely different for the new season.“
India’s public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has partnered with UK data and analytics provider CricViz to produce a new cricket show.
The multi-year agreement will see CricViz lead the creation, end-to-end production, and logistics for over 100 episodes of ‘The Great Indian Cricket Show’. The deal was formally announced at a premiere for the show.
The show will be broadcast across Prasar Bharati channels, including Waves and Doordarshan Sports, to an audience of over 240m people. It will feature a line-up of former Indian national team cricketers such as Anil Kumble, Sanjay Manjrekar, Parthiv Patel, and Sanjay Bangar. The production aims to celebrate India’s cricketing heritage while using data-led storytelling.
The partnership follows the opening of CricViz’s Mumbai office and reflects the company’s expansion in India.
Michael Kivido, Managing Director, CricViz, said, “This partnership with Prasar Bharati represents a unique opportunity to combine CricViz’s analytical expertise with Prasar Bharati’s unparalleled reach. The Great Indian Cricket Show will set new standards in cricket storytelling for audiences across India.”
Premier Sports has signed a multi-platform content and media partnership with sportsbook app SBK.
The deal, brokered by sports marketing consultancy Strive Sponsorship, will see SBK become the official sponsor of Premier Sports’ ‘Scottish Football Social Club’ podcast.
Throughout the 2025/26 season, SBK will also support and feature in social media content for LALIGA and Scottish Premiership football. In addition, Premier Sports subscriptions will be offered to SBK customers as part of exclusive promotional packages.
The partnership follows Strive’s work building SBK’s sport sponsorship portfolio across football clubs in the UK and Ireland.
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