The presentation took place at Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabeu with media from all over the world. Casillas expressed on his face book page ”Today is a special day for me as I join a new family, adidas. I’m sure I will have many great moments with them. I also have to thank Reebok for eleven great years.”

To present its new acquisition Adidas released its classic all in video that shows Iker walking through an Adidas hall of fame corridor where he is now part of it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzVdUtDFWSY

But before we see the two teams on the field, Audi’s marketing time wanted to give fans an automotive perspective of the match with a special spot titled “La pasión vuelve a dejar huella”.

The video shows two Audi A1 hatchbacks dressed in the colors and liveries of Real Madrid and Barcelona battling it off on the tarmac. You can watch the duel in the video after the break.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQL8rO7scg

Source: carscoop.blogspot.com

Google+, recently released social network, will be added to the social networks FC Barcelona currently uses to disseminate content about the Club worldwide. With this agreement FC Barcelona will join other prestigious organizations on Google+ such as UNICEF and become the only club in the Professional Football League (LFP) with an official presence on the social network.

Google+ users will be able to stay up to date with Club news by adding FC Barcelona’s Google+ pagedirectly to their circles. In addition, business pages will be indexed in Google+ searches with the functionality of connecting directly to the page from the search results.

According to FC Barcelona’s New Technologies Director, Dídac Lee, “it’s good news that FC Barcelona is present at the worldwide launch of Google+ Pages.” Lee added, “this strategic agreement with Google+ is further proof our commitment to Barça’s global audience.”

The Club Director in charge of New Technologies praised the new deal signed between FC Barcelona and Google+ and stressed that “Barça should be the leaders and pioneers, a reference point and a symbol of excellence. Whenever there are fans of ours across the world on social networks , we must reach out to them. We can’t just wait for them to visit our web –we have to be present wherever they are – be that on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.”

With its strategic understanding of the role of new technologies, the Club will maintain its leading role in this area: “we have signed a global agreement with Google+, which means we are the first sporting institution on this new social network,” explained Lee.

Google+ thus joins the family of social networks the Club uses to communicate with its supporters and promote the Barça sensibility throughout the world. FC Barcelona are the only Spanish Club who currently have a deal with Google and join a select group of prestigious institutions on the network.

Source: fcbarcelona.com

The strategic agreement between the Club and the Chinese company Intersports to promote the Barça brand and the Club’s values in the Chinese market was signed this Saturday. During the signing, which was attended by Club President Sandro Rosell and the Intersports President Heifeng Xia, as well as the Club’s marketing director Laurent Colette and Jun Chen, the general manager of Intersports, the strategic priority of the Chinese market for the Club was stressed.

Trip to China in November

According to Sandro Rosell, the deal aims to: “create a permanent link with the Chinese society, so that all who wish to can share with us the values of FC Barcelona”. The President also announced that a delegation from the Club would be visiting China at the end of November: “we will take it a step at a time, so that the new generations of Chinese citizens understand what the Barça feeling is. We hope that the Chinese boy and girls’ feeling for football will be based on Barça”.

The trip will take in a gala benefit dinner for the Chinese Handicap Association, an agreement between the two organisations and meetings with local businessmen and media.

Training Camp for five summers

Laurent Colette explained that the first fruits of this agreement would be seen in Northern China where a training camp would be held at the Beijing Olympic Stadium –the Birds’ Nest Stadium – for the next five summers for children aged between 6 and 14, with a total of 180 children a week expected to take part under the supervision of a team of Barça coaches and 25 local coaches: “it is very important to transmit the Barça philosophy to local coaches, because sooner or later China will be a world footballing power”, the Club’s marketing director commented.

“The best team in the best stadium”

Heifeng Xia explained that his organisation had chosen FC Barcelona as a partner because: “ for us, FC Barcelona is the best team in the world and the Birds Nest Stadium is the best ground in the world, we wanted the best team in the best stadium. Barça is the most influential club in China and we hope this will be a long term collaboration between us”.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUpS43y7aU

Source: fcbarcelona.com

Alicia Riaño revealed in a study across the League that as
expected, the Argentine and Portuguese stars step the most shirts
across the country, behind only Spain’s national team shirts.
Behind Ronaldo at Real Madrid is Mesut Ozil and then Ricky Kaka,
whilst Messi is followed by David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Xavi
Hernandez in terms of Barcelona shirt sales.

Club by club proves interesting. Javi Martinez and Fernando
Llorente are the most popular for Athletic Bilbao fans to put on
their back, whilst at Atletico Madrid Diego and Radamel Falcao
account for 60% of shirt sales at their club this summer. Roque Santa
Cruz and Javier Matilla are reportedly neck and neck as the most
popular at Real Betis, but Ruben Castro is proving performances can
affect things, reportedly pushing up his shirt sales to a close third
place.

