Football

A new digital platform allows sports fans to become editors of their own highlights show. Owen Evans explains how.

Brazilian football player Neymar was cast in the lead role of this year’s World Cup before being cast in plaster following a back injury in the quarter-final. Owen Evans looks at whether the Barcelona superstar can now follow in David Beckham’s footsteps to commercial superstardom.

In the space of a week in May, Atletico Madrid won Spanish football’s top-tier and was seconds away from a famous UEFA Champions League victory. Dermot Ledwith speaks to the club’s commercial director Javier Martinez about the challenges and opportunities in capitalising on the new success.

Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting at media agency ZenithOptimedia, looks at advertising spend and trends around this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Cape Town was ranked fourth in the 2014 Ultimate Sports Cities rankings in the category of Legacy. The city approaches legacy in a way that contributes to two main pillars of the city’s 2012-2017 Integrated Development Plan: "Opportunity City" and "Inclusive City". Both pillars incorporate several criteria for events.

Calgary was ranked fourth in the 2014 Ultimate Sports Cities rankings in the category of Legacy. The 1988 Olympic Winter Games provide the best illustration of Calgary’s commitment to lasting legacy. Following 1988, and benefiting from endowment funds left for the Games’ legacy, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, now called WinSport, has evolved into a new vision for Canadian winter sport.

At the end of May, London’s Wembley Stadium transformed from the host of an international football match to the setting for a world title boxing match in a matter of hours. Elisha Chauhan finds out exactly how it was done.

Following the rollout of Barcelona’s new outdoor lounge, Elisha Chauhan looks at some recent innovations in the use of sports stadia for non-matchday hospitality.

The global popularity of football was demonstrated on social media during May’s UEFA Champions League final. Max Gabovitch reports.

One Cup, 32 teams and hundreds of millions in kit supplier dollars. Sports Sponsorship Insider editor Matthew Glendinning gives his take on which brands were the winners and losers at this year’s FIFA World Cup.

We look at how English football’s governing body hopes a new digital partnership will help its partners talk to fans more effectively.

European football clubs’ in-house editorial content is a key means of both engaging with, and commercialising, international audiences. SportBusiness International looks at the latest thinking in maximising value.

Johan Cruyff, football legend and founder of the sport management institute that bears his name, writes exclusively for SportBusiness International.

Promised in Japan’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, how far are we from recreating sports events virtually throughout stadia across the world using holograms? Elisha Chauhan finds out.

Elisha Chauhan looks at whether the AFC (Asian Football Confederation)’s decision to expand the number of teams in its Asian Cup will affect the event’s commercial attraction.

Kevin Roberts looks at why this month’s FIFA World Cup marks a watershed in fans’ ability to watch sport in areas formerly considered blackspots for live coverage.