LAST WEEK TODAY: Sponsorship News

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Check out the blog every Monday for a weekly roundup of the past week's most exciting and industry-altering news. These stories cover October 14 - 20, 2019.

Another packed week of sponsorship news in the world of sports. From first-ever international deals, to personal athlete sponsorships, to the rise of eSports, this week was full of big news. Here's a list of highlights in case you missed them.

1. Tottenham Hotspur announced a new 5-year partnership with HBSC as Official Banking Partner for both the men's and women's teams in the UK and Hong Kong. They will be working in tandem to engage fans through various activities, one of which will be co-creating digital campaigns. Remember when we talked about "Co-Creating Content is Killer (in a good way!)?" If you didn't catch that, we recommend you check it out here. Tottenham Hotspur Head of Partnerships Fran Jones said: “We have developed a strong relationship with HSBC over a number of years and this new partnership is a natural expansion of this. The Club is committed to supporting the continued regeneration of Tottenham and we look forward to integrating HSBC into our existing employment and education programs, as well as creating impactful new initiatives together.”
2. San Manual Casino named the "Official Southern California Casino," and "Founding Partner" of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as well as a proud sponsor of the National Football League's (NFL) Raiders starting with the 2020 season. San Manuel is already supporting nine (9) other professional sports teams across the NFL, NHL, MLB, and MLS.
3. Bianca Andreescu, the young 19 year old Canadian tennis star and U.S. Open champion just signed a new sponsorship deal with the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Rolex. Andreescu also has sponsorship deals with Nike, BMW and tennis equipment maker Head, all of which are expected to see a rise in renewal fees given this athlete's fast rise to the top. In fact, Andreescu's agent, Jonathan Dasnières de Veigy, at sports-management agency Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network, told the Globe and Mail in September that he's turning down offers because her success came faster than expected and they want to be selective in order to form the right partnerships.
4. Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) has announced a partnership with NEC Corporation, marking the first international partnership for the Washington Wizards. This deal is the first for franchise since the National Basketball Association (NBA) gave the green light to sell international sponsorship rights beginning with the 2019-2020 season. Jim Van Stone, President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer at Monumental Sports & Entertainment said, “This partnership is a testimonial of the substantial growth of the Wizards fanbase and brand recognition globally, specifically in Japan. NEC has been a pioneer and a leader in the information and communications technology realm for 120 years and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with them.”
5. The Charlotte Hornets just gained Chick-fil-A as their "Exclusive Chicken Sandwich & Chicken Nuggets Partner." This deal will give Chick-fil-A the opportunity to sell branded items at concession stands within the Spectrum Center, be a presenting partner in a family-centric ticket offer that will be unveiled soon, and receive a branded Royal Box and digital signage at Spectrum Center – all beginning with the 2020-2021 season.
6. Real Time Pain Relief just partnered with legendary boxing champion, George Foreman, to release a new "Knockout Formula." Ron Snodgrass, Chairman and Co-Founder of RTPR said, "The new George Foreman Knockout Formula™ is our most advanced pain relief formula yet and we can’t think of a better partner for packing a punch against pain than George Foreman."
7. We all know eSports is quickly taking off, and Axe has been in on the action for a while now, including the launch of Axe Gaming back in 2018. But now they've become a global sponsor of League of Legends esports, recognized as the official men's grooming partner of several events including the Mid-Season Invitational, World Championship, and All-Star Event. Other partners of Riot Game's global League of Legends events include Red Bull, Mastercard, Alienware, State Farm, Secretlab, Louis Vuitton, and OPPO.
8. It's not a done deal yet, but there's a chance track and field athletes will be wearing kits that feature logos of their personal sponsors in the future. The hope is that this rule change for non-World Athletics meets will give the athletes 'greater flexibility' in giving their sponsors exposure. We'll know more after the new regulations are presented to council for approval in November.
9. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) signed a wide-ranging media content and sponsorship deal with national pay-TV channel Sport TV for a 2-year term. Canal 11 was launched ahead of the 2019/20 season, making the FPF the first soccer federation to have its own TV channel. Sport TV still holds rights to Portugal’s qualifiers for major tournaments as well as next year’s Uefa European Championship. More details at SportsPro Media.
10. Sportswear giant, Puma, to potentially become the kit supplier for Dutch soccer giants PSV Eindhoven. The team previously had a 5-year partnership with Umbro which may be coming to an end early if this transition is confirmed. Previously, PSV was sponsored by Nike since the 1995/96 campaign. All that said, it was reported by the club's local newspaper, Eindhovens Dagblad, that Puma is one of several companies and Umbro is not out of the running yet; but Puma has made a very substantial offer that will be difficult to match. We're on standby waiting for the official announcement expected to come next year. More details at SportsPro Media.

Did we miss any? Tweet @be_tandem to let us know - we hate being behind the times just as much as you do.

Look out next Monday for the usual round-up on sponsorship news.