Shorts: Wolves, West Ham, London Marathon

The academy of English Premier League Football club Wolverhampton Wanderers has signed Footballco brand NXGN as its principal partner. 

The deal will see NXGN branding appear across the shirts of six of Wolves’ academy teams as well as both parties creating content around the club’s young players. 

The NXGN brand was created by Footballco’s media brand, GOAL, in 2016 as an award celebrating the best young players in world football. In 2021 NXGN was launched as a standalone media brand covering youth culture and youth talent influencing in football. 

Footballco will also be working with Wolves to create content featuring their academy players. Collaborations between Wolves and NXGN have already started with Wolves Records’ artist Reepa recording a track for the partnership which soundtracks the official announcement video. 

VIEW HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OgWNf5UHLc&t=5s

Andy Jackson, Head of Partnerships for Footballco, said, “Wolves’ pioneering work in music, gaming and fashion, as well as the excellent work by their academy, aligns perfectly with NXGN’s ambition to not only showcase the best young players but also cover youth football culture beyond the pitch, in formats and on channels that resonate with Gen-Z and Gen-A fans.”

Russell Jones, General Manager for Marketing and Commercial Growth at Wolves, added, “Aside from growing the story of the Wolves Academy, this partnership will help Wolves and our partners increase our global reach. I’d like to thank Andy and the team for their work so far and look forward to an exciting year ahead.” 

English Premier League (EPL) club West Ham United has announced a new partnership with Little Dot Sport that will focus on the club’s YouTube offering. 

The three-year contract will see the digital content agency manage output of the Hammers’ channel. 

The partnership will bring more content from the men’s, women’s, and youth teams to the fans of the London club. 

Little Dot sport will assist with the club’s YouTube channel in a collaboration that boosts West Ham’s goal of growing its social presence and increasing engagement. 

Tony Watson, Creative Lead at West Ham Football Club, commented, “We’re really excited to be working with Little Dot Sport. They’re market leaders in the digital content space and we’re looking forward to tapping into their best in class channel management to grow our social presence and increase engagement across our YouTube offering on a domestic and global scale.”

Robbie Spargo, Director of Little Dot Sport, said, “We’ve been enjoying West Ham’s social output for years and are thrilled that we are now able to be an extension of that team helping them to really deliver against their social strategy. We’ll be optimising West Ham’s content; ensuring there is maximum initial visibility leading to long term growth to deliver the ideal performance for the club’s YouTube channel. We’re confident we can broaden West Ham’s digital audience and accelerate platform development.”

Crystal Palace Women has extended its partnership with The Turmeric Co.

The announcement marks the second season of The Turmeric Co. supporting the south-east London club that competes in the FA Women’s Championship. 

The Turmeric Co., founded by professional footballer Hal Robson-Kanu, produces natural turmeric shots, which are used by a number of athletes to enhance their recovery and holistic health. 

Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, Founder and CEO at The Turmeric Co, said, “Crystal Palace Women remain a leader within the game by providing nutritional support to their playing squad and staff, committing to assisting with performance and recovery off-the-pitch.

“That’s what we are here for – to support athletes within professional sport, whilst delivering the same quality to the everyday lives of people outside the realm of sport. We all need to look after our bodies and recover.”

Chico Lyons, Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach at Crystal Palace Women, added, “We are delighted to be going into our second season using The Turmeric Co. to provide further nutritional support to our players. Its anti inflammatory properties aid our players in their recovery which is key to helping them be able to perform at their best, both in training and in matches.”

The Royal Parks Half Marathon has announced today that UK mass participation events company London Marathon Events will be the new delivery partner of its events.

The new five-year partnership will cover the 2023 to 2027 Royal Parks Half Marathons.

The Royal Parks Half is an annual race taking place in London, that runs through four of the English capital’s eight Royal Parks, including Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park, and Kensington Gardens. 

Liz Tack, Head of the Royal Parks Half Marathon, said, “The Royal Parks Half Marathon is thrilled to partner with London Marathon Events (LME) in this exciting new chapter for the world’s most stunning half marathon.  As an iconic London race, we’re excited to work with the team responsible for delivering other major events in the capital. 

“Together we’ll continue to champion sustainability, inclusivity, charity fundraising and wellbeing.”

Endurance swimmer and UNEP Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh has completed the world’s first swim across the Red Sea. Pugh swam from Tiran Island in Saudi Arabia to Hurghada in Egypt to highlight the vulnerability of coral reefs due to the accelerating climate crisis.

The swim was timed to coincide with COP27, where world leaders will gather at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for the UN Climate Conference. 

There, Pugh will be urging all nations to drastically cut their emissions, to tackle the climate crisis and protect the world’s oceans. He will also call for at least 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030.

Pugh completed the 123-km swim in 16 days, swimming between 6km and 12km per day.