Belarus Premier League captures world’s attention with overseas TV deals

Liam Watson02/04/2020 6:00 am01/04/2020

As the only European professional football league still playing, the Belarusian Premier League has now struck multiple overseas deals with broadcasters seeking live sports content during the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the start of its new season earlier in March, the league has extended its reach into ten international territories, according to the Reuters news agency.

Among the broadcast deals reported, TV networks in neighbouring Russia and Ukraine, as well as countries further afield such as Israel and India, have snapped up rights to the league.

The Belarus Football Federation (ABFF) has refused to postpone play while the country is taking a more relaxed approach to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“What is clear is that this situation has never happened before in our country’s competition. [Previously] it was difficult for us to sell,” said ABFF spokesperson Alexander Aleinik on the national football body’s website.

With the Belarusian Premier League not signalling its intent to halt competition as this stage, it is sure to delight fans around the world who are craving something to watch, after having their local leagues suspended and postponed with no clear date of resumption.

“We didn’t expect them to have a decent league over there. We didn’t know this before because we didn’t show the matches,” said Viktor Samoilenko, the head of Poverkhnost Ukraine, which owns the country’s Sport-1 network.

The decision to continue playing comes with the Belarusian government deciding not to enforce the COVID-19 social distancing measures seen in other countries. Those regulations elsewhere have created a near-total shutdown of live sports events.

It means that as we’ve seen with some competitions previously, the league will look to continue operating as per normal until it is deemed too unsafe or recommended not to by their government.

It has definitely proved to be a unique approach by the people of Belarus and could serve as one of the few welcome distractions to what is happening around the world.

At the time of reporting, there have been 163 reported cases of coronavirus in Belarus, including 2 reported deaths and 53 patients who have made full recoveries. At the moment Belarus has one of the fewest number of cases in the world.

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Football NSW 2025 Registrations Surge as Season Approaches

Noah Coopey19/03/2025 6:30 am18/03/2025

Image credit: Football NSW website

Football NSW community registrations have rocketed beyond the 200,000 marks, keeping pace to eclipse the record numbers set in 2024, as the code’s popularity continues to boom across the state.

Australia’s most populous state has been breaking records the last couple years with rising participation numbers. This year continues to solidify that trend.

Junior participation is leading the charge with more than 115,000 children aged 5-12 already signed up with local clubs as the winter football season draws near.

This sustained growth follows an exceptional 2024 season that witnessed a 9% increase in overall player registrations, with female participation skyrocketing by an impressive 17%.

Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas was particularly proud with the increased junior and female representation.

“It’s pleasing to see the healthy number of juniors registering for the upcoming community football season,” Tsatsimas commented via official Football NSW Press release.

“It’s equally great to once again see female participation at the forefront of our growth.

“Our club volunteers and Associations have done a tremendous job in overseeing registrations within their local communities and we’re looking forward to seeing the new season get underway in April.”

Not just grassroots football in NSW, but nationwide, football participation has seen huge growth in youth and female participation.

A strong NSW football environment at the forefront of this surge is key to maintaining and cultivating participation.

Though with every increase in participating numbers, the community-based clubs bear the brunt of more demand.

Now more than ever, associations and clubs need sufficient support from the state Football federation if they want to continue these exciting results.

Though time will tell how much of an increase in players there will be, the report is promising.

How to maintain the players and bring more into the footballing community in the coming years will be the next big questions for all levels of football in the state and in the country.

Liverpool FC and Adidas Reignite Partnership

Kristy Nicolaou19/03/2025 6:15 am16/03/2025

Image Credit: Liverpool FC website

Liverpool FC and Adidas have announced a new multi-year partnership, agreeing to the return as the club’s official kit supplier from August 1, 2025.

This renewed collaboration with Adidas will see the iconic brand supply match kits, training gear, and culture wear for the club’s men’s, women’s, and academy teams, as well as LFC Foundation staff.

This alliance marks the revival of a storied relationship, with Adidas having previously provided kits during some of the Reds’ most successful eras.

Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan commented on the importance of this partnership and what it means for the club.

“Everyone at the club is incredibly excited to welcome adidas back into the LFC family. We have enjoyed fantastic success together in the past and created some of the most iconic LFC kits of all time,” he said via press release.

“Adidas and Liverpool share an ambition of success and we couldn’t be more excited to partner together again as we look forward to creating more incredible kits to help drive on-pitch performance. We’d like to thank Nike for their support over the last five years and wish them well for the future.”

The initial collaboration from 1985 to 1996 saw Liverpool secure multiple domestic league titles and FA Cup victories, while the subsequent partnership from 2006 to 2012 delivered further silverware, cementing adidas as a fan-favourite kit provider.

Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden expressed his excitement for the returning collaboration.

“We are extremely excited that adidas and Liverpool Football Club are teaming up once again. The club is one of the biggest and most iconic names in world football with a huge fan base,” he said via press release.

“The jerseys worn during previous partnerships are some of the greatest ever created.”

With the three stripes returning to Anfield, excitement is building ahead of the unveiling of Liverpool’s new home and away kits.

The designs will be officially revealed through Liverpool FC and adidas channels, with fans able to purchase the fresh range from the start of August.