FA Snaps up Action Images in Three-year Deal

The Football Association has selected Action Images, the specialist sports photography agency, as its official photography partner in a new three-year deal. Action Images, wholly acquired by Reuters in September 2005, was appointed by The FA following a competitive tender process involving a number of high-profile photography agencies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Action Images will exclusively manage The FA’s photo library and assignment-based commissions covering all aspects of The FA’s work within football. Further, the agency will be commissioned by The FA to undertake photography assignments at all England football team matches at every level.

Additionally, Action Images will manage the editorial and commercial sales of all photography for The FA, using its specialist knowledge in the sports marketplace. This service is further strengthened by the international sales and support infrastructure at its disposal since its recent acquisition by Reuters.

The Association’s photo library contains over 200,000 images including many never seen before pictures. Together with Action Images own archives, the combined collection will make it the first choice for anyone looking for the very best in English football photography.

Action Images is a recognised market leader in sports photography. Its clients include major sports clubs and governing bodies, international media publishers and sponsors. It has a team of photographers working on editorial and commercial assignments, and an archive of more than 7 million sports images.

Jonathan Hill, Commercial Director, at The Football Association, said,

“This is an important deal for The Football Association and will take us to the next stage of our photographic development. Not only does this ensure that we have the best photographic coverage for all our events across the wide range of work that the organisation undertakes, it also ensures that we now have a pro-active sales force for our commercial and editorial imagery. With such a strong reputation in sports photography, we are delighted to be working with Action Images and Reuters.”

Monique Villa, Reuters Global Head of News and Pictures and Chairman of Action Images, said,

“England is one of the most popular and closely followed football teams in the world generating huge demand for photography amongst fans and sponsors alike. The FA’s decision to choose Action Images to shoot and distribute these images is a major endorsement of our strength in this marketplace. We really are creating a new and competitive alternative in sports photography.”

Media Contacts:

Reuters
Yasmeen Khan Tel: + 44 207 542 0496
Reuters media relations Mobile: + 44 7990 560496
yasmeen.khan@reuters.com

The FA Tel: + 44 207 745 4877
Stuart Turner Mobile: + 44 7966 398152
Head of Broadcast and New Media
stuart.turner@thefa.com

Notes to Editors

Reuters

Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Its trusted information drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 15,300 staff in 91 countries, including staff from the acquisition of Moneyline Telerate (MLT) in June 2005. It also includes 2,300 editorial staff in 196 bureaux serving 129 countries, making Reuters the world’s largest international multimedia news agency. In the 2004 Annual Report and Form 20-F, Reuters Group revenues were £2.9 billion.

Reuters and the sphere logo are the trade-marks of the Reuters group of companies.