Barcelona extended its sponsorship deal with Gillette, until now a regional partner of the club in Latin America. Through this new agreement, the producer of personal care products has become a premium partner on a global level. A joint press conference is being scheduled for the next few months, where the full details of the deal will be revealed (Barcelona).
INT'L FRIENDS: United Soccer League side FC Cincinnati has added Cincinnati Bell Inc. as the presenting sponsor for its int'l "friendly" match against Premier League club Crystal Palace next month. The game will draw the biggest football crowd "in Cincinnati history," and has already sold nearly 25,000 tickets. FCC expects to "sell out the 40,000-seat Nippert Stadium" (CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER, 6/28).
NEW KIT: Serie A side AS Roma unveiled the '16-17 kit, "with a design inspired by the Colosseum." The new uniform, designed by Nike, was unveiled "on Roma's Instagram account." The "most salient feature is a set of horizontal bars, cut asymmetrically by a diagonal line running from the shoulder to the waist and mirroring the external walls of Rome's Colosseum" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 7/6).
MARKETPLACE BRIEFS ...
Liga MX and the Ascenso MX on Tuesday presented a new ball made by Voit for the ’16-17 season. Voit has been a partner of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) for 30 years. The ball, called Legacy, has a black and white design (LA AFICIÓN, 7/5).
Rock Hard Cement has "come on board as a major sponsor" for Caribbean Premier League side Tridents Pride of Barbados. The year-long agreement will "see the team sport the bright red Rock Hard Cement logo on the chest of the players’ uniforms as well as the tagline 'Build Stronger' on their back." In addition, Rock Hard Cement will be "giving away prizes during the home games and offering some fans special Tridents-branded prizes" (NATION NEWS, 7/6).
Chilean winery Viña Maipo sealed a strategic alliance with the ATP World Tour event in Tokyo, the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship. During '16 and '17, Viña Maipo will be presented with its focus brand Vitral in each game of the Rakuten Japan Open, with visual material on the courts, in various media outlets and in the tournament's official program, among others. In addition, attendees to the event will be able to enjoy Viña Maipo's Reserva Vitral line, which as the official wine of the competition will be served to customers and the general public (Viña Maipo).
Chinese online travel agency Ctrip announced that "it has reached a strategic partnership agreement" with Ligue 1 side Nice. The deal sees the agency "become the exclusive travel partner of the club" for the '16-17 season. As an official partner in China, Ctrip will also support Nice "while playing in the UEFA Europa League" and hosting football training camps (YUTANG SPORTS, 7/6).
Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin has extended its partnership with electronics and power-tool maker RYOBI for another season. As part of the renewal, RYOBI receives ad space in camera view along with other additional marketing space at the stadium. The company has been a partner of the club since '14. The extension was brokered by Hertha's marketing partner Lagardère Sports (Lagardère Sports).
