Yahoo! Agrees Online Media Partnership with the League Managers Association

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yahoo! and the League Managers Association (LMA) ? the representative association of professional football managers, past and present, in the Barclays Premier League, npower Championship and npower Leagues 1 and 2 - have announced the launch of an online media partnership that will see video and print content from some of the biggest names in football management published across Yahoo!?s UK media platforms and social media channels.

A season-long deal initially, the LMA?s first online media partnership gives Yahoo! the rights to produce, write and broadcast exclusive interviews with members of the LMA. Hosted on a new microsite called ?The Dugout?, each week a different manager from across the four divisions of the English professional game will share their philosophies and approach to the game, while also looking ahead to the weekend?s big upcoming fixtures. The first interview, which will run next week, is with Roberto di Matteo, a legend as a Chelsea player and currently cutting a dash in the Barclays Premier League as a manager with West Bromwich Albion.

One of the social elements of the partnership is the chance for Yahoo! users to put questions forward for the manager via Yahoo!Eurosport and via Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo!?s popular Q&A site. To ask a question, users should visit http://yhoo.it/g4Lbzb.

The deal is part of a long-term strategy to make Yahoo! the home of online football in the UK. Following on from its global partnership last summer with David Beckham, Yahoo! agreed a three-year deal with the Premier League for the rights to short-form online Barclays Premier League highlights for UK users, starting in August last year.

Under the terms of Yahoo!?s Premier League deal, weekend games can be found on Yahoo! at http://yhoo.it/dCJoCI from just after midnight on Monday morning, while week night games are up the following morning. As well as attracting advertisers and sponsors such as Nissan, Diageo and Universal Pictures, Yahoo! has brought innovative packages and presentation to the highlights, including ?Weekend?s goals in 90 seconds? and ?Hot or Not?, where the best and worst moments of the weekend?s games are pored over.

Richard Bevan, CEO of the LMA commented: "The LMA is delighted to have signed a partnership with Yahoo!. Working with a brand with such a global presence and reach is significant for the LMA. The association and its members look forward to delivering some unique, compelling content and insight into management across the leagues for Yahoo?s football fans."

Andrew Cocker, Yahoo!?s European Head of Consumer Marketing said: "Yahoo!?s partnership with the League Managers Association is a welcome addition to our Premier League highlights and shows how serious we are about becoming the football fan?s natural home online. As the season progresses and we approach its business end, our LMA experts will add valuable insight to our Premier League action and our football content from across the world.?

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is an innovative technology company that operates the largest digital media, content, and communications business in the world. Yahoo! keeps more than half a billion consumers worldwide connected to what matters to them most, and delivers powerful audience solutions to advertisers through its unique combination of Science + Art + Scale. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com) or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).