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Real Madrid and Barcelona neck-and-neck as world’s most valuable football brands in the face of COVID-19

Published

6 years ago

July 30, 2020

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Real Madrid remain world’s most valuable football brand, but Barcelona narrow the gap to just €6 million
COVID-19 causes total brand value of top 50 clubs to decrease for the first time in 6 years – €751 million or 3.7% is knocked off
English clubs dominate the ranking with six brands in top 10 and 19 in top 50
Liverpool inches two spots up into 4^th place, following historic Premier League win
Bundesliga’s 1. FC Köln is this year’s fastest-growing brand, followed by Leicester City and RB Leipzig – all recording over 40% growth
Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium takes top spot in Buro Happold’s Venue Performance Rating

Real Madrid remain the most valuable football club brand in the world for 2020, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual. Boosted by winning the LaLiga title for the first time since 2017, the club retained its position at the top of the table in the football industry, but against a backdrop of economic and social disruption, caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Madrid’s brand value has declined by 14% to €1,419 million.

Real Madrid’s disappointing on-pitch performance prior to 2019-20, which saw an earlier-than-normal exit from the UEFA Champions League in 2018-19 and a second successive season adrift of LaLiga champions Barcelona, eroded the club’s dominance of the Brand Finance ranking. The situation was exacerbated by COVID-19, along with a lack of stability around the management of the team. Barcelona, Real’s fierce rivals, are just €6 million behind Real with a brand value of €1,413 million, supported by strong and diverse revenue generation and continued domestic performance in Spain.

COVID-19 knocks off €751 million of brand value

Real Madrid is not the only club to see a drop in brand value this year. COVID-19 has caused the total value of the top 50 football brands to decrease for the first time in 6 years. Through its effect on the three main revenue streams – Matchday, Broadcasting, and Commercial – €751 million or 3.7% has been knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged professional football worldwide and across all levels. Matchday income for the 501 games remaining in the big 5 leagues dropped to zero, but it is often the smaller clubs and leagues which are more reliant on this revenue stream – in Scotland it makes up 43% of total revenue, compared to only 13% in England.

There have been some positive signs, as Southampton vs Manchester City on BBC broke the Premier League TV audience record with 5.7 million viewers, but the longer-term damage to the game’s economic structure has yet to be revealed.

Richard Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance, commented:

“Top-level football has been confronted with the largest existential threat since the Second World War. Loss of income, coupled with health concerns about mass gatherings, have raised question marks about the future of the industry and the financial resilience of clubs across all levels. The full damage of the COVID-19 crisis has yet to unfold and it is not inconceivable there will be casualties in the form of club bankruptcies and changes in ownership.”

Despite the huge implications of COVID-19 for football clubs and their financial results, the majority of the brand value is secured by the clubs’ long-term future – provided they can survive the initial shock. For example, only 21% of Real Madrid’s brand value is delivered by the next five years’ financial results.

Premier power

Real Madrid and Barcelona are followed by a cluster of English Premier League clubs in the Brand Finance Football Annual 2020 ranking, with Manchester United in 3^rd position after their brand value fell by 11% to €1,314 million. Liverpool, who won their first league title since 1990 in runaway style, are in 4^th spot jumping above Manchester City in terms of brand value, rising from €1,191 million in 2019 to €1,262 million, a 6% increase. Chelsea dropped one place in the table to 8^th after their value fell for the fourth consecutive year to €949 million. This was arguably due to the club being absent from the UEFA Champions League and also suffering a transfer ban after being charged with breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations.

Canada

Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize

Published

3 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Wladimir P.

tonybet-player-in-canada-claims-$20,000-cad-golden-world-cup-card-prize

Tonybet says a player in Laurier-Station, Canada has claimed the “golden card” prize worth $20,000 CAD in the operator’s World Cup Card Collection. The announcement was made Tuesday 21st July 2026.

The World Cup collection featured 51 cards in total, including 48 digital cards representing participating World Cup nations, plus three unique prize cards in bronze, silver and gold. Tonybet said the bronze card—available during the group stage—was previously found by a customer in Saint-Colomban, Canada, while the silver card—available during the knockout rounds up to the quarter-finals—was won by a player in County Kildare, Ireland.

The golden card became available for the semi-final, third-place play-off and final, and has now been claimed, Tonybet said.

Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “You can plan a campaign down to the last detail, but you can’t plan what the World Cup brings.

“We designed the collection to evolve with the tournament, and every knockout round created new stories we couldn’t have predicted. Seeing players complete their collections and discovering who would uncover each prize was the most rewarding part of the campaign.

“I hope everyone enjoyed the experience for what it was meant to be: a fun addition to the tournament, played responsibly and always within their limits.”

Tonybet said the collection will remain open until 31 July for players who are still completing sets and spending coins, although all grand prizes have been awarded.

The post Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Canada

Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize

Published

3 hours ago

July 21, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

The golden card became available for the semi-final, third-place play-off and final, and has now been claimed, Tonybet said.

Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “You can plan a campaign down to the last detail, but you can’t plan what the World Cup brings.

“I hope everyone enjoyed the experience for what it was meant to be: a fun addition to the tournament, played responsibly and always within their limits.”

Tonybet said the collection will remain open until 31 July for players who are still completing sets and spending coins, although all grand prizes have been awarded.

