Shorts: Somerset Cricket, LTA, England Rugby

Somerset have expanded their partnership with Mouldex for the 2025 season, with the company increasing its presence across the club’s men’s and women’s teams.

Mouldex first partnered with Somerset in 2023 as a Vitality Blast Match Sponsor before becoming an Official Kit Partner in 2024.

The company’s branding will remain on the back of the men’s Vitality Blast shirt and will now extend to the women’s teams, featuring as the collar partner on the Women’s Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One Day Cup shirts.

As part of the agreement, Mouldex will also sponsor overseas bowler Matt Henry, who has returned to Somerset after playing a key role in the club’s 2023 County Championship campaign.

Caroline Herbert, Somerset CCC Commercial Director, said, “It’s been really exciting to see how our relationship with Mouldex has developed and flourished over the last few years, and we are thrilled that they will become one of the Founding Partners for Somerset Women.“

Del Monte has expanded its partnership with the LTA to launch of the “Serve Up a Summer of Tennis” campaign

The campaign will offer tennis fans the chance to win tickets to LTA grass-court tournaments, including the HSBC Championships and the Lexus Eastbourne Open, as well as signed memorabilia from Burrage.

As part of the ongoing agreement, Burrage will continue to wear the Del Monte logo on her kit throughout the 2025 season.

Del Monte has remained a long-term partner of the LTA, previously working with British players such as Cameron Norrie, and has used its collaborations to promote an active lifestyle alongside its fresh prepared fruit range.

England have added a fixture against the United States in Washington on 19th July to complete their summer tour schedule.

The match will be played at Audi Field, a 20,000-capacity stadium, and follows England’s two-Test series against Argentina in La Plata on 5th July and San Juan on 12th July.

Steve Borthwick’s squad will be without players selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, providing an opportunity to assess emerging talent.

The United States, which will host the 2031 Rugby World Cup and the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup, has focused on attracting high-profile fixtures as part of its long-term development strategy.

The match will be part of a double-header, with the United States women’s team facing Fiji in the second game. England and the United States will meet again in the opening match of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Vertu has extended its partnership with Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the 2025 season, becoming the club’s official live stream partner.

The automotive retailer, which has partnered with Yorkshire CCC since 2021, will now support the club in bringing commentaries for white ball games in-house for both the men’s and women’s teams.

Vertu will also continue its community support for the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF) through the Cric-Kit initiative, enabling customers to donate unused cricket kit at dealerships across Yorkshire.

The agreement ensures that the live stream will remain free of charge, allowing supporters to watch over 30 live games, including the County Championship and Vitality Blast.

Ben Wickett, Yorkshire CCC Multimedia Designer, said, “Vertu’s partnership will allow us to enhance our live stream even further, enabling us to introduce our own commentary team for white ball games and enhancing our technology to allow us to output a higher quality of stream to our supporters.”

Tough Mudder has announced Grenade as its official nutrition partner for all UK events in 2025.

The UK’s protein bar brand will activate across all Tough Mudder UK events with obstacle branding and event village sampling.

Kicking off at the London West event in May, the collaboration will see Grenade fuelling participants throughout the course. Grenade will take over the Blockness Monster obstacle and provide bar stations on the course.

Participants will also receive Grenade products at the finish line and in the warm-up experience.

Mark Read, Commercial Director at Tough Mudder, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Grenade, a brand that shares our passion for pushing limits and embracing challenges.”

Joshua Guest, Lead Marketing Manager at Grenade, said, “We’re looking forward to being at all the events to cheer people on and give them a protein boost when they need it the most.”

Tom Gorringe has been appointed Chief Executive of Swansea City, taking over responsibility for the club’s day-to-day operations.

Gorringe joined Swansea as Chief Operating officer last month following a leadership restructure and has now stepped into the role of Chief Executive.

His appointment follows the announcement that Andy Coleman will leave his position as chairman at the end of the season, though Coleman will remain involved with the club as a board member and co-investor.

Before joining Swansea, Gorringe was Chief Executive of Bristol Rovers for three years, having previously served as the club’s commercial director. His earlier experience includes roles at Brighton and Hove Albion, Portsmouth, and Cardiff City.

Gorringe said, “Since joining, I have been impressed with the staff and the vast potential at the club as well as the ambition of the ownership group.”

Newcastle United have ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy, defeating Liverpool in the 2025 Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

The match on 18th March attracted a peak domestic UK TV audience of almost 8 million viewers.

Across Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event, ITV1 and ITVX, an average domestic TV audience of 6.3 million viewers tuned in throughout the 90 minutes. Millions more watched globally, with the match broadcast in 193 international territories.

The final also saw 88,513 fans at Wembley Stadium, the highest attended fixture in Europe this weekend.

This season’s Carabao Cup has seen near on 1.8 million supporters pass through the turnstiles, a 20% increase on last season.

The increased viewership and attendance figures follow a ground-breaking partnership between the EFL and Sky Sports, which saw every match of the Carabao Cup broadcast live in the UK for the first time.

Trevor Birch, EFL Chief Executive Officer, said, “It was a fitting finale to a wonderful season of Carabao Cup football, and I’d like to thank each of Sky Sports, ITV and our international broadcast partners for making it such a success.”