Footballco

With news from FIFA, Burberry, MLS, and multiple stories coming out of Saudi Arabia, here are the football media and marketing stories you may have missed this week...👇 Fifa partners with Konami Digital Entertainment’s eFootball for FifaE World Cup - https://lnkd.in/g2YRT4bG (SportsPro) Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze star in Burberry campaign - https://lnkd.in/gTGZ-M_W (New Wave Magazine) Major League Soccer breaks regular season attendance record with 16 games to go - https://lnkd.in/gwng6jdW (SportsPro) Riyadh Air | طيران الرياض lands naming rights for Club Atlético de Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium - https://lnkd.in/gmi6A2Xv (Inside World Football) LALIGA announce a three-season partnership with Riyadh Season | موسم الرياض - https://lnkd.in/eXS7mkWv (Sportcal) Want more insight into the media and marketing side of football? Subscribe the Footballco Business Podcast - https://lnkd.in/eYagzxce

“When I first came out as bisexual during the pandemic, I got death threats online.” On today’s episode of MUNDIAL’s Reminding You Why You Love Football podcast, host Owen Blackhurst, and the panel of James Bird, Seb White and Thomas Stewart talked about World Mental Health Day. Tommy, the show’s producer and editor and also a Manchester United season ticket holder, shared his experiences of the negative side of being LGBTQ+ while playing and working in football. “When I first started playing Sunday League in Manchester, I regularly got called the F Word. I play 7-a-side on a Wednesday now and the 20 year olds call each other that.. And I'm like, when is this gonna stop? There's not enough being done. The vocabulary in football is still so prehistoric when it comes to LGBTQ+ stuff. “Foolishly I came out on Twitter first because I was getting told I was going to be outed. I got a lot of support, but also a lot of death threats and people calling me all sorts. But when I told my family, the support they’ve given me has been amazing. My parents, every sibling, incredible. I've been on antidepressants for 10 years but I am coming off them now, my doctors think I'm ready, which is big news for me.” Now over 70 episodes in, the award-winning podcast has become vital in the life of its listeners, not just because of stories about cult footballers, weird mascots, and travelling to games with your mates, but because the panel have continuously talked about mental health, sobriety, and other topics that football often fails to confront. Here’s what one of the MUNDIAL Discord community said recently: “After a really rubbish day yesterday which had spilled over into my mood this morning, the first half of today’s episode on the commute this morning was genuinely a ray of sunshine through the clouds. The podcast is a comfort blanket & a rallying call to joy all in one. Forever grateful for your work, lads.” Reminding You Why You Love Football is available wherever you get your podcasts, with full video episodes available on YouTube. For any enquiries, please get in touch with Owen Blackhurst or Seb White. 

On the new Footballco Business Podcast, we're talking club podcasts with Jim Salveson and Matt Tasker of Sport Social, from formats and content to Matt's experiences creating Manchester United's first podcast during his time at United. Also... 🙌 Competing with independent podcasts ⚽️ Which players would make great podcasters 🎙️ Podcasts as part of a club's media strategy 🧑💻 Working with internal PR teams 💪 Choosing the right talent Listen now https://pod.fo/e/2725d4 #Podcasts #football

With the 2026 World Cup just 611 days away(!), last week we welcomed top brand and agency partners for our first exclusive World Cup Preview in New York, offering an insider look at the opportunities surrounding this once-in-a-lifetime moment for America. We also made some big announcements on our new content formats, talent partnerships and experiential opportunities that will offer unrivaled fan engagement as we hop on the road to 2026. The 2026 World Cup will unquestionably be the biggest in history. With 50% more teams competing over 104 matches (imagine 104 Super Bowls over 38 days!), fans from 48 nations will join 90 million passionate US soccer fans for live matches, fanzone experiences and watch parties–all while following the on- and off-pitch action on GOAL’s digital and social platforms. Let’s kick around the facts: 💰The Footballco Insights team estimates the economic impact on 4.5 million people visiting the USA for the tournament to be north of $35 billion alone, on top of the many tens of billions spent by US fans travelling domestically to experience the World Cup. ⚽vs 🏈 1.5 billion people tuned into the 2022 World Cup Final. To put that into a US perspective, the 2023 Super Bowl drew in a TV audience of 153 million. 📱811 million accounts engaged with official FIFA social channels around the 2022 World Cup - a record for any global sporting event and 448% growth vs 2018 World Cup. GOAL delivered 4. billion video views during this summer’s Copa America and Euros tournaments alone – we expect to more than double that for the 2026 World Cup. 🇺🇲 ✈️ The 2022 World Cup in Qatar demonstrated the tournament's power to drive visitation and engage fans on every platform. The US was the number one nation outside Qatar for ticket purchases — just imagine how many people will show up when it’s on home turf. We’re taking the show on the road and happy to help our brand partners understand all the nuances of global soccer, how to authentically engage with fans, and how to connect uniquely during this important moment. The time to get to work is NOW, so feel free to connect with us! #soccer #worldcup #marketing #FIFA #sports

