EVENTS
+++ Amazon will continue as a partner of the overall UEFA Women’s Football program for the next five years
+++ Functional Fabric Fair to launch winter edition in Orlando
+++ Manchester Fashion Week is set to return in September after a ten-year hiatus
+++ Ultra X has announced the launch a new event, Ultra X Sahara, a five-stage ultra marathon in the Chegaga region of the Moroccan Sahara, taking place on March 24-28, 2026
+++ Beginning in 2026, Functional Fabric Fair powered by Performance Days is launching a fourth event with the winter edition in Orlando, scheduled for Jan. 21–22, 2026, at the Orange County Convention Center, running concurrently with the PGA Show
+++ The Ladies European Tour will make its debut in Mauritius in May 2026 for the inaugural MCB Ladies Classic on the Legend Golf Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage +++
CSR & SUSTAINABILITY
+++ Tom Brady’s Team Brady and 4ocean Foundation are launching Race for Change, a new platform to advance sustainable solutions and protect marine environments +++
CORPORATE
+++ Weebora, the Milan-based international marketplace dedicated to sports tourism in the world of padel, has announced the closing of its first pre-seed investment round, with €1.3 million raised
+++ Asics has signed a lease for a 4,000-sqm space at 179 Lincoln Street in Boston to relocate its Product Creation Studio from 125 Summer Street, a few blocks away +++
RETAIL
+++ Gymshark opened a new store in Manchester. It’s the first UK store outside of London
+++ Lululemon has opened a first store in Italy, a 5,700-sqm affair spread over two floors in the city of Milan, and equipped it with the “Endless Aisle BBR (Back Back Room) solution”
+++ GANT continues its expansion in India with the opening of a brand-new store in Jaipur.
+++ Italian sportswear and teamwear brand Macron has inaugurated a store in Udine, in Piazza Marconi 2 +++
PEOPLE
+++ David Evangelista, current President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, will become President & CEO of the the Special Olympics on Jan. 1, 2026, succeeding Mary Davis, who will be retiring on Dec. 31, after ten years in the role
+++ Galeries Lafayette has appointed Guillaume Houzé to Managing Director of Image and Innovation, Emmanuelle Greth to Head of Human Resources and CSR, and Matthieu Caloni to CFO
+++ Angel City Football Club (ACFC) has appointed Nike veteran Julia Victor to the new post of Chief Marketing Officer +++
COMMUNITY
+++ Great Britain has reached the milestone of 1,000 padel courts AT 325 venues, according to data from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
+++ The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has reached the record figure of 1.2 million registered players +++
DISTRIBUTION
+++ hDrop, the company specializing in wearable sweat and hydration biosensors for sports, has entered the European market through a distribution agreement with From Minus Zero and RCD Espanyol, the first European team to integrate hDrop into its daily training workflow
+++ Canadian headwear and apparel brand Ciele Athletics has entered China through an exclusive partnership with sports retail operator Topsports +++
BRANDS
+++ Puma has signed a sponsorship deal with Greek long-jump champion Miltiadis “Miltos” Tentoglou
+++ Macron has designed a new home kit for the Welsh Rugby Union
+++ Foot Locker and Jordan Brand held an amateur five-on-five basketball tournament, called Home Court: London, on July 19 at London’s Clapham Common Court, which Foot Locker refurbished in 2021
+++ Nike is celebrating a decade of its Metcon training shoe with the launch of the Nike Metcon 10.
Italian brand Acerbis is the new technical sponsor of Calcio Lecco 1912
+++ Ping has become official bag partner of national governing body Golf Ireland and will supply customized bags and headcovers
+++ Lotto has signed 14-year-old rising football star Loradana Paletta to its first US name, image and likeness (NIL) partnership +++
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