CAA Sports, a division of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has been appointed by City Football Group (CFG) to develop global partnerships. CAA Sports will work alongside CFG’s in-house sales team on a range of projects, with an initial focus on orchestrating significant global agreements for CFG’s clubs with leading brands.
CFG is the owner of football-related businesses in major cities around the world, including football clubs, academies, technical support, and marketing companies. Most notably, CFG includes English Premier League leaders Manchester City, Major League Soccer’s New York City FC, the A-League’s Melbourne City FC, La Liga’s FC Girona, J-League’s Yokohama F Marinos, and the Uruguayan Primera Division’s CA Torque.
Since its formation in May 2013, CFG has experienced significant growth, having expanded to 10 offices around the world. Alongside its commercial headquarters in London, the Group operates from Manchester, Abu Dhabi, Girona, Melbourne, Montevideo, New York, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo. The news follows a successful year for CFG, which has seen innovative global partnerships with the likes of Amazon, Gatorade and Nexen Tire.
“City Football Group is a unique football organization that is growing globally at an unprecedented pace,” said Paul Danforth, Global Head of Sales, CAA Sports. “We are excited to be helping CFG commercialise this potential and bringing blue chip brands on board as partners of CFG clubs. Two ground breaking partnerships with Gatorade and Amazon are the first outcomes of our collaboration.”
City Football Group joins CAA Sports’ existing portfolio of properties, which includes Formula One, Red Bull Racing, the Golden State Warriors, and Riot Games’ League of Legends, among others
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About City Football Group
City Football Group (CFG) is the owner of a number of football related businesses with global relevance. These include high profile professional football clubs, academies, technical support and marketing companies. CFG’s majority-owned clubs include Premier League Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC of the A-League and MLS Franchise New York City Football Club.
CFG’s other club investments comprise Yokohama F. Marinos of the J-League, Club Atlético Torque in the first division of the Uruguayan league and, the most recent addition to City Football Group, FC Girona of La Liga. The common aim across all clubs is to provide the best possible experience and an unmatched opportunity for fans and communities to participate in, and benefit from, football at both a local and global level. The Group’s support companies – Global Football and City Football Marketing – operate from a number of offices around the world in support of the Group’s clubs, associate organisations and customer organisations. Global Football shares footballing IP and “know-how” to recruit, develop, train and win. City Football Marketing creates media, marketing and fan engagement properties to support the commercial development of clubs and their partners.
City Football Group is wholly owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). ADUG is an investment and development company privately owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In December 2015, ADUG divested a 13% shareholding to a China Media Capital-led consortium, creating an unprecedented platform for the growth of CFG clubs and companies in China and internationally. City Football Group’s headquarters are in Manchester and it has offices in Abu Dhabi, Girona, London, New York, Melbourne, Montevideo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.
About CAA Sports
The five-time recipient of the award for “Best in Talent Representation and Management,” presented by the Sports Business Journal, CAA Sports represents more than 1,000 of the world’s best athletes in such sports as baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, tennis, Olympics and action sports, and golf, in addition to coaches, on-air broadcasters, and sports personalities. Beyond traditional athlete representation, CAA Sports provides unique opportunities for clients off the field, in areas including licensing, endorsements, speaking, philanthropy, books, and video games. CAA Sports also works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing initiatives, and sports properties for sales/sponsorships, for which the agency won “Best in Property Consulting, Sales, and Client Service” at the 2016 Sports Business Awards.
CAA Sports is a division of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). CAA represents the most creative and successful artists working in film, television, music, theatre, video games, and digital content, and provides a range of strategic marketing services to corporate clients. For more information about CAA Sports, visit sports.caa.com.
CONTACT
US Contact, Beth McClinton, CAA Sports, 424 288 2000, Beth.McClinton@caa.com
UK Contact, Alex Newell, CAA Sports, 07733 303 840, alex.newell@caa.com
