Auckland FC unite with AUT

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Image Credit: Auckland FC Website

New Zealand A-League club, Auckland FC, have announced a partnership with premier New Zealand institution, the Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

The collaboration will be a non-commercial partnership and instead provide several mutually advantageous bonuses to both organisations, benefitting AUT staff and students, as well as Auckland FC players.

Auckland FC CEO, Nick Becker, expressed the club’s pride for the deal with AUT.

“We’re delighted to be collaborating with New Zealand’s top sports university and further cement our place as part of the Auckland community,” he said in a press release.

“To have the support of, and access to, AUT’s people, resources and research is extremely valuable to the club and our aim of developing clear professional pathways for New Zealand’s top talent.”

As New Zealand’s third largest university by number of enrolled students, AUT’s partnership with Auckland FC is a significant signing for the young club.

AUT’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Damon Salesa, explained why the upcoming collaboration was so important for the university.

“With AUT’s strong position in New Zealand’s sporting ecosystem – including its world-class sports research and our School of Sport and Recreation being ranked in the top 30 in the world – there is a natural synergy between the two organisations,” he said via press release.

“The partnership is an ideal alignment from an educational, sporting and community perspective and will provide valuable opportunities for our students, staff and Auckland FC.

“This is also a significant moment for the development of football in Tāmaki Makaurau and we’re very proud to be standing alongside Auckland FC at the beginning of a new chapter of football in our city.”

Consistently placing in the top 1% of universities across the world, AUT presents as a high-achieving and experienced partner for Auckland FC to continue to grow their brand with.

Auckland FC will continue to represent the Auckland community as it cements itself in the A-League as an ambassador of the city and New Zealand.

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SBS expands Australian Championship broadcast coverage for 2026

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Image Credits: Football Australia

The Australian Championship will enter its second season with an expanded broadcast partnership between Football Australia and SBS. The 2026 competition will feature two live SBS broadcasts in every round, marking an increase from the tournament’s debut season.

Thursday night football will form a key part of the new broadcast schedule. The opening match will see Preston Lions face Wollongong Wolves on October 15th, with the game broadcast live on SBS2 and SBS On Demand. Saturday football will also remain part of the free-to-air schedule; first up, Sutherland Sharks’ clash with South Melbourne on October 17th will be shown live on SBS and SBS On Demand.

The expanded agreement gives the competition a greater presence across SBS’s linear channels while retaining its full streaming coverage, with every match across the 2026 Australian Championship available live on SBS On Demand. The platform also provides full replays and highlights for viewers to access at their discretion.

In addition to SBS’ coverage, Football Australia will also stream the competition via YouTube.

The Australian Championship consists of a six-round group stage, finals beginning at quarter-finals from November 26, and a Grand Final scheduled currently between December 10-12.

It features 16 clubs from seven states and territories. The broadcast schedule places several historic fixtures in front of a national audience: South Melbourne will meet Sydney United 58 in a repeat of the 1999 NSL Grand Final, and Sydney Olympic and Marconi Stallions will also renew a rivalry that includes NSL Grand Final meetings in 1989 and 1990.

IMG takes commercial lead on inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup

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Image Credit: Vietnam Football Federation

IMG has been appointed to lead the global commercialisation of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, giving the new Southeast Asian national-team competition an established international sports business partner ahead of its first edition.

Under the strategic partnership, IMG will manage worldwide media and sponsorship rights sales while also overseeing broadcast production for the tournament, which takes place from 24 September to 5 October across Indonesia and Hong Kong, China.

The inaugural competition will feature 14 national teams, including all 11 ASEAN members alongside guest nations, with matches split between two divisions. Division 2 fixtures will be played in Jakarta and Badung, while Division 2 matches will be played in Hong Kong.

The agency’s role will include selling sponsorship and media inventory internationally while helping establish the broadcast infrastructure required to present the tournament to audiences outside Southeast Asia.

The partnership builds on IMG’s existing strategic relationship with PT Garuda Sepak Bola Indonesia, which has been working with the Football Association of Indonesia since 2025 on areas including commercial strategy, media rights, production and digital development.

For FIFA, the tournament creates another international football property in a region with a large and increasingly connected football audience.

For IMG, it adds another major regional property to a football portfolio that already includes competitions and organisations across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.

The immediate challenge will be turning the inaugural tournament into a sustainable commercial property capable of attracting broadcasters and sponsors beyond its first edition.

If successful, the FIFA ASEAN Cup could provide Southeast Asian national teams with a recurring commercial platform while giving IMG another foothold in one of football’s developing markets.

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