Udinese bring in Bluenergy for stadium naming rights

Avatar
Bluenergy Stadium
Image credit: Udinese Calcio

Serie A side Udinese Calcio and Bluenergy Group have announced that the club’s stadium would be known as Bluenergy Stadium for the next five years.

The Udine-based venue, Italy’s second club-owned stadium after Juventus’ home ground, has established a benchmark among European stadiums while pursuing the unique notion of a football stadium that is open seven days a week.

Bluenergy, the multi-utility firm located in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Udinese, is also announcing the establishment of joint initiatives dedicated to the local region’s environment, people, and economy as their collaboration gets closer. Udinese Calcio, who has flown the Friuli banner across the world for many years, sees their conscience and values represented in Bluenergy’s ownership and administration.

The club’s relationship with the multi-utility corporation, which began in 2018, has already yielded remarkable results in the battle against climate change. Udinese has been named the most sustainable club in Serie A by the Brand Finance Football Sustainability Index 2023, a classification based on ESG factors that has also placed the club in fourth position globally. This was made possible by Bluenergy’s energy efficiency improvements and green electricity, which resulted in a CO2 savings of 4,850.64 tonnes.

Bluenergy have been engaging in sustainable measures for several years and this has seen the company receive prestigious awards such as Sustainability Leader 2023. 

“This long-standing partnership and the rebranding of the stadium are based on common foundations which we’ve shared since day one,” Gianfranco Curti, founder of Bluenergy Group, stated via press release.

“Bluenergy and Udinese are two fantastic exponents of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Both institutions have contributed greatly to the history of this region and are now preparing to continue the march towards a sustainable future with low environmental impact. Bluenergy were founded here and the company have since grown to encompass all of northern Italy.”

Bluenergy Group CEO Alberta Gervasio echoed those thoughts, adding via press release:

”Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this region’s iconic stadium. The Bluenergy Stadium is a modern and multifunctional structure, designed to be a meeting point for athletes, families, companies and the community in general. We’ve been working with Udinese for a long time and now we’ve decided to further our commitment.”

BluenergyGroup and Udinese Calcio collaborated on the design of the Bluenergy Stadium logo. The font matches Bluenergy’s regular typeface, and the design references the stadium’s diamond shape. As a result, a new, clear, and distinct identity has emerged.  

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Avatar
Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend