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Football Business Awards 2021 Finalists Announced

This year’s annual Football Business Awards on Tuesday 6th July will salute the off-pitch teams who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring football to fans during the covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

Finalists across 18 categories, including two new awards for Best Covid-19 Community Response across Premier League and Non-Premier League clubs, will be celebrated at a lunchtime awards ceremony at The Brewery in London attended by senior leaders from across the football business industry.

 

It is the ninth edition of the prestigious awards which are designed to celebrate the achievements, creativity and resilience of those working in football.

 

A panel of 27 high profile judges have worked their way through hundreds of entries to decide the winners covering all aspects of the football business world including; marketing, community, social responsibility, sponsorship, agency, media, brand activation, fan engagement, technology, social media, digital and innovation.

 

Simon Burton, Co-founder of the Football Business Awards, said: “It has been one of the most challenging periods in history for both football and business the world over, but what we have seen is that during these times of hardship the spirit of football has truly come into its own.

 

“Football is not only a source of entertainment, but a source of escapism and where people can forget their worries for 90-minutes. It’s not all about the glitz and glamour, it’s about the people involved in our game and their passion, hard work and dedication that has kept it going. We’re honoured to be able to recognise these teams and their extraordinary achievements this year and to celebrate with them in person in July.”

 

 

Gold, Silver and Bronze awards will be presented to winners across each category at the lunchtime ceremony from 12.15pm on Tuesday 6th July at The Brewery in London.

 

fcbusiness will be hosting one of the most prestigious awards of the ceremony, the CEO of the Year award which will be chosen by a panel at fcbusiness. Divisional winners will be announced soon and the overall winner will be revealed at the ceremony.  

 

For a full list of judges, categories and for further details, visit www.FootballBusinessAwards.com

 

The finalists are:

 

BEST CLUB MARKETING

Accrington Stanley FC

AFC Wimbledon, Plough Lane Bond campaign – Cake

Aston Villa FC  – Kit Launch 20/21

Bradford City FC

Brentford FC

Chelsea FC / 500 Supporters Clubs

Everton FC  – More Than Eleven

Leyton Orient FC

 

BEST FOOTBALL COMMUNITY SCHEME

Albion in the Community

Bristol City Robins Foundation

Everton in the Community

Football Unites

Leicester City in the Community

Newcastle United Foundation

Saints Foundation

West Ham United Foundation

 

SPONSORSHIP / PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR

BT’s Home Nation FA partnerships – Cake

FootballCo

Leyton Orient FC & Harry Kane

Liverpool FC & Carlsberg

Liverpool FC & Standard Chartered – Project Stand Red

Norwich City FC & War Paint for Men

Rangers FC

 

BEST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SCHEME

BT & #DiscoverDisabilityFootball – Cake

Everton in the Community – Imagine Your Goals

Fulham FC and Foundation

Norwich City FC and Kotkamills – Greener Together

Norwich City FC, Bidstack and Badu Sports

West Ham United FC

 

AGENCY OF THE YEAR

ArqamFC

Ball Street Network

Cake

Engage Digital Partners Limited

LiveWire Sport

LoveGunn

MatchFit

WePlay

 

BEST PROFESSIONAL SERVICE BUSINESS SERVING FOOTBALL

DB Living

KSS

Mackrell.Solicitors

Onside Law Limited

Pinsent Masons

 

BEST IN FOOTBALL MEDIA

Ball Street Network

BT Sport & Singula Decisions

Goal

Leeds United FC, NEO Studios – Take us Home

Motherwell FC

 

BEST BUSINESS SERVING FOOTBALL

Ahead In Sport & The University of Salford Business School

Little Kickers Group

Other Media

StatsBomb

StreamAMG

 

BEST BRAND ACTIVATION – NON PREMIER LEAGUE

Ball Street Network

Budweiser – FootballCo

Eastleigh FC

FC Barcelona & Rakuten, Inc

Kia Charge Up campaign – FootballCo

Norwich City FC & War Paint for Men

Rangers FC

SAP Interactive Data Space & TSG Hoffenheim – vStream Health

 

BEST BRAND ACTIVATION – PREMIER LEAGUE

Chelsea FC & The Yokohama Rubber Co – 90min

Chelsea FC & Three – Kit Launch

Chelsea FC & Three – Support Someone Else

Everton FC & hummel

Liverpool FC & Nivea Men

Manchester City FC – Water Hero Playbook – Xylem

Manchester United FC & Cadbury

West Ham United FC & Kissimmee

 

BEST FAN ENGAGEMENT BY CLUB

AFC Wimbledon – Cake

Chelsea FC & FA Cup Final Fest

Chelsea FC & Play Predictor, iX.co

Fulham FC

Leicester City FC

Lincoln City FC

Manchester United FC

 

BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN A FOOTBALL CLUB

Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium Tour – Imagineear SafeSpace

Bristol City FC/ Bristol Sport

Leicester City FC

Liverpool FC

Rangers FC

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

 

BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN FOOTBALL

BT Sport and Singula Decisions

Bundesliga – DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH

English Football League – iFollow

LiveScore

On The Ball Global

Other Media – Clubcast

Pixellot

Urban Zoo – Gamechanger

 

BEST NEW PLAYER / CONTRACT SIGNING REVEAL CAMPAIGN

Arsenal FC

Borrussia Dortmund & SPORTFIVE U.S

Chelsea FC

Everton FC

Manchester United FC

Motherwell FC

Tottenham Hotspur FC

West Ham United FC

 

BEST DIGITAL / SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

Bristol City FC

Engage Digital Partners

Everton FC

Leicester City FC

Manchester United FC

Motherwell FC

 

INNOVATION AWARD

La Colmena for SDHuesca

LaLiga – Vizrt and EA Sports

LiveScore

Playermaker

Stadion

Standard Chartered & Octagon

The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and Vodafone

TOCA Football

 

BEST COVID 19 COMMUNITY RESPONSE – NON-PREMIER LEAGUE

Ashton Gate Stadium – Bristol City FC

Brentford FC

Bristol Rovers FC

Derby County FC / Community Trust

Dons Local Action Group with AFC Wimbledon Foundation

Notts County FC

Port Vale Foundation Trust

Rangers Charity Foundation

 

BEST COVID 19 COMMUNITY RESPONSE – PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal FC

Brighton & Hove Albion FC

Chelsea FC

Everton FC and Everton in the Community

Leicester City FC

Manchester City FC

Manchester United FC and Manchester United Foundation

Tottenham Hotspur FC

Wolves Foundation