8×8, Inc Renew their Sponsorship with Southampton FC

Avatar
Image Credit: TippaPatt / Shutterstock.com

8×8, Inc. has confirmed the renewal of their sponsorship with Southampton Football Club, becoming an official partner of both the Men’s and Women’s First Teams in the 2025/26 season.

The renewal will continue the football club’s usage of 8×8’s cloud-based contact centre and communication technology, as well as the tech company’s benefits when using the LED perimeter board for visibility, digital and social media integration.

8×8, Inc is a costumer experience (CX) platform provider who provide cloud-based and AI infrastructure allowing partnered companies to establish real-time communication with their costumers to personalise their experiences.

The company highlights on its website that its communications technology serves over three million users worldwide, earning the trust of clients across sectors ranging from finance to healthcare.

8×8, Inc. in March won Best CPaaS Platform at the CX Awards 2025, being recognised for their modular platform which integrates various internal tools and embedded AI, and seamless UCaaS solutions.

EMEA Managing Director at 8X8, Inc, Jamie Snaddon affirms Southampton FC’s represents the values that deeply resonate with the company.

“This partnership is about more than sponsorship,” he said via press release.

“It’s about giving the club the tools to connect with supporters in ways that feel personal, whether that’s answering a fan’s question, delivering a matchday update, or creating a memorable surprise.

“We’re proud to keep building those moments together.”

Director of IT at Southampton FC, Huw Fielding said the technology 8×8 has become a part of the way the club operates to support the ticketing and hospitality services for their supporter’s experience.

“Renewing this partnership means we can keep raising the bar for how we connect with fans, on matchdays and throughout the year,” he said via press release.

A few months ago, when 8×8, Inc became the Official Business Communications Partner for Southampton FC, the club had players call season book holders through 8×8’s Contact Centre to talk about their decades of support.

Both 8×8, Inc. and Southampton FC will collaborate further on community outreach initiatives, technology-led engagement projects, and exclusive fan experiences.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Avatar
Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Avatar
Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend