Industry Shorts: Forest Green, Scottish Fa, Bellator
Musician and artist Robert Del Naja has joined Arsenal footballer Hector Bellerin as one of Forest Green Rovers’ main investors.
The League Two club have also revealed that Del Naja, also known as 3D, a founding member of the band Massive Attack and heavily rumoured to be the mysterious artist Banksy, will become the club’s first Artistic Director.
He will work to raise awareness of the club’s environmental and ethical agenda and work on ‘new ways of engaging with football’s global fanbase’. Forest Green became the world’s first vegan football club in 2015 and went carbon neutral in 2017.
The Scottish FA has launched a new equality framework in a bid to deliver ‘meaningful change’ in the game throughout the country.
The Football Unites initiative was launched by former Aberdeen striker and current Independent Non-Executive Board Director Malcolm Kpedekpo, Scotland U-17 women’s coach Pauline MacDonald and SFA’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager David McArdle, the initiative invites stakeholders to come together to ensure Scottish football is more reflective and representative of the country’s demographics.
Bellator has announced a new deal which will see live MMA broadcast on the BBC for the very first time.
The MMA promoter’s upcoming Paris show, which takes place on Saturday 10th October in the city’s Accor Arena, will be available live on BBC iPlayer to viewers across the UK. The event will also make history as the first major MMA event held in France.
BBC coverage will run from 4.30 to 10pm on the night, and will include the welterweight bout between England’s Michael “Venom” Page and the undefeated Scottish fighter Ross Houston.
Tottenham Hotspur have announced a new partnership with recovery and performance technology brand Hyperice, which will become the Official Recovery Technology Supplier for both Tottenham Hotspur and Tottenham Hotspur Women.
All of the club’s first team players and coaching staff across both men’s and women’s teams will each receive a number of Hyperice products including its Hypervolt Bluetooth massage device, while the brand will also provide the club with real-time sideline access to recovery technology.
The partnership will also see the Premier League side’s medical staff develop exclusive content developed in collaboration with the brand to promote its newly-launched Hyperice app.
Betfred Super League side Wigan Warriors have agreed a new sponsorship deal with North West law firm Brabners.
The new two-season deal will see the law firm become the Exclusive Legal Adviser to the rugby league side, with the contract due to run until the end of the 2022 season, having officially begun with the restart of the 2020 competition.
As part of the agreement, Wigan will produce social media content promoting the partnership while firm will have a presence in matchday programmes, on the club website and on LED advertising at the DW Stadium.
EA SPORTS FIFA21 will feature the streetwear-sytyled football kits created by refugee organisation KLABU, as part of a new collaboration.
The organisation which provides refugee camps with access to sport and equipment, will see its striking Kalobeyei Spirit kit made playable to gamers, with both home and away strips available on all consoles.
Global sportswear branding and labeling manufacturer, Avery Dennison, the KLABU’s shirt sponsor, has producing the KLABU crests, chest and sleeve logos, and back graphics. The company is now working with KLABU as an Official Partner to increase the awareness of the vital work being carried out by the organisation.
Virtual advertising technology company Supponor has announced the appointment of Massimo Magri to its senior leadership team.
Magri, who most recently held the role of Head of Virtual Advertising at Infront Sports & Media, will join the company as European Commercial Director. The appointment will support the London-headquartered company’s regional expansion in Spain and Germany.
