Welcome to Insider Sport’s latest edition of the Partnership Playbook, where we bring you details on the latest sports partnerships and sponsorships.
Manchester United fans will feel hard done by after VAR incorrectly allowed Erling Haaland’s winner in Sunday’s Manchester derby, but at least the decision wasn’t brought to you by a sponsor.
Not yet, anyway.
This week’s Partnership Playbook looks at the growing value of sponsorship inventory attached to the action, as FIBA extends its official timekeeper partnership with Tissot.
Elsewhere, Super League is jumping on the collectibles boom with Select Cards, while Indeed has hired Little Dot Studios to turn its Brentford shirt sponsorship into something more than logo visibility.
And with running participation on the rise, Brooks Running has found its own route into football through Crystal Palace, supporting everything from first-team training wear to the Palace Run Club.
Can Super League collect its way to popularity?
Super League is joining the sports collectibles boom through a new partnership with Select Cards, launching an officially licensed trading card range next year.
The collection will include packs, boxes, stickers, limited-edition cards and autographs, following Select Cards’ launch of its NRL League Heroes range earlier this year.
Trading cards have played a role in sport for decades, giving fans a way to connect with teams and players.
However, the space has evolved significantly, with leagues viewing collectibles as a commercial product and a fan engagement tool, as well as card companies leaning into scarcity, premium releases and autographs.
Speaking to Insider Sport earlier this year, Rhodri Jones, Managing Director of RL Commercial, said the organisation is conscious of athletes becoming bigger drivers of fandom.
“The sport has some brilliant personalities, and we want to make sure people get to see that,” Jones said. “After all, it’s often players that bring people into a sport.”
Like the Super League’s ambitions, the cards stretch further than the UK. Select Cards Founder Grant Copley said appetite for rugby league collectibles is growing globally, highlighting the sport’s Las Vegas fixtures as evidence of the opportunity to connect fans across different markets.
“We believe this partnership will be a big win for fans, collectors and the sport as a whole,” he said.
FIBA relies on Tissot for the time
FIBA and Tissot have extended a partnership that started in 2008, with the Swiss watchmaker remaining the governing body’s official timekeeper and global partner.
The agreement covers FIBA’s major competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, Continental Cups, Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and Youth World Cups.
Timekeeping has become a well-established piece of sponsorship inventory across sport, as watches, timing systems and countdown clocks can all be integrated into competition.
Basketball and motorsport offer obvious opportunities, with the clock central to the drama of the action, but the category has stretched much wider in recent years. The NFL and Six Nations Rugby have worked with Breitling around time-led fan activations and UFC has previously used Timex as its official timekeeper.
Tissot CEO Sylvain Dolla said some of basketball’s biggest moments “can all be decided in the smallest fraction of a second,” which is what makes the partnership so meaningful.
Other rights holders have pushed the concept further by linking partners to specific match moments, such as Rugby League Commercial tying Smart Energy GB to video referee decisions in Super League.
It may only be a matter of time before a similar sponsorship happens around Premier League VAR, but what company would best fit?
Little Dot takes charge of Indeed’s Brentford activation
Indeed has appointed Little Dot Studios to lead the activation of its partnership with Brentford FC.
Indeed became Brentford’s principal partner this season after first joining as training wear and recruitment partner in 2025, with its branding appearing across the men’s, women’s and academy kits.
Garreth Hayes, Senior Marketing Director at Indeed, said: “Moving to the front of a Premier League jersey gives us new opportunities to connect with football fans around the world. We want to ensure we do this in an authentic and compelling way.”
With this mission in mind, Indeed has tasked Little Dot Studios with turning the Brentford partnership into content, creator collaborations, live experiences, social media and PR.
Brentford has become known for using data and smart recruitment to identify and develop talent, which provides the partnership a link to Indeed’s business of helping employers find the right people for the right roles.
Robbie Spargo, Co-Managing Director at Little Dot Studios, said the aim is to create “much more than just ‘activating’ a sponsorship”, using football, careers and culture to give Indeed greater relevance with fans.
Brooks Running finds a route into football with Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace has named Brooks Running as its official footwear partner in a multi-year agreement covering the club’s men’s and women’s first teams.
The Brooks logo will feature on training, travel, walkout and warm-up apparel, while the brand will also receive visibility across Selhurst Park.
The partnership will extend into areas where Brooks has a stronger connection to running, including support for the Palace Run Club and sponsorship of Palace for Life’s Marathon March this October.
The club’s new deal also comes as running participation continues to grow in the UK, with SportsShoes Running Report finding that around 40% of UK adults run at least once a week, up 4% year-on-year.
Football clubs are tapping into that participation culture as Chelsea became the first Premier League and Women’s Super League club to launch an official presence on Strava earlier this year.
Melanie Allen, Chief Marketing Officer at Brooks Running, said: “Running is fundamental to football. Every match is built on endurance, speed, and movement, so there’s a natural connection between the gear elite athletes need to train and the performance products Brooks has spent decades perfecting.”
In other news:
- Fondazione Milan will dedicate AC Milan’s UEFA Europa League back-of-shirt space to The Madhappy Foundation throughout the 2026/27 campaign as part of a season-long youth mental wellbeing initiative.
- Major League Baseball has teamed up with HappyKids to bring its youth-focused MLB Clubhouse content to the AVOD platform.
- The Professional Cricketers’ Association has named Titan Wealth its official financial education partner, providing players with support on managing earnings, planning for retirement and preparing for life after cricket.
- Arabian Dyar has secured naming rights to the 27th Gulf Cup, with the tournament to be officially branded Arabian Dyar Khaleeji 27 when Saudi Arabia hosts the competition.
- Deutsche Bank has become the title partner of the Singapore Open through 2029, as the tournament returns to the DP World Tour schedule in 2027 under a new co-sanctioning arrangement with the Asian Tour.
- Generali has become the presenting partner of the Davis Cup in a multi-year global deal, with the competition rebranded as the Davis Cup by Generali.
If you would like to stay up to date with the latest sports partnerships and sponsorship deals, you can subscribe to Insider Sport’s LinkedIn newsletter to get Partnership Playbook straight to your inbox every Wednesday.
