Features

COVID-19 venue news: Real Madrid, Lazio, Brighton and more

Real Madrid

Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook has activated its sponsorship deal with Spanish LaLiga football club Real Madrid by launching a new digital platform that will look to bring fans closer to the team on match days.

The platform will allow fans to become the ‘official speakers’ of the club and announce the line-up of the team before the start of matches at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano, where Real Madrid is playing its remaining home matches this season.

Fans’ voices will join that of the official stadium announcer, who will reproduce the usual opening ceremony that takes place at the Santiago Bernabéu. Fans will be able to send in their ‘shouts of encouragement’ via the Hankook Spain and Real Madrid Facebook pages.

Hankook has sponsored Real Madrid since 2016 and its current deal with the club will run until 2023. Fans who take part in the initiative will be in with a chance of winning one of six Real Madrid shirts.

Lazio

Italian Serie A club Lazio has detailed two new fan engagement initiatives as part of its ‘Tu non sarai mai sola’ (You will never be alone) project.

‘Sing the Anthem’ and ‘Announce the Formation’ will encourage fans to film themselves while singing club songs and shouting out the team formation. The videos will then be placed on screens around the Stadio Olimpico on match days.

Lazio has said that no advertising or unsuitable imagery will be permitted in the videos, which can be sent to the club through WhatsApp.

Last month, Lazio gave fans the chance to have a photo of themselves placed at the Stadio Olimpico.

Brighton

English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion has teamed up with local partners Harvey’s Brewery, Piglet’s Pies and Stadium Sweets to offer fans the chance to recreate the Amex Stadium match-day experience at home.

Fans had until 5pm yesterday (Wednesday) to order a package of treats, which will be delivered in time for Saturday’s home match against Arsenal.

The package costs £59 and includes five litres mini keg of Harvey’s Best Bitter, six Piglet’s Pies, a pack of stadium sweets and a match-day programme.

Wolves

Fellow Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers has launched Pack Reconnected, a scheme designed to reunite supporters with fellow fans they sit near at Molineux.

Supporters can send the name and seat details of the supporter they are looking to reconnect with to supportservices@wolves.co.uk along with their own contact details, which can then be passed on to the supporter if they can be identified.

Wolves will then make contact with the supporter to pass on the details, leaving fans to get back in touch if they wish to do so. The initiative is designed to reunite fans who may have lost contact during the pandemic.

Dave Wood, Wolves’ supporter liaison officer, said: “We appreciate that the social aspect of attending matches plays a big part in the matchday experience of all supporters. We all have friends who we speak to at games, who may sit around us, and whilst we may not know a lot about each other, we have developed a routine of seeing that person or people every other week at Molineux and talking about what is happening on the pitch.

“The current situation has meant that many supporters may have lost contact with their friends from Molineux and, with no details on when fans will be able to return currently and with the return of the Premier League imminent, we wanted to create a platform to enable supporters to reconnect with their matchday friends.”

Hamilton

Scottish Premiership club Hamilton Academical has signed a sponsorship deal with German Donner Kebab that will give fans the chance to have their cardboard cut-outs placed at the stadium when matches resume behind closed doors.

The 2019-20 Scottish Premiership season has ended and the 2020-21 campaign is set to begin without fans. Supporters will be able to have their faces featured on the life-size cut-outs, which will include Hamilton’s new kit with the German Donner Kebab logo on the front.

The cut-outs, which will cost £30, will be placed in the main stand of the Fountain of Youth Stadium. Once fans are eventually able to return to stadia, the cut-outs will be used as social-distancing measures between seats.