Latest news with #sponsorship
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Barcelona agree €44m sponsorship deal with DR Congo
Barcelona have agreed a kit sponsorship deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Sports and Leisure. The sponsorship ensures the central African nation's logo of 'DRC, coeur de l'Afrique' (DRC, the heart of Africa) will appear on the back of all of Barca's professional team's training kits. Advertisement Club sources indicate the total package for the deal, which is a four-year agreement, is worth €44million ($50.5m) to the Catalan club, with the first annual instalment in excess of €10m already paid. As part of the agreement, Barcelona say their revamped Camp Nou stadium will be home to the House of the DRC, an exhibition which 'will highlight the richness and diversity of Congolese cultural and sporting heritage through interactive exhibitions', according to the club statement. Barca added the agreement will see a program of sports camps and clinics for children in the area that would focus on football, basketball, handball, futsal, and roller hockey. The agreement will help Barcelona in their attempts to ease their deep financial problems and La Liga's strict salary cap rules, which have created complications for registering new signings. Growing the club's income and adding sponsorship agreements are crucial to the club's plans to incorporate new signings this summer, having added goalkeeper Joan Garcia and young forward Roony Bardghji on permanent deals, in addition to the loan addition of Marcus Rashford. In June, Monaco and Milan also struck agreements with DR Congo's Ministry of Sports and Leisure. The Monaco deal sees 'DRC, coeur de l'Afrique' appear on the sleeve of Monaco's first-team kit, which will feature in the 2025-26 Champions League, and will also appear as a front-of-kit sponsor on the club's academy teams. The Ligue 1 side say the association 'aims to contribute to the development of Congolese football and boost the country's international profile'. Monaco's CEO Thiago Scuro said the deal means the club can help 'to contribute to the country's reputation and support efforts to structure and develop local football'. Milan said their deal 'will be at the heart of an international platform aimed at supporting the socioeconomic development of the African nation' and 'will support the DR Congo's strategy to boost international tourism.' Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed 'a deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation' in DR Congo. HRW said president Felix Tshisekedi oversaw a 'crackdown on opposition members, civil society activists, critics, and journalists throughout 2024'. Monusco, the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, has condemned attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) — which it describes as an 'Islamic State-affiliated insurgent group' — this month. An attack over the night of July 26 to 27 saw at least 49 civilians killed, with many worshippers attending a night vigil in the Ituri province, Monusco reported. Earlier this month, an attack in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces saw 82 civilians killed. In June, DR Congo and its eastern neighbour Rwanda signed a peace deal in Washington D.C. aimed at ending decades of conflict between the nations, asking for 'a negotiated, political resolution — rather than a military solution'. The deal demanded the 'disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration' of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo. However, former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila, said it was 'nothing more than a trade agreement'. Advertisement Conflict in the mineral-rich region has intensified this year, but the area has endured more than three decades of conflict since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The war is primarily between the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) paramilitary group and DR Congo's army. M23 is backed by Rwanda, the DRC's much smaller neighbour whose troops have trained, armed and embedded with the rebels, according to the United Nations. Rwanda has acknowledged that its troops are in the DRC but denied controlling M23. In 2024, a group of UN experts said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the rebels. They also said the Rwandan army was in 'de facto control of M23 operations'. DR Congo, the United States, the United Kingdom and France also say Rwanda is supporting the M23. The UK government suspended aid to Rwanda in February over its support for the M23 rebel group in DR Congo. War in eastern DR Congo has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people since fighting surged this year. In February, Amnesty International wrote to the European Union to say that 'urgent action is required' on the 'escalating human rights crisis' in the east of DR Congo. Rwanda's tourist board also holds sponsorship agreements in European football. Arsenal's Visit Rwanda shirt sleeve sponsorship for the men's and women's teams began in 2018, initially on a three-year deal which was extended in 2021. As reported in the club's accounts for 2023-24, the sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda brought in £10million ($13.4m) as part of an overall commercial income of £218.3m. Visit Rwanda also holds a deal with Bundesliga club Bayern Munich — Rwandan president Paul Kagame attended the Champions League match between the two clubs at the Emirates Stadium in April 2024 — and with Paris Saint-Germain. (Top image: Stuart Franklin – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Is Canada's parents and grandparents sponsorship program working? Here's what families and an expert think
