Bundesliga International Partners With Footballco

Bundesliga International, the global commercial rights division of the German men’s football league structure, has announced a partnership across the Middle East and Africa with soccer content producer Footballco.

Through this collaborative tie-up, the two bodies will work together to “bring the biggest storylines from Germany’s top two divisions to fans.

Footballco will work alongside the Bundesliga’s current live media rights partners in the Middle East and African markets, which include StarTimes, BeIN Sports, Canal Plus, and AzamTV.

Footballco will now have access to the Bundesliga media database, with its subsidiary outlets able to use videos, photos, and graphics material to produce their own content.

Bundesliga International chief marketing officer, Peer Naubert, said that Footballco is one of the strongest media partners in the world when it comes to digital football properties, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Alongside our broadcast partners and in conjunction with our fan-focused strategy, it is a very exciting time to add another option of bringing the best of the Bundesliga to supporters throughout the Middle East and Africa,” said Naubert.

The Bundesliga currently contains several high-profile players from the Middle East and Africa, including Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, and Noussair Mazraoui, as well as Amadou Haidara from RB Leipzig.

Commenting on the Bundesliga reach, Footballco’s vice president of global football partnerships, Andy Jackson, said the company is looking forward to engaging with Bundesliga.

“As the biggest producer of Arabic language football content, we are in a unique position to help rights holders like the Bundesliga reach, engage, and convert new fans … while our portfolio stretches across Africa and will provide a number of established platforms that can tell the stories from around the league each week in their own inimitable way,” said Jackson.

In late January, Bundesliga International announced a content deal in India with the digital media site Khel Now.

Khel Now is now providing localized content from the 36 teams in the top two German leagues that will sit alongside articles, videos, pictures, and social media posts in multiple languages.

Footballco, meanwhile, last year entered a strategic partnership with US digital network Overtime to provide brands and agencies in the US access to soccer fans around the world.

The announcement comes after The Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 recorded more than a 10% loss in revenue for the 2020/21 season.