Shorts: Nifl, Bt Sport, Aston Villa
The Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) has announced Sports Direct as the new title sponsor of both the Premiership and Women’s Premiership.
The new three-year partnership is the biggest commercial deal in the history of the league.
Gerard Lawlor, NIFL Chief Executive said, “We are proud to announce this landmark partnership with Sports Direct as the new title sponsor for both our Men’s and Women’s Premiership for the next three years.
“This is a huge step forward for the league as we grow commercially, and to bring a major brand like Sports Direct as a partner and sponsor is testament to the growth of our business in recent years and that they can see the ambition we have to keep pushing forward and want to be part of that journey.”
Leonard Brassel, Managing Director Sports Direct Ireland, added, “This is an exciting time to be involved in football in Northern Ireland and we’re delighted to be partnering with NIFL to sponsor both Premiership leagues. NIFL is rich with history but also has so much to look forward to and we feel that it is the perfect fit for us.”
BT Sport has secured the exclusive streaming rights to the 2022/23 Allianz Premier 15s final and semi-finals.
The two semi-finals will be played on Saturday 10th June and Sunday 11th June, with the final taking place on Saturday 24th June at Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester. BT Sport will broadcast the matches exclusively live on TV.
The Premier 15s completes BT Sport’s coverage of the club rugby season, which includes the Heineken Cup Final on Saturday 20th May and the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final on Saturday 27th May.
RFU Women’s Game Director, Alex Teasdale, said, “We’re really looking forward to hosting this year’s final at Kingsholm. The standard of rugby has been outstanding across the league once again this season. Kingsholm is a fantastic stadium and the fans will be in for a real treat.
“It’s also great to announce that the final and semi-final games will be shown on BT Sport and the BBC. These broadcast partnerships will ensure even more people can enjoy what’s sure to be an action packed end to the campaign.”
Premier League football club Aston Villa has partnered with Egyptian club ZED FC.
The agreement, which was announced in Cairo, will see the clubs collaborate, alongside Portuguese Vitória Sport Clube, on developing young talent.
Villa aim to ‘create new and positive opportunities for young footballers in Egypt and will assist in the technical and physical development of academy players, coaching methods and scouting networks.’
ZED FC Chairman Nassef Sawiris, said, “I am very proud to be part of the announcement for the three-way collaboration between ZED’s Academy, Vitória Sport Clube and Aston Villa.
“This three-way partnership should benefit all three parties and create a clear roadmap for talented young Egyptian players to integrate into the global sports system.”