Maria Torres has been waiting 10 years to sponsor her elderly mother to live in Canada. Maria Torres has been waiting 10 years for a chance to sponsor her widowed mother from Colombia as a permanent resident so she can finally live in Canada with her family. Over the next few weeks starting Monday, thousands of people in Canada are set to receive invitations for applications to sponsor their parents and grandparents under the federal government's reunification program. Torres, a pharmacy assistant who lives with her husband and eight-year-old daughter in Ottawa, is anxiously waiting to find out if she is among those who will be randomly chosen to apply. Torres said she filled out an interest-to-sponsor form – the first step before anyone can be invited to apply – for the 2020 intake. The government is only sending emailed invitations to potential sponsors from that pool, with the goal of accepting 10,000 complete applications from 17,860 invitations. 'It's like when you buy the lottery, you just hope that you win it, but if you don't, well, buy it again and wait,' Torres said in a video interview with 'You're heartbroken and you have to live with this sadness and disappointment.' Torres said her 71-year-old mother visits for limited periods through a tourist visa. 'She's here, she's happy, she's with her granddaughter, with her daughter, and then she has to go back to Colombia alone because she doesn't have any more children,' Torres said. 'And for us it's really hard, and not just because she's leaving, but we don't know if we are going to be able to see her again.' Torres was among those who expressed their concerns with the program in response to a callout to readers. Some said it could be too late for reunification if families continue to wait years just to get a chance to be part of the pool. Many said the process has been frustrating and disheartening. Backlog While Torres may be lucky just to be a potential sponsor, some believe the process needs to improve. 'I think people want at a minimum the opportunity to be chosen, and there's been no opportunity for anybody who wasn't able to put their name in the pool in 2020, and so that's hugely unfair,' Tamara Mosher-Kuczer, founder of Lighthouse Immigration Law in Ottawa and a member of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a video interview with Harpreet Singh, a digital marketing consultant from Langley, B.C., who came to Canada from the U.K. in 2018, can relate to these frustrations as he hopes to sponsor his 59-year-old mother. Singh, who is now a Canadian citizen, hopes to launch a petition, with the support of an MP, that would call on the federal government to open the interest-to-sponsor form to those outside the 2020 pool. 'The idea behind it is good,' Singh said about the program in a video interview with 'It's just that it needs to be overhauled, so everybody gets a fair and equal chance.' While critics say the process is taking an emotional toll on families, the federal government says it is dealing with the backlog from the 2020 submissions. 'Given the number of submissions remaining in the 2020 pool, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) will continue to draw from that pool, giving those potential sponsors, who have been waiting for years, the opportunity to apply,' spokesperson Mary Rose Sabater wrote in an email to IRCC couldn't immediately say how many submissions remain from that year. Asked when the government would open submissions to people outside of the 2020 pool, Sabater said the federal government 'cannot comment on policy decisions on future intakes,' noting that it would communicate any news publicly. The federal government recommends that, for now, people consider the super visa program , which allows parents or grandparents to visit Canada for five years at a time, with the option to extend their visit for up to two years without leaving the country. When asked about concerns that the process is unfair, Remi Lariviere, another IRCC spokesperson, wrote in a separate email to that 'the government is committed to reuniting as many families as possible.' While the demand 'significantly exceeds' admissions targets, Lariviere said, the government's top priorities include both attracting top talent and ensuring sustainable levels of immigration. Who qualifies as a sponsor? Sponsors must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered in the country as an Indian, according to the federal government. They must be at least 18 years old and living in Canada at the time they apply to sponsor their biological or adopted parents or grandparents. Additionally, sponsors must provide proof they have enough income to support the individuals they are sponsoring, as well as themselves and their own families, and ensure the people they're sponsoring won't need social assistance. 'Part of our family is missing' Rohan Chandna, who arrived in Saskatoon from India in 2018 as a permanent resident, said he and his wife have 'well-established jobs' and can easily support his parents in Canada. But he said he didn't apply in the 2020 pool because he didn't meet the income requirement then. At the time, he was new to the country. Instead, he said his parents, both in their 70s, will come to Canada this September on a super visa. 