Belgian soccer’s Pro League today announced a multi-year partnership with WSC Sports, the Israel-based sports video content provider, to provide real-time highlights.

Under the agreement, which the Pro League secured together with Eleven Sports, its new domestic broadcast rights-holder, the league will utilise WSC Sports’ technology to create and publish live highlights and digital content. 

This will be used by the league body itself and all the clubs in the top two divisions in Belgium, the Jupiler Pro League and the 1B Pro League. 

Eleven Sports, which is in the first season of a five-year rights deal until the end of 2024-25, will also make use of the WSC Sports technology “to enrich its content and distribution.”

According to the parties, this marks the first time a European sports organisation, in collaboration with a rights-holder, has partnered with WSC Sports to offer the league’s clubs and distribution partners streamlined access to content. 

The Pro League and Eleven Sports said they moved to seal this deal “on behalf of, and for the benefit of, the league’s clubs and distribution partners, to help them better connect with fans and grow their fanbases domestically and internationally.”

An attractive part of the deal for Pro League teams is WSC Sports’ ability to provide real-time goal alert videos sent directly to club apps, which will play a particularly important role in helping bring fans into the match while stadium restrictions remain in place, the Pro League said. 

The partnership with WSC Sports is part of the ‘Pro League Forward’ initiative, a platform the league recently created to focus on innovation to establish itself “as a forward thinker in early adoption of sports tech solutions.” 

Leander Monbaliu, chief business officer of the Pro League, said: “Especially in these challenging times, we need to innovate to allow clubs to connect with their fanbase much more. The partnership with WSC Sports will be a key factor for the Pro League’s and clubs’ growth, allowing clubs to substantially increase their domestic and international reach and creating new forms of fan-engagement around their games.”

Guillaume Collard, managing director Eleven Sports Belgium and Luxembourg and head of acquisitions Eleven Sports, added: “Football consumption is becoming increasingly fragmented and differentiated. As a sports channel and the new rights-holder of the Pro League competitions, we must respond to this evolution with a varied and innovative offer for the fans. The collaboration with WSC is completely in line with this strategy.” 

This is the latest sports partnership secured by WSC sports this year after deals with the FIVB, the international volleyball federation, the ABFF, the Belarus soccer federation, and South Korean soccer's K League.

Its portfolio also includes Germany’s Bundesliga, Japan’s J League and North America’s Major League Soccer, basketball’s NBA and ice hockey’s NHL.

The Pro League this week teamed up with 433, one of the leading soccer channels on social media, in a content-sharing partnership to increase its global exposure and fanbase.

Sportcal