EFL scores record-breaking international broadcast rights deal

The English Football League (EFL) has secured record deals worth at least £148million (AU$286.6 million) for its international TV rights across a four-season period.

The EFL has ensured guaranteed international rights fees with two agencies, Pitch International and Relevent Sports, distributing the content across global TV markets until the conclusion of the 2027-28 season.

The Pitch International deal is worth at least AU$199.8m and the Relevant Sports deal is worth AU$86.8m with the EFL covering every corner of the earth in a bid to expand the lower divisions of English football.

Pitch International covers Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Asia and will distribute 155 Championship games, 38 League One and League Two matches, all promotion play-off fixtures, Carabao Cup rounds, and three EFL Trophy matches. Australians can watch all distributed EFL matches through a beIN Sports subscription.

Relevent Sports, who cover the Americas (North, Central and South) region, will sell all EFL matches, promotion play-off games, Carabao Cup rounds, and three EFL Trophy fixtures. Additionally, they will manage all betting rights throughout the United States.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch mentioned the importance this brings to both exposure of the league and revenue for clubs in the EFL.

“These new agreements represent not only guaranteed levels of revenue but also present the League and our 72 clubs with a fantastic opportunity to establish further the EFL as a premium football brand in markets across the world,” he said in a statement released by the EFL.

“In Pitch and Relevent we have two partners with an in-depth understanding of the global TV rights markets and that knowledge, coupled with the enthusiasm of their teams, will hopefully ensure we achieve our objective of delivering value to Clubs alongside taking EFL football to as wide an audience as possible outside the UK.”

Fans overseas won’t miss out on their own teams matches despite the limited number of distributed games.

“Importantly, clubs will be able to continue international streaming services direct to fans overseas, where matches are not being broadcast exclusively, enabling those based abroad the chance to watch their team’s matches throughout the whole season,” Birch added.

This international agreement comes shortly after the EFL signed a domestic rights agreement with broadcaster Sky Sports, valued at a whopping AU$1.8 billion over five years. This deal ensures over 1,000 matches each season are broadcasted to local fans.

Another big milestone from the EFL after a record-breaking domestic rights deal. The league have ambitions of seeing exponential growth in the Americas and Africa with this deal and have made it significantly easier for fans all around the world to view the leagues.

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Football NSW Builds Female Leadership Pipeline

Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program conducted a 2-day face-to-face workshop at the Pullman Sydney Olympic Park. Twenty-three curated female participants from football organisations across NSW attended the workshop. This is part of a larger 5-week leadership program that has developed over 100 female participants.

The program consisted of mixed training through In-person workshops, self-guided electronic learning and online webinars. Topics consisted of sports governance, conflict management, personality types and team dynamics.

Monarch Management and Monica Beazley facilitated the program; Beazley spoke on the importance and necessity for the workshop,

“When like-minded women come together, they create a network of support, rich in life experience and inspiration that can drive real change.”

The aims and aspirations of the program coincide with developing skills and growth, instilling confidence in women to pursue leadership roles and building networking opportunities for female support within the football industry. The program emphasises immediate skill growth and long-term leadership development.

The Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program started in 2023 and the networking aspect of the program has remained key for the participants in sustaining successful partnerships and connections within the male-dominated industry.

“As the facilitator of the Football NSW Women in Football Leadership Conference, I witnessed first-hand how these connections ignite growth and encourage us all to push forward. The greatest takeaway for me was realising just how many talented women are already shaping this sport,” said Beazley.

Participants for the 2-day workshop were selected from governing bodies, football associations, NPL NSW clubs and referee branches.

Beazley noted the importance of female equality in leadership positions, “much work still lies ahead to ensure they feel equal, valued and truly at home in their clubs as leaders and change-makers.”

The entire 5-week program is funded by the NSW Football Legacy Fund and the NSW Government. Commitment to a 2025 renewal of the program shows institutional support to achieve women in leadership positions around football.

The program highlights an effort to increase women’s leadership and presence in football. The growing momentum of this program will continue and foster a positive culture for football.

Hisense Announced as First Partner for FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA has unveiled Hisense as their first partner of the new FIFA Club World Cup, which will kick off for the first time in 2025.

Hisense, a global leader in consumer electronics, will have its TV’s displayed throughout the tournament, in addition to company branding on stadium screens and in the video operation room.

Announced at a ceremony at the Shanghai Tower in China, Hisense’s partnership with FIFA will promote the company’s image and latest products on a global scale.

Hisense Group Chairman Jia Shaoqian spoke keenly about the deal at the event.

“We are proud to be an Official Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which is a competition among the top clubs from all six confederations, representing a dialogue between champions, a collision of first-class excellence. This perfectly aligns with Hisense’s pursuit of the champion spirit and our latest corporate goal to build a world-class enterprise and brand,” he said.

“As the pioneer in AI televisions, Hisense’s newly launched AI TV series is a perfect match for the FIFA Club World Cup. The technological foundation of Hisense AI TV is the independently developed Xinghai large model, which supports continuous smart upgrades across various appliance categories, significantly enhancing the user experience and market competitiveness. Together with FIFA, Hisense will present the best Club World Cup for global audiences.”

This latest partnership between FIFA and Hisense is not the first between the two, with both parties first collaborating in 2017 to sponsor the FIFA World Cup.

Also speaking at the launch ceremony, FIFA President Gianni Infantino embraced the partnership.

“We are delighted to welcome Hisense, a global market-leading brand, as an Official Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Hisense’s commitment to innovation and technology aligns with our vision for this tournament, which will bring together the 32 best teams from around the world for an unforgettable celebration of our game that will revolutionise club football,” he said.

“This partnership will offer fans unique ways to engage with the tournament, both on and off the pitch, while laying a technological and innovation-led foundation for the FIFA Club World Cup to flourish.”

The FIFA Club World Cup will begin in the United States on June 15th 2025, and run until July 13th 2025.

 

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