'It's unfortunate because we are in a very good position to manage to support them here, whether it's medically, house-wise, financially, whatever they need, ' Chandna, an IT project manager who has two daughters aged 10 and four, said in a video interview with 'Since we have come here, we are feeling that part of our family is missing.' Chandna wept as he described how difficult it was not to have his parents around while his eldest daughter spent about three years undergoing treatment for leukemia. 'We had no support at the time, like it was just me and my wife juggling work,' he said. 'Desperately waiting' Soodeh Farokhi, the CEO of an AI startup, said she planned to apply to sponsor her parents, both from Iran, after 2020 but wasn't aware that the government wouldn't accept interest-to-sponsor submissions outside of that pool. She has been 'desperately waiting' ever since. 'I know that even if we are in the pool, it might take many years to bring our parents, but still the hope and that fairness means a lot to me,' Farokhi, who became a Canadian citizen in 2022, said in a video interview with Farokhi's parents spent some time in Canada years ago on visitor visas to help care for her two children when they were born. Now with all the instability in Iran, Farokhi said it's unlikely she'll be able to visit her parents in the country. 'The emotional toll on my parents not seeing their grandchildren is very high,' said Farokhi. 'My mom is actually suffering from depression being far from her grandchildren.' Farokhi said she is not asking for special treatment and just wants the chance for more families to be considered as part of the pool. 'I'm a working mom and entrepreneur,' she said. 'I have a very busy life both professionally and personally and having my parents beside me means a lot.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Barcelona want to secure €120m agreement that would help ease financial woes
Barcelona are doing a lot of work to ensure that their well-documented financial problems are overcome in the next few years. Player sales and new sponsorship agreement have helped, and on top of this, the Catalan club wants to renegotiate the terms of the existing deal they have with Spotify. Similar to how they struck a new agreement with Nike last year, Barcelona want to secure better terms with Spotify, as MD have reported. The music streaming platform, who have been the main sponsors for the men's and women's sides since 2022, see their deal with the La Liga champions expire next summer. Image via Marca Barcelona are at a disadvantage in this situation Currently, Barcelona receive approximately €75m per year from Spotify (€65m/year base plus bonuses (€70m total), as well as separate €5m/year payment for naming rights at the Camp Nou). However, there is a desire from club officials that the kit sponsorship is now worth €120m, which is almost double of what they are receiving now. The problem for Barcelona is that they are not in an advantageous position on this matter, given that Spotify can unilaterally extend their existing agreement until 2030 – and by doing so, they would only pay a total of €80m/year, and it can be extended further to 2034, where the total payment per year would be €90m. Barcelona believe that they are much more marketable nowadays due to having stars such as Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Raphinha, as well as Femeni stars Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas. This is their justification for believing that kit sponsorship should be valued at €120m. It remains to be seen whether Barcelona are able to seek a new agreement with Spotify, but they are not in the best position when it comes to negotiations, which are expected to take place in the coming months.
Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Times
Fears grow about lack of London Stadium naming rights deal
A naming rights deal for the London Stadium looks as elusive as ever after venue chiefs admitted there was 'a significant risk' that no sponsor will be found before 2028. The owners of the stadium, which is occupied by West Ham United for most of the year, have been unable to secure a deal to reduce the venue's losses despite previously claiming one was imminent. The risk of a continuing failure is spelt out in the draft annual report of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which owned the stadium until March, when it transferred to be directly under the Greater London Authority. The report also reveals that Lyn Garner, the LLDC's chief executive until March, received a £228,000 payoff for stepping down from the position on top of her £304,000 salary, only to be appointed as the chairwoman of the London Stadium's new board. 'Lyn's full-time role as chief executive of LLDC became redundant after a restructure and she received compensation in line with policy and procedures,' a GLA spokesman said. 