Premier League club Bournemouth have completed a double deal ahead of tonight’s match at Manchester United.
The Cherries have announced that cybersecurity partner ESET has extended its partnership with the club for a further two seasons. ESET has been involved with the club since the 2019/20 season.
Alongside its cybersecurity infrastructure, the deal includes community work around Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – playing a vital role in the Safer Kids Online programme.
ESET, headquartered in Bournemouth, is a global cybersecurity company, protecting millions of customers and thousands of companies worldwide.
ESET will continue to support matchday social content including goal GIFs, post-match manager interviews and sponsoring matchday streams for non-first-team fixtures played at Vitality Stadium.
The firm is also an official partner of the Cherries’ women’s team and the side’s back-of-shirt sponsor.
AFC Bournemouth’s commercial director Rob Mitchell said: “We’re delighted to extend our partnership with ESET for a further two seasons. They’re an expert partner that we love working alongside for the good of the club and the community in BCP.”
Matt Knell, country manager UK at ESET, added: “We’ve built a trusted partnership with AFC Bournemouth and are excited to extend our collaboration into the next season and beyond.
“As their dedicated cybersecurity provider, we deliver multilayered digital protection so the club can focus on performance on the pitch.
“With off-pitch defence more important than ever, we’re proud to provide that foundation. We look forward to working even more closely in the season ahead and supporting future success.”
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Meanwhile the club has also revealed that it will be working with SkillCorner, who will provide advanced physical performance data across the Black Knight Football Club network – parent company of the club – over the next two years.
SkillCorner’s physical data will play a key role in BKFC’s recruitment analysis process, helping the club ensure that players meet the significant physical demands required to perform at the top level.
AFC Bournemouth has worked with SkillCorner for the past three years and has been impressed with the accuracy, usability, and alignment of its data, it said.
“We’re working towards our goal of using data to inform decision-making in different areas of the club,” said Tim Bezbatchenko, president of Black Knight Football.
“It is an exciting time to explore the use of data and there is huge potential to scale something significant across Black Knight Football in the coming years.
“SkillCorner data is an important part of how we assess whether potential or current players fit our physical profile. It allows us to measure players consistently and objectively across different leagues and competitions.
“We see SkillCorner having a lot of advantages in coverage, accuracy, and feasibility. The reliability of their data, the breadth of competition coverage, and how well it integrates into our systems made them the clear choice.”