La Liga’s expanded partnership with Microsoft set to transform digital experience

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Spain’s La Liga competition has expanded its partnership with US technology giant Microsoft, in a move which is set to transform the digital experience for fans.

Under the details of the deal, Microsoft, who have partnered with La Liga since 2016, will work in cahoots with the league to update existing solutions and create new ones, with a focus on driving innovation in the sports sector.

For example, La Liga will offer new experiences such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and 3D replays.

Microsoft’s Azure Event Hubs, Azure Data Lake, Azure Data Bricks and Azure Machine Learning service will also provide supporters with data-enhanced match coverage and streaming options, including features such as giving the viewer the choice of which camera angle they want to watch the game from.

Rights holders, commercial partners and broadcasters are also set to benefit from the partnership, with Dynamics 365, Power BI, SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB and more to enable an OTT streaming platform which will feature personalised recommendations and enhanced experiences, alongside relevant content, services and games.

Microsoft and La Liga will also work together in regards to streamlining stadium operations through various innovations in security, as well as leveraging 5G for unified in-stadium experiences.

The Spanish top-tier competition will use cloud computing service Microsoft Azure’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning software for its Mediacoach and LaLigaSportsTV services “to reinvent interactive audio-visual experiences and formats”.

LaLigaSports TV, an OTT streaming platform which features multiple sports, has had over 1.5 million registered users, with La Liga’s collection of official apps reaching more than 113 million downloads globally.

La Liga claims the collaboration with Microsoft will be crucial to the overall development of La Liga Tech, its B2B offering, with the league to bundle its range of technologies for a commercial result.

“The collaboration is key to the growth and development of La Liga Tech, through which La Liga will package its full range of existing technologies into a commercial offering for the sports industry, from match-day stats and analytics to the next generation of OTT streaming services, to the most advanced content protection services and venue access management systems,” a statement read from the Microsoft website.

“This will help the competition to expand into a new era in sports and beyond and enhance the fan experience by creating new data-driven technology solutions, powered by Microsoft Azure, Power BI, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, and provide customized technology platform, services and solutions to third parties.

“The offerings build on La Liga’s rich history of investing and focusing on the development of innovative technology aimed at enhancing the fan experience.”

Javier Tebas, current president of La Liga said of the new extended partnership: “We value Microsoft as our technology and innovation partner and appreciate how they collaborate deeply to build innovative solutions aimed at solving business challenges specific to our industry.“We are moving into a new era in which technology will become the centre of the fan experience and data insights will power the next stage of global growth.”

Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president of global sales, operations and marketing for Microsoft, added: “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with La Liga as it makes further bold moves to deepen engagement with its hundreds of millions of fans, while bringing new business models to market with Microsoft cloud and AI capabilities.

“Microsoft is proud to help accelerate La Liga’s digital innovation and empower exciting new business opportunities in the sports and entertainment industries through La Liga’s technology portfolio.”

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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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

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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.

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