England and Crystal Palace footballer Eberechi Eze has announced the launch of The Eze Foundation.
The charitable foundation will work on providing ‘career enhancing opportunities and inspirational experiences’ for school children in London.
The two key initiatives of The Eze Foundation are:
- Educational Support Opportunities: The foundation will collaborate with schools, brands and organisations to create work experience opportunities for children attending schools in London.
- Football Initiatives: The foundation will build on last summer’s first inaugural Eze Invitational. continuing the yearly event in which children from London are invited to a free football tournament in South East London. The event is well supported with scouts from Premier League clubs present and support from brands including New Balance, Meta and more.
Eberechi Eze, said, “I’m humbled and truly grateful to share my foundation and the work we are doing. Growing up in South East London; myself, my sister, my brothers and so many others would have benefited from the opportunities we are trying to create. Football has always been my dream, but I also feel a duty to try to give back to our community in a way that is close to my heart. I am very thankful that I have a platform that can help me help other people, and I don’t want this privilege to go to waste.
“We have been operating for almost a year now and I’m incredibly proud of what we have done so far, such as the Eze Invitational free football tournament, our school raffles and training ground visits with the club. I can’t wait to share more of our plans and announcements in the near future.”
Two former M&C Saatchi Directors have launched a new agency, Run Deep.
The specialist creative and strategy agency founded by M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s former Managing Directors Rich Barker and Jodie Fullagar aims to ‘help brands unlock the power and influence of fans by taking them into the heart of the cultures surrounding entertainment, sport and other fan spaces.’
Rich Barker and Jode Fullagar, Founders of Run Deep, said, “We’ve built Run Deep for a new era of fan culture; shaped by the scale and diversity of the new ‘fan multiverse’, the fan-led ecosystem that drives it, and the opportunities there are for brands to be part of it.
“This requires a new agency model, combining fan-centric creative development, with representative storytelling that speaks to the true values of the communities and a commitment to social progress. In this new era, performative playbooks won’t cut it. Brands must run deep to embed and shape culture.”
McDonald’s has partnered with anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out to ‘diversify and develop’ grassroots football coaches.
During the three-year partnership, the two organisations collaborate to create a coaching development platform to support the ongoing development of grassroots football coaches across the UK.
As well as the course, McDonald’s and Kick It Out are launching a coaching bursary fund to support aspiring coaches who are unable to finance their coaching qualifications.
Andrew Moys, Vice President Impact and Communications at McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said, “We have a rich history of supporting grassroots football and our goal is to ensure the McDonald’s Fun Football programme is not only the largest but the most inclusive free football programme in the UK.
“Partnering with an organisation like Kick It Out will enable our coaches to create meaningful change in their weekly sessions and is a big step in helping the programme achieve that goal. We are excited about the impact that this partnership will have on grassroots football coaching in the UK over the next few years.”
Hollie Varney, Chief Operating Officer at Kick It Out, added, “McDonald’s Fun Football is a very special programme and the number of children they offer free football to is impressive.
“This partnership is a huge step forward in giving opportunities and better training to those who have sometimes felt excluded. Together, we have big ambitions for grassroots football over the next three years and we are excited to get started.”
The Principality Stadium will host the 2025 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Finals.
The news comes after 23 stadiums across 12 countries bid to host the events, with The Sports Consultancy managing the process.
Dominic McKay, Chairman The European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), said, “In returning to Cardiff 30 years on from the iconic first Final means a great to deal to us and our friends here in the city, and we will celebrate the milestone appropriately. We know this rugby heartland will not only be proud to host this historic weekend, but will welcome rugby fans from across the world to join us in Cardiff for our EPCR Finals Weekend in 2025.”
NBA Europe has appointed UK social content agency Little Dot Sport as social creative and platform management partners.
The aim of the appointment is to ‘help further grow awareness and engagement amongst the NBA’s international community.’
As per the agreement, Little Dot Studios will work with NBA Europe to create ‘bespoke, territory-specific content strategies based upon data and audience insights.’
Lorton Entertainment has announced a new upcoming documentary focusing on Liverpool FC.
The behind the scenes documentary is set to be broadcast at the end of the 23/24 season and will follow Jurgen Klopp’s final months as Liverpool manager.
Jurgen Klopp, said, “With this being my final season I thought we should provide a rare opportunity for viewers to have more of an inside look at what makes this club so special – its people.
“From our fans to our players and those who work so hard behind the scenes, constantly in pursuit of success for Liverpool Football Club. Thanks to this new documentary series viewers will be able to see what I see every day at this great club, and understand those amazing people more.”
Julian Bird, Chief Executive Officer of Lorton Entertainment, added, “This project will offer supporters an intimate glimpse into one of world football’s greatest institutions, delivering a comprehensive look at the present day and the club’s storied history. There’s no better place to film than behind the scenes at a Premier League giant – we know so many companies in our industry are desperate to work with a club of Liverpool’s stature. We’re eager to bring our expertise to the project, and can’t wait to see how this season develops on and off the pitch.”
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