Shorts: Lancashire Cricket, Everton, Reflo

Lancashire Cricket has received funding from the UK Government to construct an indoor cricket dome at its new facility in Farington.

The site, which will complement Emirates Old Trafford as the club’s second home, will include two cricket ovals, one professional and one community, an outdoor net area, a pavilion, and the new indoor dome, providing year-round access for both professional and community cricket.

The funding, amounting to £1.5m, has been allocated to support the England and Wales Cricket Board in delivering high-quality facilities and promoting participation across the county.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Rt Hon Lisa Nandy, visited Farington last week and joined England internationals Sophie Ecclestone and Phil Salt at Leyland Cricket Club, meeting local girls’ teams participating in a summer cricket camp.

Lancashire Cricket and Lancashire County Council have collaborated on the development, which is designed to support the progression of talent through the Red Rose system and enhance cricketing infrastructure in the region. The facility is scheduled to open in 2026.

Jen Barden, Executive Director of the Lancashire Cricket Foundation, said, “This is fantastic news for grassroots and community cricket across Lancashire.

“We have so many cricket-loving communities across the county who are currently restricted by seasonal and weather-related challenges. Having access to a cricket dome will be vital in keeping them engaged and ensuring their love for the game continues year-round.”

Everton Football Club has signed a five-year partnership with Pepsi MAX, making the brand the club’s official soft drink supplier at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The agreement includes the display of Pepsi MAX branding on LED boards, retail points, and digital menus across the stadium. Products from the PepsiCo portfolio, including Pepsi MAX, will be available throughout concourses and hospitality areas.

The partnership coincides with Everton’s continued preparations for the 2025/26 Premier League season and the club’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium, which will serve as the new home for the team and fans.

Mark Rollings, Chief Partnerships Officer at Everton, said, “We are delighted to welcome Pepsi MAX as a Founding Partner of Hill Dickinson Stadium. To partner with such a globally renowned organisation is a huge endorsement of our new home and reflects the scale of opportunity that the stadium represents.

“Pepsi MAX is a brand recognised and enjoyed by millions of people around the world, and we are excited to work with them to enhance the matchday experience for our fans and bring fresh energy to our new stadium.”

Emirates Dubai 7s has signed a multi-year partnership with UK sustainable sportswear brand Reflo.

Following the agreement, Reflo will become the exclusive apparel provider for the festival. The brand will supply kits for all athletes competing in rugby sevens, cricket, netball, fitness, and padel, alongside a full range of official merchandise for fans.

The deal marks an expansion for Reflo in the UAE, where its co-founders are based. The brand adds the multi-sport tournament to a partnership portfolio that includes professional football clubs, Formula 1, and The Open.

Rory MacFadyen, Co-Founder and CMO of Reflo, commented, “Emirates Dubai 7s is one of the most exciting events in global sport – not just for rugby but for the sheer variety of competition, culture and entertainment it brings together. To bring Reflo into this partnership on our doorstep, it makes it even more meaningful.

“We’re proud to deliver performancewear that not only looks good and performs at the highest level, but is also made responsibly and built to last. Together with Emirates Dubai 7s, we’re showing that sport can be a force for progress – for athletes, fans and the planet.”

SVG Europe has renewed its bronze sponsorship agreement with content distribution network, Eluvio.

Eluvio is known for its Content Fabric, a programmable streaming, content distribution and storage network. The company’s latest update provides ultra-low latency global distribution of high frame rate broadcast transport streams, allowing broadcasters to use the standard internet for distribution with less than 500 milliseconds of latency globally.

The technology offers significant cost savings and consolidation over traditional satellite distribution. It allows both direct-to-consumer and direct-to-affiliate distribution to be run globally from a single feed, with built-in authorisation, end-to-end encryption, and data-driven personalisation.

The renewal follows other recent developments for the company, including a partnership with EPCR to power its global streaming subscription service, EPCR TV, and a deal with sports image wire service Imagn Images that leverages AI to transform how images are tagged, captioned and processed.

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