The Week in Sportbiz: Rugby fans in ticket rush for Lions’ Japanese Test, plus Uefa’s Euro 2020 delay silver lining
Demand for attending live sport remains very strong in the time of coronavirus, if the British and Irish Lions are anything to go by.
Some 35,000 rugby fans have already registered interest in tickets for next July’s home Test against Japan, which was only announced yesterday, City PM has learned.
That means Murrayfield’s 67,000 seats will be oversubscribed if each registered Lions supporter wants more than one ticket. Seats go on sale next month.
The fixture is a first chance to see the Lions at home since 2005. It is also a second chance for those unable to get tickets for the summer 2021 tour of South Africa.
Rugby-starved fans snapped up tickets for the second and third Lions Tests against the Springboks in just 50 minutes.
The first Test, in Johannesburg on 24 July, is also sold out.
Uefa’s smart move with Vivo
Postponing its flagship international competition, Euro 2020, has had one benefit for Uefa: it has allowed them to add new sponsors.
China’s Vivo this week signed up as official smartphone partner for both Euro 2020 – which retains its original branding despite being delayed a year – and Euro 2024.
It has been a busy time for the money men at Uefa. European football’s governing body has also tied long-running Champions League sponsor Mastercard to a new three-year deal.
O2 rings up 30 years with RFU
Hopes of 40,000 fans attending Twickenham this autumn may have been dashed, but it’s not all gloom at the RFU.
O2 this week committed to another five years of sponsoring the England teams.
The deal extends the partnership to 2025, 30 years after it first began.
CSM gets a Brazilian (or two)
Sports marketing agency CSM is expanding its presence in football by teaming up with Liverpool and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
CSM has struck a partnership with agency Football Capital, which represents Alisson and Aston Villa striker Wesley Moraes, among others.
The deal means CSM will handle commercial partnerships, PR, marketing, digital strategy and philanthropy for the players.
It follows the agency’s establishment of specialist football division Playerworks CSM in 2018.
Running all the way to Bank
Attention, Square Mile workers looking to shift stubborn lockdown lumber.
The ballot for participation in the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which takes in all of the City’s most famous sights, is now open.
The race is due to take place on 23 May. For more details see here.