'Her role at the London Stadium is part-time and is a non-executive role. Her appointment was made in line with policy and she brings a wealth of skills and experience to leading the London Stadium board.' Five other LLDC executives also received payoffs of between £91,000 and £151,000. In early 2023, Garner told the London Assembly she was 'very confident' that it would finally agree a naming rights deal for the loss-making stadium that year but it never happened. West Ham have to agree to any deal and the club shares any income worth more than £4million a year. Meanwhile, West Ham are still in a dispute with the London Stadium owners over who should pick up the costs of staging matches involving their Women's Super League (WSL) team. The club's 2013 concession agreement to use the stadium — labelled as the 'deal of the century' by one London Assembly member — makes the venue's owners responsible for paying costs such as stewarding, security and electricity, which are thought to be about £100,000 for a Premier League match. West Ham are understood to have offered to pay some of the costs for staging a WSL match there — and make a financial loss in doing so — but that offer has not been accepted by the London Stadium. 'We cannot ask London's taxpayers to subsidise the cost of West Ham putting on these matches,' a London Stadium spokesman said. Plans in place for Lionesses parade The FA has pencilled in a victory celebration in central London for Tuesday should England overcome Spain in the Women's Euro 2025 final on Sunday. The plan is understood to include a parade in the capital with a gathering in or near The Mall for the players to display the trophy, but the FA is keeping its cards close to its chest so as not to distract from preparations for the final in Basel, Switzerland. Top teams to cash in with new TV deal The Premier League's new television deal, which starts next month, will mean 70 more matches a season are shown live — which is likely to mean even more money for the top teams. Clubs are paid a 'facility fee' for every live match they take part in and last season each match was worth £890,000. Liverpool, the champions, earned £24.9million and Ipswich Town, who finished 19th, the minimum figure of £8.9million. Next season, every Premier League match will be live on TV apart from those played at 3pm on Saturday, so that will guarantee a facility fee for all clubs whose games are moved due to them playing midweek fixtures in Europe. The plus side for the smaller clubs is that they should also get more money, but just not as much as the bigger ones. Triathlon trouble World Triathlon's reputation has been dealt a serious blow after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Uruguay's executive board member, Líber García, breached its anti-corruption policy in the lead up to last year's presidential election. It found that García had implied to Australia's Michelle Cooper, a rival candidate to the eventual winner Antonio Fernández Arimany, that she would lose her place on the board if she did not withdraw from the contest. Britain's candidate for the election, Ian Howard, whose campaign was backed by £12,000 of public funding from UK Sport, told World Triathlon's congress in October: 'We stand at a crossroads, you can choose more of the same and see the reputation of our federation increasingly damaged: unholy alliances, dodgy deals, dirty tricks.' 'Emperor' Infantino Football's international players' union, Fifpro, has accused Fifa and its president, Gianni Infantino, of 'autocratic' leadership. 'Football needs responsible leadership, not emperors,' Fifpro said in a statement after a meeting of 58 national player unions, in response to Fifa announcing an agreement with unrecognised player representatives. Infantino hosted that summit in New York but Fifpro and the English PFA — who have ongoing legal action against Fifa in the European courts — were not invited.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Reading Pride returns amid financial pressures
Organisers of Reading Pride parade and festival say support from local companies has halved, leaving the event with a £30,000 comes after the UK Pride Organisers Network said 75% of Pride events across the UK have seen a decline in Engagement Officer of Reading Pride, Tom Price said: "Regular sponsors don't have the same funds as last year and there is a real concern for the future."Each year, it costs over £110,000 to host the event in the town. It has been a challenging year for Pride events nationwide, with cancellations due to funding and volunteer UK's Pride movement began in 1972 when a group called the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) decided that, as well as protesting, it was also important to celebrate the community. Mr Price said he believes this year's funding shortage is due to "various worldwide events"."We've come up a bit short in terms of funding, as we have lost two major sponsors and some of our UK sponsors are struggling for money."It's just become a bit difficult this year."Liverpool's annual Pride event and the city's March with Pride were cancelled last a group of organisations and people in Plymouth created their own event after the official Pride event was cancelled due to a lack of Price said: "There are a couple of other pride events that have collapsed due to financial problems that we are all facing - we are seeing it happen a lot." He explained that the volunteer committee are working "really hard to try and make up that money" through "fundraising and finding ways to trim bits of the festival that are not necessary"."We will put on a festival this year, definitely but we are really concerned about the future of Reading Pride," Mr Price added."We do have a little bit of a buffer but if we go into that this year, then next year we will be in a worse situation.""It is a very worrying time, and there is a real concern that we will struggle in the future." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook and X.
