Spanish soccer giants Barcelona have brought in blockchain technology firm Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) as a new commercial partner.
Through a deal unveiled late last week, that company becomes the Catalan heavyweights' cryptographic protocol partner – Barcelona have said it will handle "fans' identities, data, and intelligence, with cryptographic trust."
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The tie-up entails ZKP providing Barcelona-based experiences to its customers, as well as having the rights to advertise across the club's various communication channels.
In terms of recent Barcelona commercial activity, late last month the club brought in popular headwear brand New Era as a new sponsor, while earlier in October they announced an extended long-term sponsorship deal covering front-of-shirt branding and stadium naming rights with Swedish audio streaming heavyweight Spotify.
Cryptocurrency brand WhiteBIT was a club sponsor for three years up until the summer of 2025, meanwhile, with that deal valued by GlobalData Sport – at the time – at just over $10 million annually.
Barcelona currently sit second in the 20-team LaLiga 2025-26 table.
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By GlobalDataElsewhere, English soccer heavyweights Chelsea have finally secured a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal for their men's team, according to reports.
Software giant Oracle is set to be unveiled as the first front-of-shirt sponsor for the men's side in 18 months, according to The Chelsea Chronicle, with an official announcement to be expected – reportedly – before the end of this month.
Chelsea have not had a primary front-of-shirt partner on a long-term basis since the end of the 2023-24 campaign, when a season-long deal with Infinite Athlete came to an end.
Dubai-based luxury real estate company Damac Properties did strike a short-term deal to that effect in April this year, but that tie-up only covered the last few weeks of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Reports over the last few months have suggested that Chelsea value the front-of-shirt inventory at £60 million ($79 million) per season.
Meanwhile, the trio of soccer governing bodies in Scotland have struck a "groundbreaking seven-figure deal" for three years with Halo, a UK software services firm.
The Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), and the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL), have all worked with the Scottish Football Marketing company to bring in Halo as their technology partner.
This deal will entail Halo's branding being placed on the sleeves of Scotland national team training kits, as well as being visible across SPFL and SWPL games.
Halo will also make its IT help service available to the trio of soccer bodies, to "improve data capabilities and internal processes."
Ian Maxwell, chief executive at the Scottish FA, has commented: "It’s great to have Halo on board as the official technology partner of the Scottish FA, and we look forward to seeing their branding on the sleeve of our Scotland National team training kit.
"We welcome their expertise and support – not only in their enthusiastic backing of Scottish football but also in terms of bolstering our internal processes."
Finally, Italy's AC Milan have signed up energy supplier Enel as a new premium sponsor.
Enel becomes the official energy partner of the Milan club, who currently lie third in the men's Serie A table.
The company is already a partner of Serie A champions Napoli, through a deal unveiled ahead of their title-winning 2024-25 campaign.
The tie-up begins with AC Milan's home fixture against Lazio on November 29, and covers the men's team's remaining home games in Serie A and in the Coppa Italia knockout competition.
Earlier this month, AC Milan and rivals Inter Milan completed the acquisition of the San Siro Great Urban Function, including the iconic stadium – which they share – and its surrounding area, from the local council.
Milan and Inter, who have shared San Siro for decades, can now move forward with their project to demolish most of the existing stadium and construct a new, modern arena on the historic site, ending decades of uncertainty over San Siro’s future.
