Shorts: WSL, Micah Richards, ECB
WSL Football has launched a new integrated campaign, Watch This, in collaboration with creative agency Anomaly.
The campaign is designed to celebrate the women’s game and build on the momentum from the Lionesses’ UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 victory. It will run across TV, VOD, social media and OOH ahead of the new Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) and Barclays Women’s Super League 2 (BWSL2) season.
A hero film for the campaign features a cameo from Ed Sheeran and is voiced by former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright. The film showcases a number of the league’s stars, including BWSL Player of the Year Mariona Caldentey, Lucy Bronze, and Jordan Nobbs.
The launch follows a period of significant growth for the leagues, which saw the BWSL official YouTube channel attract nearly 40 million views in the 2024/25 season. It also follows the rebrand of the leagues in May, where WSL Football was revealed as the new company name, with a new visual identity also created by Anomaly.
Ruth Hooper, Chief Marketing Officer, WSL Football said, “Watch This is an integrated campaign that celebrates everything that makes the women’s game unmissable. Whether it’s the competition, the players or the culture, by spotlighting what’s unique and entertaining about the women’s game, we’re inviting fans new and old to discover more, and showing those inspired by the Euros that they can watch their favourite stars every week in the BWSL and BWSL2.”
UEFA has brought back its Champions League Fantasy Football game, with former England defender Micah Richards featured in its launch campaign.
The free-to-play game has allowed fans to select squads from players competing in the UEFA Champions League, with points awarded for in-game performances including goals, assists, clean sheets and ball recoveries.
This season has also included the introduction of the UCL Fantasy WhatsApp Channel, providing fans with updates, transfer reminders and matchday insights.
Richards has fronted UEFA’s new promotional film for the game and has set up his own “Big Meeks League”, which supporters can join by using a published code.
The game will run throughout the UEFA Champions League campaign, which begins its group stage between 16–18 September.
UEFA has overseen European football as a governing body for 55 member associations, and has invested 97.5% of its revenue into football-related projects across professional, youth and grassroots levels.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Rhys Beer as Interim Chief Commercial Officer.
Beer has succeeded Tony Singh in the position and has taken responsibility for leading the organisation’s broadcast, marketing, digital and commercial partnerships teams.
The appointment has come at a time of significant change within English cricket, with the ECB continuing its work on developing the men’s and women’s professional games, increasing pathways for young players and growing fan engagement.
In recent years the ECB has launched The Hundred, which won the Business Moment Of The Year at the 2025 FEVO Sport Industry Awards, to attract new audiences, overseen record attendances for women’s internationals, and implemented investment strategies designed to support domestic cricket.
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has signed a multi-year partnership with Finseta.
The deal, agreed by the PSA’s commercial entity Squash Media & Marketing (SMM), sees the UK-based company become the official foreign exchange partner of the PSA Squash Tour.
Finseta will process international payments for the tour, which paid out a record of over $12.5m in total player compensation during the 2024-25 season. As part of the agreement, Finseta will also receive on-site branding at two of the tour’s events, the London Classic and the British Open.
Ian Davis, PSA Head of Commercial Partnerships, said, “With player compensation at an all-time high last season and a growing player base across the globe, managing international payments efficiently is incredibly important to us. F
“Finseta’s expertise will not only support our athletes around the world but will also strengthen two of our flagship events – the London Classic and British Open – through their presence on-site.”
England Athletics has renewed its strategic partnership with Sportshall Athletics.
The partnership has focused on providing opportunities for children and young people to take part in running, jumping and throwing activities, with an emphasis on team competition and participation.
The renewal has continued a long-standing collaboration between the two organisations, which has aimed to expand access to athletics in schools, clubs and community settings across England.
Recent Sport England data has shown that over half of children and young people in England meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day, highlighting the importance of initiatives that increase participation in sport.
Chris Jones, CEO of England Athletics, said, “England Athletics is proud to extend its long-standing developmental collaboration with Sportshall Athletics, a partnership that is as important as ever as we work together to ensure that more young people across the nation can experience our great sport through age appropriate multi event, skill based, team athletics competition in schools, clubs, and community settings.”
Grangemouth Community Sports Trust has partnered with JustGo in a deal that sees the tech firm become its official software provider.
The agreement will see JustGo implement a modern booking system for members at Grangemouth Stadium, which plays a vital role in supporting local clubs and community participation in athletics. The venue hosts regional, national and international events, and is also a key training facility for athletes preparing for the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
The new system provided by JustGo is intended to help secure the future of the stadium by driving usage and engagement.
David Ovens, Chair of Grangemouth Community Sports Trust, said, “We are extremely grateful to JustGo for their belief in what we are trying to do to secure the future of Grangemouth Stadium. Their generous offer of support has enabled us to put in place a modern booking system for our members and will help us to drive usage and engagement at the Stadium.”
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