Arsenal, Venezia, FIFA, Dave, Netflix, and Socios star in this edition of the Footballco ICYMI, which features the biggest stories in football media and marketing. Arsenal F.C and Aries collaborate on streetwear range - https://lnkd.in/eiFwZZhK (Arsenal F.C) FIFA announce 12 venues for the 2025 Club World Cup, with the final set for MetLife Stadium - https://lnkd.in/eXPAjBy5 (GOAL) Netflix unveils documentary about Luis Rubiales and Jorge Vilda Women’s World Cup controversies - https://lnkd.in/enB-Y2pR (GOAL) NOCTA and Venezia FC reveal 2024/25 kits - https://lnkd.in/eqQ3S9w9 (HYPEBEAST) Dave reveals Stone Island x New Balance kit at the Annual Santan Cup - https://lnkd.in/ewDB8GMX (Stone Island) Socios.com parent Chiliz opens crypto sports sponsorship agency - https://lnkd.in/e9deSgCB (SportsPro) Like news like this? Listen to the Footballco Business Podcast: https://lnkd.in/eYagzxce

We are proud to announce that GOAL's Front Three has been shortlisted in the best YouTube Channel category in this year's Broadcast Sports Awards! Despite being less than two years old, Front Three has been a huge success on the platform, racking up 420,000 subscribers (and more on other platforms), with almost half of its viewers being under 24, and more than 450m views this year! It's not just been popular with fans; players love it too, as shown by our content with the likes of Toni Rudiger, Jeremie Frimpong, Mikel Arteta, and many others. Brands have also been quick to get involved, aligning themselves with content that resonates with young fans and seeing the benefits. Check out GOAL's Front Three on YouTube to see what we mean: https://lnkd.in/eBRdCsyR

On the latest Footballco Business Podcast, Unilever's Emily Heath discusses the importance of supporting women's football from the grassroots and not just the elite level. Listen to the full episode now: https://pod.fo/e/26d667

Check out the new Footballco Business Podcast newsletter for highlights from our interview with the president of FC Juárez, Luis Rodriguez, including...👇 ❗ Running a club in a city regarded as one of the most dangerous in the world 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 The club's growth strategies for the US and Mexico 🏃♀️ The potential for its women's team

Earlier this month, INDIVISA and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Women presented ‘Our Future Game’, a unique strategy created in tandem with INDIVISA that will inform how the club hopes to work with brand partners in the women’s game to continue driving the game forward. Thanks to Cyann Camera, Chloe Compton, Billie Halladay, Andy Rogers, Stefano D'Anna, Tom Carter, Holly Gilbertson, @Nicole Chui, Hannah Sheridan, Chris Paouros, and Jess Iszat.

August saw us welcome five new starters to Footballco, with colleagues joining teams in the UK, Mexico, Poland, Germany, and South Africa! Find out more below. 👇 Oliver Williamson - Paid Social Manager (UK) Oliver joins Footballco following five years spent on the agency side, working with clients including the Financial Times and London Evening Standard. Despite being born in Kent, he’s a Newcastle fan, thanks to Alan Shearer and having no concept of distance when a child. Edgar Omar Ramírez Luckie - Editor (Mexico) Unsurprisingly, Edgar goes by the name ‘Luckie’. He joins us with 14 years of sports media experience and is looking forward to seeing fans enjoy the content and ideas he comes up with. Bartosz Mroczek - Junior Tax Compliance Specialist (Poland) Bartosz comes to Footballco following a series of internships at high profile companies. As well as being a fan of football, he’s also a passionate F1 fan with an interest in tech and can often be found listening to podcasts. Marco Brkic - SEO Editor (Germany) Marko joins us having previously been a freelancer writing across GOAL and SPOX. As well as playing football, Marko likes to hit the courts for some basketball and tennis. Mpho Pekane - Sales Manager (South Africa) Mpho has extensive media sales representing the likes of Spotify and TikTok. His love of football is rooted in Manchester United.