Joint top of the League, the player selling the most shirts at
Levante is 36-year-old centre-back Sergio Ballesteros. Rivals
Valencia place Roberto Soldado top of the pile, with new faces Pablo
Piatti and Sergio Canales next in their list. Villarreal have
confirmed 49% of their shirts are sold with a custom name and number
on the back, and that of the remaining 51%, just over half choose
Giuseppe Rossi’s No 22 shirt. Cani and Nilmar account for the next
highest amounts.

Pedro Leon holds 40% of player-specific shirt sales at Getafe
whilst Michu and Piti are the most-loved across town at Rayo
Vallecano. However, at Rayo the majority of shirt sales are
customised name and numbers, as is also the case at Zaragoza where
75% are customised. Of the remaining 25%, Angel Lafita and Luis
Garcia are joint most popular.

Malaga list Santi Cazorla, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Julio Baptista
in that order whilst Sevilla have Freddie Kanoute and Alvaro Negredo
top of their list. Fellow Andalusian side Granada do not have numbers
as there has been a delay in distributing their shirt across the
country.

The players only reportedly had the new shirt to wear at the start
of the season a matter of hours before they kicked off their first
game. Sporting Gijon also do not yet have this season’s shirts on
sale for a similar reason.

Kike Sola and Raul Garcia account for 55% of Osasuna’s total
shirt sales whilst Pedro Munitis holds 35% of Racing Santander’s
shirt sales and Antoine Griezmann takes the accolade at Real
Sociedad.

Espanyol list late captain Dani Jarque as by far their most
popular name and number, with the No 21 shirt shifting 40% of the
club’s shirt sales.

Perhaps most surprising is that in Mallorca the most popular name
to have adorned the backs of their fans’ shirts – at least until
recently – was Michael Laudrup’s.

The extension, which takes the contract to the end of the 2014/15 season, is worth an additional sum on top of the existing deal, increasing the fee paid by Mediapro to around €160 million (US$219 million) per season.

Under the terms of the deal, Mediapro retains the rights to all of Barcelona’s league and cup matches, as well as friendlies, and also takes control of the club’s television channel, Barca TV, until June 2015.

The sale of broadcast rights has been the topic of much discussion of late. Spain’s La Liga is the only major European competition where clubs sell their rights individually, however the growing gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid and the rest of the teams has led to calls for a shared broadcast rights deal similar to that of other leagues, such as the English Premier League.

Meanwhile though, English side Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre said the club is interested in negotiating its own overseas television rights deal in order to reduce the risk of being left behind by the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Source: sportspromedia.com

The first of three major issues to be put to the Assembly was the sponsorship deal with the company Qatar Sports Investment (QSI). Economic vice president, Javier Faus explained the details of the deal to promote the Qatar Foundation, which is responsible for social, education and scientific projects and whose name appears on the first team football shirt.

Reversible contract

The vice president told the members that the Board felt it had no choice but to accept shirt sponsorship because “it has a substantial economic impact”. Faus also said that the agreement is specifically reversible, in order for “future Boards to be able to change the decision … We wanted to solve financial questions but didn’t want the agreement to be irreversible”, who added that the deal with Qatar Sport Investment will end at when the current Board’s mandate comes to an end.

Seven non-negotiable conditions

The Board of Directors had placed seven non-negotiable conditions on any such deal: it had to be compatible with Barça’s values, compatible with Unicef, to be the highest shirt sponsorship deal in the world, to be absolutely solvent in the form of a bank guarantee, had to be closed immediately and there had to be a relevant payment in the 2010/11 season, which was 15 million euros, and it had to be for five years. The deal also had to stipulate that from the third year, FC Barcelona would be able to decide whether to continue wearing the Qatar Foundation name or switch to another.

171 million euros in income

Faus explained that the agreement supposes income over five years of 171 million euros distributed as 15 million euros (2010/11), 26 million (2011/12), 29 million (2012/13), 30.5 million (2013/14), 32 million (2014/15) and 33.5 million (2015/16), plus 5 and a half million more if Barça win the Champions League during this period.

Smoke-free stadium

The Assembly also has voted unanimously for the smoking ban to be applied to the Camp Nou. The Board said this reflected a commitment to “health, sport and respect”. Supporters have already been encouraged not to smoke, but this rule has now been made an obligation and will be applied “gradually over two or three months”.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgGFkT6IBfw

Source: fcbarcelona.com

“We are very proud and excited to announce the extension of our successful partnership with the Argentine Football Association. adidas is the global leader in football andArgentinais without any doubt one of the strongest teams in the world,” said Herbert Hainer, CEO of the adidas Group. “Therefore, we are very much looking forward to continuing our successful partnership and to supporting AFA in their preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil and beyond.”

“We appreciate the continuity and the confidence of adidas. It contributes to building an unbreakable bond with AFA. This agreement fully satisfies AFA and brings important values to continue to develop football inArgentina,” said Julio Grondona, President of AFA, and added: “AFA is committed and will continue wearing the shirt with pride all around the world.”

