Shorts: Cardiff City, Somerset, London Lions

English Football League (EFL) Championship football club Cardiff City FC has renewed its partnership with iPRO.

The new deal will see the health hydration brand continue to provide iPRO Sport Edition to the men’s and women’s first teams, as well as reusable iPRO hardware for use during league fixtures.

IPRO will also continue as the Bluebird’s official warm-up partner.

Ken Choo, Executive Director & CEO at Cardiff City Football Club, commented, “We are extremely pleased to have agreed an extended partnership with iPRO Hydrate. Their support of the men’s and women’s sides at Cardiff City FC already has been fantastic and is of great importance to us as a club. We look forward to working alongside the team at iPRO Hydrate to build this relationship even further.”

Somerset County Cricket Club has renewed and expanded its partnership with broadband provider Jurassic Fibre.

The two organisations began working together in 2021 and have now extended into 2023.

As part of the deal, UK-based Jurassic Fibre will see its branding appear on the sleeve of Somerset’s Vitality Blast shirt,. It will also sponsor the cub’s fan village at all Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup fixtures.

Somerset CCC Commercial Director, Caroline Herbert said, “This is a really exciting development between our two organisations. I am delighted Jurassic Fibre saw genuine benefits of working with us last season and have decided to expand their partnership further.

“Jurassic Fibre is a regional company with a big vision, and their support of our fan village on busy matchdays will markedly improve our already outstanding offering providing additional value and entertainment. We look forward to sharing more details with our members and supporters over the coming months but we are genuinely thrilled by what this year’s fan village will bring to the experience.”

The London Lions Basketball Club has announced Oliver Emery as its first-ever Chief Content Officer.

Emery makes the step from Senior Vice President into the newly formed role, after joining the business in February 2022 to spearhead the club’s content strategy.

Emery has previously worked as Head of Content for the FIA Formula E series, where content films secured two Cannes Lions awards during his tenure. More recently in a strategist role at Little Dot Studios, Emery built out content teams and strategy for the likes of Extreme E and the World Electric Scooter Championship in their inaugural years.

The London Lions describe Emery’s new role as the ‘first step in a move to bolster the culture of creativity at the club and continue to expand their fanbase through exciting new projects and activations.’

English Football League (EFL) Two football club Leyton Orient has extended its partnership with ReThink Productivity.

The UK productivity consultancy will continue as the team’s training wear sponsors for both the men’s and women’s sides until the 2025/26 season.

Mark Devlin,Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I would like to add my thanks to Simon and Sue and all at ReThink for their continued support of the club. These are exciting times at Leyton Orient and I’m delighted that ReThink will continue to play a part in our journey.”

Gallagher Premiership rugby union club Northampton Saints partnered with Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR).

The agreement will see Saints Wheelchair Rugby at the centre of a new national programme for junior players.

Saints’ own junior programme has grown significantly since its launch back in 2018 and is the reigning WR5s Premiership champions and national Junior Wheelchair Rugby champions.

But now Northampton’s side have joined forces with GBWR with the aim of developing more provision for classifiable junior players within the game, and will now be delivering the governing body’s junior programme nationally.

Saints’ Inclusion Officer and Wheelchair Rugby Head Coach, Jamie Higgins, commented, “We first started our junior sessions in 2018, but despite numbers initially dropping off during the pandemic, we have rebuilt that engagement and have plenty of new faces within our squad. We’re now really excited by the prospect of engaging more young players outside of our own club sessions.”