Shorts: Southampton FC, Luton Town, FA

Southampton FC has confirmed a two-year deal with legal firm Paris Smith LLP.

As per the agreement, Paris Smith LLP will become the official legal partner to the Saints and offer its ‘expertise to aid the club in navigating the legal complexities of professional sports.’

Huw Miles, Managing Partner at Paris Smith LLP said, “Sport and especially football plays a huge part in the lives of those living in our region. We look forward to working closely with the club and contributing to its continued success.”

Tim Greenwell, Chief Operating Officer at Southampton FC commented, “We are excited to welcome Paris Smith as our Official Legal Partner. Their expertise and support will be invaluable, and this partnership is a testament to our shared vision of excellence and community engagement.”

EFL Championship football club Luton Town have announced the extension of their partnership with Star Platforms.

The relationship between the football club and the powered access hire service has reached its a seventh season.

The deal sees the Hatters wear the Star Platforms logo on the sleeve of their home shirt for the 2024/25 campaign.

Luton Town, Commercial Director, Chris Bell said, “We have had a very good relationship with Star Platforms for a long time, their values align with the club as a very good local business operating on a national scale.

“To see a partnership continue to develop and thrive over a number of years is a testament to the hard work of all at Star Platforms and Luton Town. We look forward to enjoying another great season together.”

The FA has introduced a new platform, ‘The England Football Family’, which aims to reward and celebrate grassroot football volunteers.

Members of the platform will gain benefits such as development opportunities, ticket offers, and exclusive England Football partner offers.

All volunteer branding previously seen on England football channels will now move to ‘The England Football Family’ for the 2024/25 season.

John Barnes, former England international, said, “What these volunteers do is so important, allowing these kids to be part of a family, teaching them values and life skills and supporting the community.”

Scottish Rugby has launched Gainline, a new e-learning platform.

The free to use learning hub has been developed for players, match officials, coaches and volunteers ‘to enhance their game.’

Gainline is designed and owned by Scottish Rugby, hosted on the Scottish Rugby Management System (SCRUMS) system, which takes over from the previous learning hub, Hive Learning.

Scottish Rugby’s Head of Game Development Neil Graham, commented, “It is timely to be launching now, as the 2024-25 rugby season is imminent and the hope is that coaches, players and match officials will begin to view and implement the content into their own games as the season unfolds.

“We knew we needed a new platform and undertook to create our own rather than utilising a third-party site. We’re thrilled with the outcome, and we hope our SCRUMS users are also thrilled.

“The ultimate goal of Gainline is to support coaches, match officials, players and volunteers in their role, and to inspire them to continue to learn and develop.”