Bundesliga International has extended its content partnership with global media platform Footballco, working together to bring the biggest storylines from Germany’s top two divisions to fans throughout the MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa regions.
Footballco owns and operates a number of free-to-use properties, including Kooora, the largest digital sports publisher in the Middle East, as well as global football publisher GOAL, which publishes local editions serving fans across MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa in both English and Arabic and operates a range of localised social media accounts.
The year starts with the release of a three-part docu-series produced by Footballco on the history of Arab players in the Bundesliga.
The Era of Arabs’ charts the impact of the first Arab players to leave their mark on German soil through to those carrying the torch today. The series features contributions from players, including trailblazing Moroccan international Rachid Azzouzi, reigning Bundesliga champion with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Amine Adli, and Champions League runner-up Ramy Bansebaini (Borussia Dortmund).
The series will be distributed across Footballco’s channels, which reach in excess of 250 million fans a month across both regions. The first episode is already available, with the final two episodes to be released on 23rd and 30th January respectively.
Bundesliga International chief marketing officer Peer Naubert said, “Since 2018 and the introduction of the Bundesliga International’s localised marketing strategy, our focus has been on working with the highest quality partners in order to let them tell the most relevant and engaging stories to their audiences. Content partners are a key element of that strategy, and our extended partnership with Footballco is the perfect example of this, with the ‘Era of Arabs’ documentary aptly showing Bundesliga fans – new and old – the great history German football has with the region, a legacy which continues today.”
Footballco’s head of global football partnerships, Ben Honeyman said: “As the biggest producer of Arabic language football content in the world, we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Bundesliga and bringing fans the best stories and multi-media content from one of the most exciting leagues in the world.
“We’re also immensely proud of ‘The Era of Arabs’ series and how it highlights the impact and stories of players often overlooked in European football. We’re grateful to Bundesliga International for trusting us to tell this part of the league’s history.”
Working directly with the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga as a content partner, Footballco has access to the league’s media database, which includes the world’s biggest digital football archive, as well as additional photo, graphics and more, to produce and release its own content formats, telling each story to millions of users in its own distinct voice.
The Bundesliga’s content partner network works in tandem with the league’s broadcast partners, including beIN Sports and their streaming partner TOD in the Middle East, as well as Azam TV, Canal+, New World Television, SABC, StarTimes, ZAP Media across Sub-Saharan Africa. Content partners focus on the Bundesliga’s most exciting and interesting narratives, and then utilising the DFL’s extensive media library to tell each story in a locally relevant way. Footballco joins a group of more than 20 content partners strategically placed around the world, working in collaboration with the league and its respective clubs to deliver engaging and insightful content. Every season, posts from content partners reach nearly two billion unique users, with engagement close to 500m across social and digital sites.
