Shorts: West Ham, England Rugby, Vitality Roses

West Ham United have opened ‘The Foundry’, the club’s new multi-million pound community hub and Foundation headquarters.

The new facility will significantly increase the club’s community footprint, enabling the West Ham United Foundation to reach more than 60,000 people each year through 35 dedicated programmes. The hub is projected to deliver £75m in social value in its first five years of operation and will support up to 4,000 participants weekly. A new initiative, the West Ham United Night Shelter, was also announced, which will provide a meal and a safe place to sleep every Saturday night.

Named in tribute to the club’s origins as Thames Ironworks FC, The Foundry includes health and wellbeing spaces, an outdoor gym, an enterprise zone, and a café, with profits going towards providing free meals for those in need. Core partners on the project include The Football Foundation, City Bridge Foundation, Trust for London, and Charity Bank.

Baroness Karren Brady, Vice-Chair, West Ham United, said, “The Foundry represents exactly what we are – a community. A community that helps one another, supports one another and inspires one another. The Foundry is an inspirational environment, a triumph of innovation, dedication, and grit – all the values that West Ham United prides itself on. When we moved to our stadium, almost 10 years ago, we doubled down on our long-held commitment to serve our community and help fulfil London’s Olympic Legacy, across the capital and beyond.”

Richard Masters, CEO, Premier League, said, “West Ham United Foundation positively impact their community throughout the year and are an example of the excellent work carried out by club charities across the country. Facilities such as The Foundry show the value professional football clubs create by investing in their local areas, developing state-of-the-art infrastructure, and providing tens of thousands of jobs. The Premier League and our clubs are committed to supporting the wider game and communities, contributing £1.6 billion over the past three years.”

England Rugby League have announced a new partnership with customer platform HubSpot ahead of the 2025 Ashes series against Australia.

The deal, brokered by Rugby League Commercial, will see the AI-powered customer platform’s logo feature on the sleeves of the England players’ jerseys.

As part of the agreement, HubSpot will also become the principal partner of the Match Officials and hold the naming rights for the Player of the Match award in each of the three Tests.

Mark Barry, VP of Sales and Managing Director of EMEA for HubSpot, said, “We’re excited to support England Rugby League ahead of this autumn’s Ashes series. Just as the England squad needs every player working in sync to compete at the highest level, businesses need their teams aligned on one platform to grow effectively. We’re proud to be part of this historic rivalry and look forward to seeing the series unfold.”

England Netball have revealed the new Vitality Roses dress, designed in partnership with Nike and KitQueen.

The new dress will be worn for the first time when the Vitality Roses face New Zealand in the Vitality Netball International Series.

The design features a floral print inspired by the Floribunda Rose, which has been associated with England Netball for over 30 years, combined with a bold diagonal pattern. The predominantly red dress also includes navy panels, reflecting England’s national sporting colours, and features headline sponsor Vitality and official partner Superdrug Online Doctor.

Alongside the new match kit, a replica fanwear range has also been launched to allow supporters to emulate the players.

Mark Foster, Chief Commercial Officer at England Netball, said, “Ahead of the upcoming international window we’re excited to reveal this new Vitality Roses dress design that proudly reflects the team’s identity and history whilst also symbolising and celebrating the dynamism of our sport. Equipping our athletes with the highest quality kit to enable them to perform at their best is of the utmost importance, and we are proud to be working with the iconic and globally recognised brand of Nike powered by KitQueen to supply bespoke match and training kit that meets the highest performance standards.

“We can’t wait to see the Vitality Roses take to court wearing this powerful new dress design as they continue to face the top netball nations in their upcoming international fixtures against New Zealand and Jamaica.”

The University of St Andrews’ student golf programme, Saints Golf, have renewed their partnership with local distillery Eden Mill St Andrews for the 2025-2026 academic year.

As the official partner of Saints Golf, Eden Mill’s branding will feature on the official kit worn by all competitive teams, including the University’s top Performance Golf Scholars.

The renewal follows a landmark season for the Performance team, which saw them crowned British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) national match play champions for the third time in four years. The season also witnessed a historic double in the R&A Student Tour Series, with golf scholars Judd Sundelson and Judy Joo claiming both the Men’s and Women’s Order of Merit titles.

D.J. Flanders, Director of Golf at the University of St Andrews, said, “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Eden Mill. The support they provide our student golfers is invaluable, and it is a great honour for us to be aligned with such a premium local brand. The opening of the new distillery is a landmark moment for our local community, and we are excited to see the partnership grow from strength to strength.”

The partnership renewal coincides with the official opening of Eden Mill’s new Distillery and Visitor Centre, which features gin and whisky tours, a cocktail bar, and golf simulators.

Six Nations Rugby has agreed a new four-year broadcast rights extension with Welsh-language broadcaster S4C.

The new agreement will run until the end of the 2029 championships and ensures that all of Wales’ Guinness Men’s Six Nations, Guinness Women’s Six Nations, and Under-20’s Six Nations matches will be shown live on S4C.

As part of the deal, S4C will be the exclusive home in Wales for all 15 Men’s Under-20s Six Nations matches, broadcasting every game live. The partnership builds on the previous agreement between the two organisations, continuing the free-to-air coverage of the championships in the Welsh language.

Tom Harrison, CEO of Six Nations Rugby, said, “S4C have been a fantastic partner of Six Nations Rugby, and their extensive coverage of our Championships has been instrumental in bringing our game to a passionate and dedicated Welsh audience. This new agreement is great news for our fans in Wales, who will be able to enjoy all the drama and action of our Championships on S4C. The partnership will also play a key role in our commitment to invest in the growth of the game, and our Championships, for the future.”

Geraint Evans, S4C Interim CEO, said, “We are delighted to be able to offer our viewers free-to-air comprehensive access to the Six Nations, in the Welsh language, for the next four years. The Guinness Six Nations is a huge part of the Welsh sporting calendar and we are proud to be the broadcasters of every single one of Wales’ games in the men’s, women’s and U20’s tournaments. It is a golden period for Welsh rugby and we are excited to see our national teams build for the future. We look forward to our continued partnership with Six Nations Rugby and the WRU.”

Marketing agency Square in the Air has appointed the creative duo of Hugh Johnson and Nick Withersby to launch a new integrated creative division.

Johnson joins as Chief Client Officer and Withersby as Chief Creative Officer. The pair are tasked with leading the formation and operation of a new division that will deliver full-scale brand strategy, advertising and marketing campaigns.

The pair previously worked together at Amigo Partnership, delivering campaigns for clients including LiveScore, Flutter, Virgin BET, and Soccer Aid. They also collaborated on The Pools’ brand relaunch, which was a winner at the 2025 Alliance of Independent Agencies Awards. Johnson and Withersby will report to Square in the Air CEO, Ben Cleminson.

Ben Cleminson, CEO, Square in the Air, said, “This promises to be a truly transformational moment for Square in the Air. I have been fortunate to see Hugh and Nick work at close hand, and they are exceptional creatives. The addition of their skills and experience is incredibly exciting for all teams across our business, and their leadership and fresh perspective will massively benefit the agency.

“The division that we are launching with Hugh and Nick will add a creative layer to our business, allowing us to provide a vital, sought-after service to a client base that we have nurtured over nearly 20 years, while also extending our reach into new markets and sectors.”