In addition to this, both adidas and AFA will continue working together to promote football at all levels of the game and in all age groups, both inArgentinaand globally.

adidas is Official Sponsor, Supplier and Licensee of the FIFA World Cup™. adidas thus provides the Official Match Ball and supplies the equipment for all officials, referees, volunteers and ball kids. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ inSouth Africa, adidas equipped more than 200 players and 12 teams: World Champion Spain, host nationSouth Africa,Argentina,Mexico,Paraguay,Japan,Nigeria,Germany,France,Slovakia,DenmarkandGreece. In Latin America, adidas sponsors the football federations ofArgentina,Colombia,Mexico,ParaguayandVenezuela.

In addition, adidas is Official Partner of the European Football Union UEFA and the Confederation of African Football CAF. adidas is also Official Supplier to Major League Soccer (USA) and the UEFA Champions League. Moreover, adidas is Official Supplier to prominent football clubs including AC Milan, C.A. River Plate, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, FC Bayern München, Olympique Marseille and Real Madrid. Additionally, stars such as Lionel Messi, Michael Ballack, David Beckham, Diego Forlán, Kaká, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger and David Villa represent their respective clubs wearing state-of-the-art adidas football equipment.

 Source: www.adidas-group.com

No.10 – AC Milan and Emirates Airlines

Value: $83m over five years

The Italian club was the Dubai-based airline’s second biggest shirt deal and the 2010 deal saw it replace Austrian online betting group bwin. However, the deal did not include the sale of a stake in the club as some media outlets had previously reported.

No.9 – Real Madrid and Bwin

Value: £54.9m over three years ($88m)

The Spanish team’s previous 2006 deal with Taiwanese mobile phone giant BenQ went soar when the firm went bust, but in 2007 it signed a deal with Austrian online gambling firm Bwin. It has also had a deal with Adidas since 1998 and both have helped make the club the richest in football history, with revenue of around €438.6m ($625m).

No.8 – Bayern Munich and Deutsche Telekom

Value: $115m over three years

Industry sources say this deal is performance related and the telecoms giant will have to pay the German team even more if its rankings improve, but with it coming runner up in the German league, there is little more the team can other than lift the trophy in 2011. The deal lasts until 2013 so there is still time.

No.7 –Liverpool and Standard Chartered

Value: $130m over four years

Liverpool ended their long-association with Danish beer brand Carlsberg when they signed a four-year deal with Standard Chartered Bank in Sept 2009. The bank, which is listed on theLondonandHong Kongstock exchanges, had previously tried to sponsor the club’s fierce rivals Manchester United.

No.6 – Arsenal and Emirates Airlines

Value: $160 over 15 years

The 2006 deal between Arsenal and Dubai-based airline Emirates Airline was the biggest of its kind before itsAbu Dhabirival went one better. In 2010, Emirates said it is hoping to renew its partnership with Arsenal Football Club when its current deal expires in 2021. Arsenal’s kit manufacturing deal is with Nike.

No.5 – Chelsea and Adidas

Value: $160m over 10 years

Londonteam Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, renewed its multi-million pound deal with Korean electronics giant Samsung in 2008. The clubs also has a kit manufacturing deal with Adidas.

No.4 –Barcelona and Nike

Value: $210m over five years

The Spanish club had previously refused to allow logos on their jerseys, but a favourable deal from the shirt manufacturers and tougher economic conditions saw them quickly change its mind.

No.3 –Barcelona and Qatar Foundation

Value: $235m over five years

Signed in December 2010, the Qatar Foundation deal was reported as a record shirt sponsorship deal withBarcelona, which was for around $235m. The deal with the Qatar Foundation, which promotes education and research in the Middle East, was criticised at the time by former Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff who said it was “sullying the jersey” of a team that had previously refused to put a logo on its shirts.

No.2 – Juventus and Tamoil

Value: $265m over 10 years

Signed in 2005 between the Italian club and the Libyan oil company, the deal was for five years and renewable for up to ten. However, when scandal struck the Turin-based club and it was relegated, the deal turned sour and the Libyans backed out.

No.1 –Manchester United and Nike

Value: $486m over 13 years

Signed in 2002, this was the biggest deal at the time before Etihad andManchesterCityclinched the top title. Signed in 2002, Nike replaced Umbro as the club’s kit provider and the deal included the team’s global licensing and retail operations. In 2009, The English clubs also signed a $128m four-year deal with US firm insurance operator Aon Corp, replacing previous sponsor AIG.

Source: arabianbusiness.com

Barcelona New Sponsor Qatar Foundation

The Barcelona club started its morning traninig sessions with a new training unif0rm, grey with pink letters and its new sponsor Qatar Foundation on its chest. From now on the new sponsor will be displayed on practice training sessions and officially worn for next tournament matches.