Sports Groove

European football revenues topped €40 billion for the first time in the 2024/25 season, growing by 6% to €40.2 billion, up from €38 billion in 2023/24. More than half of the revenue was accounted for by the big five European leagues who collectively generated €21.6 billion during 2024/25, a 6% increase on the €20.4 billion in 2023/24. The revenue numbers are the headline findings in the 35th edition of Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, but come with a health warning from Deloitte who project that the growth of aggregate club revenue across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues will slow in the coming seasons, “with some leagues experiencing a plateau or even reduction in 2025/26 and 2026/27.” Tim Bridge, lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said: “The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions has delivered financial benefits across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, but football cannot rely on simply adding more content to deliver sustainable growth. “An increasingly saturated...

By Karolos Grohmann    Nine-man Bayer Leverkusen clinched their first win of the Bundesliga season with a hard-fought 3–1 victory over fellow Champions League contenders Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday thanks to Alex Grimaldo's double strike, marking a successful debut for new coach Kasper Hjulmand. Hjulmand took over this week following the sacking of Erik ten Hag after Leverkusen failed to win either of their first two league matches. The hosts looked sharper under the Dane, quickly taking control and leaving Eintracht, who had won their previous two league matches this season, to play a supporting role in the first half. But Leverkusen had two players sent off in the second half. The result ended Frankfurt's unbeaten run of eight matches that stretched back to last season. Leverkusen, who travel to FC Copenhagen in their Champions League opener next week, opened their account with Spain international Grimaldo's stunning 25-metre free kick into the top corner. N...

  Bet365, who last week announced a 3-year partnership with Hamburger SV (HSV), have added a second Bundesliga club, VfB Stuttgart, in a one-year deal for the 2025/26 season. Designated as an official team partner, the deal will include brand visibility at the MHP Arena during home games on in-game perimeter LED boards, stadium branding as well as on social media content. Rouven Kasper, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at VfB Stuttgart, emphasised the importance of responsible gambling in the partnership, stating: “Bet365 has also been prominently featured in top-level European football for a long time. “With bet365, VfB Stuttgart gains a partner that is actively committed to player protection and fully committed to promoting responsible gambling. This was a prerequisite for us entering into this partnership.” Bet365 have had significant recent success in Germany, having sponsored Euro 2024. No value was given for either the Hamburg or Stuttgart sponsorships. Alex Seft...

By Karolos Grohmann       Champions Bayern Munich are confident they will put Wednesday's momentary blip in the German Cup behind them when they travel to Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while fireworks are expected when Hamburg SV revive their derby with St Pauli. Bayern looked to be cruising to an easy win on Wednesday when they went 2-0 up at third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden before conceding two goals in six minutes to see the hosts draw level. Bayern striker Harry Kane's stoppage-time winner sent them through to the second round but their backline's shaky second-half performance and their conversion rate in attack raised some eyebrows. "I would not call it a nail-biting performance from us," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. "We did not do everything right but we stayed calm until the end and this happens in football sometimes. "I know that against Augsburg we will carry our momentum with us. We have built up that momentum in the pre-s...

   The Bundesliga has confirmed a plethora of headline-grabbing UK broadcast deals heading into the new season, including an eye-catching partnership with YouTuber Mark Goldbridge.  Sky Sports will remain the Bundesliga’s UK broadcast partner, continuing to show the Saturday evening “top match” and weekly highlights.  In addition, Prime Video has secured exclusive rights to all Sunday fixtures on a pay-per-view basis, covering promotion/relegation play-offs and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup ahead of the 2026-27 season.  And under a new multi-year deal, the BBC will stream every Friday night game live on iPlayer and via its Sport website and app.  The campaign begins on Friday with Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig broadcast free-to-air across multiple platforms in the UK and Ireland.  But the headline announcement comes in the form of the Bundesliga’s big new YouTube strategy.  It has placed its trust in Goldbridge – a figure widely adored b...

   The Bundesliga, which has building a series of landmark broadcast deals in international markets, has added MBC Group to its TV reach with a three-year partnership for the Middle East and North Africa region. The Bundesliga has prioritised getting maximum exposure in its TV deals and the MBC deal will make it the first European league to be shown on the media giant’s linear and digital channels. The move comes as part of the Bundesliga International’s global growth strategy to ensure maximum exposure in a rapidly growing fanbase. The deal, which begins tonight with the season opener between reigning champions FC Bayern München and RB Leipzig, ensures that the millions of German football fans across the region can watch Bundesliga matches free-to-air. MBC ACTION will broadcast three matches a week FTA. The season opener will air on the flagship channel MBC1. All matches will be available on Shahid – a leading Arabic streaming platforms. “As one of the fastest gro...

   Bundesliga champions, FC Bayern Munich, have secured Drutex as their newest Platinum Partner in a three-year agreement that brings one of Europe’s biggest window and door manufacturers into German football’s top tier for the first time. The Polish manufacturer employs around 4,000 people across its operations and becomes Bayern’s Official Door and Window System Partner. This designation comes with prime real estate at the Allianz Arena plus extensive digital integration across the club’s platforms. Drutex gets exclusive category rights and branding throughout Bayern’s home ground, along with fan engagement opportunities that tap into the club’s global following. This isn’t Drutex’s first move into sports sponsorship. The company already backs several Serie A clubs in Italy and has deals spanning motorsports, ski jumping, and international cycling. Michael Diederich, deputy chairman of FC Bayern, said: “Drutex is one of Europe’s leaders in its field, just as FC B...

      Coach of the senior national team of Ghana, Otto Addo, has expressed frustration over the growing incidents of racism in German football following the recent abuse of several players in the first round of the DFB Pokal including Black Stars winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Kelsey Owusu.  Antwi-Adjei was whistled at with the "N-word" during the game between Schalke O4 and Lokomotiv Leipzig, forcing the winger to report to the referee. Meanwhile, Owusu was abused on social media the same weekend during the game against Borussia Dortmund, a former club of Addo, for a tackle on midfielder Yan Couto. Elsewhere, Nadiem Amiri of Mainz O5 received hate messages after the match against Kaizerslautern.   Addo, a campaigner against racism through his "Roots – Against Racism in Sport" initiative has charged the German Football Association to make the fight against the deadly plague that is destroying football. "For years, we've seen the same pattern...

  Sportradar has built on its Bundesliga betting data offer with a suite of new products for its online betting license holders that will provide punters with more opportunities to bet live, as well as enhanced in-play data and live match trackers. A partner with Bundesliga International snce 2005, Sportradar says that it now uses 3.6 million data points from every match to “to further enhance the viewing experience, accelerate innovation through new exclusive data, and deliver next-generation digital experiences for the betting and gaming market.” The new betting market focussed products include: ‘Live Player Markets’ that create about 240 additional real time betting markets per match using Bundesliga tracking data and Sportradar’s AT tech; ‘4Sight Streaming’ which allows online bookmakers to incorporate AI-driven animated overlays and actionable insights into a live stream; and ‘Enhanced Live Match Tracker’ which provides in-play betting opportunities within the bett...