The post Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

AI

SCCG Management and Trivver Partner to Transform Gaming with AI-Powered Interactive Commerce

Published

3 hours ago

July 21, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

sccg-management-and-trivver-partner-to-transform-gaming-with-ai-powered-interactive-commerce

SCCG Management has entered a strategic partnership with Trivver, Inc., a spatial AI technology company holding more than 165 global patents, to bring measurable AI-powered commerce experiences to gaming operators, casinos, sportsbooks, and entertainment brands.

SCCG Management, an advisory and consultancy firm serving publicly traded and privately held corporations across the global gaming, betting, and prediction markets sectors, today announced a new strategic partnership with Trivver, Inc., a spatial AI technology company based in Hideout, Utah. The partnership brings Trivver’s patented AI-powered Smart Objects into SCCG’s network of gaming operators, platform providers, and sports and entertainment brands.

Trivver holds more than 165 global patents covering spatial AI, immersive environment monetization, and viewability measurement, with technology that deploys across web, mobile, and smart glasses platforms without requiring an app download. Trivver enables gaming operators and brands to transform digital environments into measurable, interactive commerce experiences where every product, sponsorship, or promotion becomes intelligent, personalized, and directly shoppable. The company’s work includes a virtual banking experience built for JPMorgan Chase and, most recently, the June 11, 2026 launch of its PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace, Trivver’s first commercial deployment of in-game advertising infrastructure, announced with supporting statements from Jack Buser, global director for Games, Strategic Industries at Google Cloud, and Will Eastcott, CEO and co-founder of PlayCanvas. The SDK lets developers building on the PlayCanvas engine deploy interactive in-world brand experiences inside browser-based games, personalized in real time using Google’s Gemini models, with Unreal Engine and Unity support in development. Its platform is designed to turn any product, brand asset, or advertising unit into an interactive 3D object inside an immersive environment, with built-in measurement of viewability and engagement aligned with IAB and MRC ad-measurement standards.

Trivver’s environments can be launched through a URL, QR code, or link, with inventory swapped in seconds without changing the destination address, and each smart object carries its own engagement data on screen coverage and dwell time. That data layer is what SCCG sees as the differentiator for gaming and entertainment use cases: an operator or rights holder can measure exactly how an audience engages with a branded 3D object inside a live casino stream, a fan-engagement environment, or a venue activation, not just whether it was displayed.

Under the partnership, SCCG will provide Trivver with strategic and regulatory advisory across gaming verticals, commercial introductions to operators and platform partners across its network, support for Trivver’s expansion into new international markets, and introductions to potential strategic partners and acquirers. The engagement will prioritize verticals where Trivver’s technology has direct application, including live casino, fan engagement and sports entertainment, music, and automotive. The fit runs in both directions: Trivver’s own positioning for its Enterprise AI Commerce Platform names Gaming, Casinos & Sports Betting as one of ten target verticals the platform serves.

“Trivver is exactly the kind of category-defining technology partner our network looks for. They hold more than 165 global patents, they just launched their PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace, and their own platform already names gaming, casinos, and sports betting as a core vertical. Live casino, fan engagement, and immersive entertainment all have unused digital real estate, and Trivver’s spatial AI is built to monetize exactly that space, with measurement built to IAB and MRC standards.”

Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO, SCCG Management

SCCG will draw on its established network of more than 100 partners across sportsbook operators, iGaming platforms, content studios, live casino providers, and B2B technology vendors to identify and support introductions for Trivver, alongside representation at major international gaming events including G2E Las Vegas, ICE London, and SBC events.

“Gaming has become one of the world’s largest digital commerce platforms. Together with SCCG we’re giving operators, brands, and entertainment companies a new way to engage audiences through AI-powered experiences that can be measured, personalized, and monetized in real time.”

Joel LaMontagne, Chief Executive Officer, Trivver, Inc.

The partnership adds to SCCG’s growing roster of technology partners bringing new categories of immersive, measurable digital experiences into the gaming and entertainment industry, and reflects the continued convergence of physical and digital engagement across live casino, sports, music, and automotive audiences. SCCG will begin with a market assessment and gaming-vertical analysis of Trivver’s technology, followed by initial introductions to qualified operators and platform providers across its network, with distribution and advisory support continuing throughout the engagement.

About SCCG Management

SCCG Management is a global advisory firm with more than 33 years of experience connecting clients to strategic partners across the gambling industry. With an ecosystem of over 130 gaming-related partner companies, SCCG provides market representation, business development, capital introductions, and managed services to operators, technology providers, and brands worldwide. For more information, visit sccgmanagement.com.

About Trivver

Trivver, Inc. is a spatial AI technology company specializing in 3D smart object technology, immersive environment monetization, and augmented reality deployment across web, mobile, and smart glasses platforms. Trivver is the Enterprise AI Commerce Platform that enables organizations to create, deploy, measure, personalize, and monetize interactive experiences across web, mobile, gaming, smart TVs, and emerging wearable devices. The company holds more than 165 global patents, launched its PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace in June 2026, and has worked with organizations including JPMorgan Chase. Trivver is led by Chief Executive Officer Joel LaMontagne. For more information, visit trivver.com.

The post SCCG Management and Trivver Partner to Transform Gaming with AI-Powered Interactive Commerce appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.