AS Roma, the Italian soccer club, have partnered with the Riyadh Season entertainment festival to make it the front-of-shirt sponsor of the Serie A club for the next two seasons.

The deal includes the club’s men, women, and youth teams, as well as a requirement to play one friendly per season during the festival, beginning with this year’s edition.

Roma have been without a permanent sponsor since terminating their deal with blockchain platform DigitalBits in May for missed payments. 

Since then, the club's kits have been displaying the letters SPQR - an ancient Roman slogan. 

Lina Souloukou, AS Roma’s chief executive officer and general manager, said: “This market is becoming increasingly significant for the world of football and we believe our collaboration will generate many interesting and unique opportunities.”

Souloukou was appointed by Roma in mid-April to replace Pietro Berardi, who was relieved of his duties.

Meanwhile, New Balance, the US sportswear brand, has expanded its sponsorship deal with Portuguese giants FC Porto.

The extension takes the deal beyond the 10-year mark, and moves Porto from the position of European partner to global partner.

The deal also involves the renaming of FC Porto and its youth project Dragon Force’s training location in early 2024, from Campo da Constituição to New Balance Park.

Additionally, Porto player Toni Martínez will continue as a New Balance athlete having been with the brand for several years, with New Balance also signing some of the club’s young players to its roster.

FC Porto first signed with New Balance in 2014.

Earlier this year, New Balance lost a legal battle with Roma after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled in the Serie A side’s favor in an arbitration case after the US brand sued the club for breach of contract.

This gave Roma the green light to conclude a kit deal with German sportswear giant adidas.