The Sport of Business

Real Madrid Sponsorship

An interesting story from the world of sports and sponsorship is that of Real Madrid and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. Interestingly Real Madrid will have to remove the Christian cross on their crest to appease the Muslim beliefs and sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates. Real Madrid's willingness to redesign their famous crest shows how far clubs will go to increase and generate revenue streams in a highly competitive market. Although the crest redesign is a tiny detail, it will no doubt be criticised by the fanatical Madrid supporters.



Guinness expands in the the world of soccer sponsorship

Guinness have resigned a new five year contract with the International Champions Cup tournament in the United States with the aim of raising brand awareness throughout the States. The Guinness sponsored tournament sees Europe's top teams and stars playing a number of games in cities across the US. Guinness first took up the partnership in 2013. Not only should this benefit the awareness of Guinness in America – soccer will also benefit from the exposure.

                                                                                                                                                                NFL Team Set for London?

Due to the recent success of numerous sold out American Football games in London's Wembley Stadium, there are strong rumours an actual London-based NFL franchise may be on the cards in the near future. BBC suggests that a London franchise could be worth £100 million a year to the UK economy. In 2013 the two NFL games which were staged in London brought £32 million into London. UK government officials are looking to do all that they can to make a London team come to fruition. 

Grabyo Partnership

Grabyo provide cloud-based services used by broadcasters and rights wider to create and distribute television clips of numerous sports across various social media platforms in real time. It was launched relatively recently in 2013 & it has secured more than £2 million in funding from numerous Premier League footballers and NBA basketball players – Robin Van Persie and Tony Parker being notable benefactors. From the funding secured, Graybo will use it to expand their presence across North America and Europe.Their CEO is quoted as saying “ “the company has worked with over 30 major broadcasters and rights holders this year, including UK broadcasters such as BSkyB, ITV and Channel 5, as well as the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon, The Ryder Cup, UEFA Champions League” They are currently the only player in cross-platform real time video.

GAA Sponsorship


A recent study has revealed that the GAA boasts boasts one of the most impressive sports sponsorship portfolios in the country. Their total commercial revenues have increased impressively over the last decade to €17m per annum, with sponsorship accounting for an estimated half of this. In purely financial terms, there is little argument against the GAA’s huge commercial clout in Ireland today.

At county level, Dublin GAA and its successful partnership with AIG further demonstrates the GAA’s ability to attract large multi national sponsors at all levels. Dublin GAA have been able to secure a multi million euro deal with AIG along with their attractive partnerships with Aer Lingus, River Rock & Toyota. From these lucrative partnerships – Dublin GAA are seen as the most attractive brand in Ireland today.