FINA votes to change name to World Aquatics

FINA, the Fédération Internationale de Natation, has today become World Aquatics following a vote at the Extraordinary General Congress on the eve of the World Swimming Championships (25m) 2022. Over its 114-year history, FINA and its 209 member federations have maintained responsibility for swimmers, artistic swimmers, divers, high divers, open water swimmers and water polo players.

The launch of the World Aquatics brand arrives after a series of major reforms that sees a modern organisation ready to lead and serve athletes united by water, with a broader scope and increased engagement with participants and audiences.

“Everyone in our community is proud of what FINA achieved in developing our sports. As we look to the future, World Aquatics will see all aquatics athletes united for the first time under one brand. The identity of our organisation now focuses on our shared vision: a world united by water, for health, life and sport,” said World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam.

The new identity for the global aquatics community came after a comprehensive canvassing of the sports’ key stakeholders.   

“I will always tell you that our athletes must come first, so I would never make a big decision like this without consulting our athletes,” the World Aquatics President said. “Their response has been very clear. More than seventy percent of the athletes that we have spoken with have said that they would like us to change FINA’s name. Many of them could not even tell us what the letters in FINA stand for.”

The adoption of the World Aquatics name was confirmed by a vote of member federations at an Extraordinary Congress in Melbourne earlier today. It marks the culmination of 18 months of intensive organisational transformation, much of it guided by the FINA Reform Committee. During this process, World Aquatics has made very significant improvements to its governance, including the strengthening of the athletes’ voice in decision-making and the creation of an independent Aquatics Integrity Unit.

“World Aquatics will continue to deliver and develop the rewarding competition calendar that has become the foundation of successful elite careers while being the subject of dreams and ambitions for millions of young aquatics athletes all around the globe,” continued Al-Musallam. “Our new vision and mission also reflect how World Aquatics and our members have already begun expanding our work beyond competition and swimming as a life skill, to include sustainability, environmental advocacy and wellbeing. Our new brand and visual identity will also enable us to connect with new audiences and encourage new generations of athletes across our disciplines to be united by water, safely, fairly and sustainably.”

The new World Aquatics visual identity will be rolled-out at the first events of 2023. In the interim, the federation’s portfolio of digital assets has been refreshed, including @worldaquatics social platforms. A new website will be launched in conjunction with the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka next summer (14-30 July 2023), the first World Championships fully integrating the new brand identity.

“World Aquatics is determined to play its part in ensuring the ability to participate, compete in and benefit from aquatic sports. This ability is dependent on being able to swim and having access to places to swim. Both these things are incredibly important to World Aquatics and our member federations, and it’s right that our new brand should reflect that,” said World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki.

LaLiga Tech and Sevilla announce availability of Transfer Tracker

LaLiga Tech and Sevilla FC have today announced the availability of Transfer Tracker, a technology and legal consulting service that will return millions in unpaid compensation payments to football clubs around the world.

The new solution will allow clubs around the world to claim solidarity payments for transfers relating to players that have passed through their academy. Current regulations state that when a player is transferred, the club that trained them can claim up to 5% of the transfer value.

Transfer Tracker is the only available market solution for checking and claiming back-dated payments before they expire. According to the latest estimations, there is more than $1.2 billion USD in unclaimed compensation that clubs can now claim for.

To begin a compensation claim through Transfer Tracker, clubs only need to submit a free request. From there, Transfer Tracker’s specialised team will thoroughly analyse the transfer market through advanced Big Data tools to identify all player transactions that could be eligible for a compensation claim.

Payment can be secured through various actions, from conversations between the two affected clubs to direct contact with FIFA where necessary.

The system was initially developed and has been operated for the last two years by the data and legal department of Sevilla FC, where it forms part of an ambitious strategic innovation policy that has been implemented across both the sports and business areas of the club.

Thanks to this system, Sevilla FC has identified more than 700 movements of players who had been developed within the club across 53 different competitions. As a result, Sevilla FC has reclaimed more than €1,000,000 in payments associated with the solidarity mechanism.

In recent weeks, LaLiga Tech has worked alongside clubs from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Portugal to begin new claims processes through Transfer Tracker.

On average, each of these clubs is eligible to claim for 537 transfers amounting to over €117m in market value, with an average total claim value of €3.4m per club.

In accordance with current FIFA rules, clubs can make claims on all transfers for which final payments have been made in the past two years.

Marcos Gonzalez, value proposition manager at LaLiga Tech added: “There are world-class academies that are producing and exporting incredible football talent but are not receiving the compensation that they deserve. We created Transfer Tracker to help clubs of all sizes to discover and receive this additional income, without the need to invest their own time and resource.

“With the robust data analysis tools that we have created along with Sevilla FC, we offer the quickest possible way to negotiate the claims process and divert more wealth across the football ecosystem.”

José María Cruz, managing director of Sevilla FC added: “The industry is missing the opportunity to secure a new source of income that rewards its knowledge and coaching methodologies. It is a silent drama suffered by the vast majority of clubs and that disproportionately affects clubs with fewer resources. We are proud to promote this innovation, together with LaLiga Tech, to tackle this competitive disadvantage and improve a system that has been favouring buying clubs over formative clubs. At Sevilla
FC we firmly believe in technological development as a tool to improve both sporting and institutional competitiveness.”

Ocean Race and ATPI partner to deliver what really matters

The Ocean Race and ATPI Sports Events have partnered up to make sure that guest experiences during The Ocean Race 2022-23 edition will be unique and unforgettable.

In this article, we take a look at how ATPI Sports Events will deliver meaningful guest experiences that have ocean health at the core.

The Ocean Race

The Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other since 1973. The Race is frequently referred to as the world’s longest and most difficult professional sporting event, sailing’s most difficult team challenge, and one of the sport’s big three events, alongside the Olympic Games and the America’s Cup.

The Race’s concept is straightforward: it’s the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting the sport’s best sailors against each other across the world’s most treacherous waters. It’s relentless: the desire for adventure, the transformative effect on the sailors — all of these factors combine to give the Race its power and depth.

The 14th edition of the Ocean Race consists of seven legs, with stops in eight cities (and a fly-by in Kiel.Sailing.City). The route begins and ends in the Mediterranean and travels through the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, as well as the icy depths of the Southern Ocean, which encircles the world near Antarctica.

Each leg begins and ends in a major international city. Each Host City, in turn, hosts a two-week stopover festival based at Ocean Live Park, a free-to-enter Race Village. During each stopover, the teams compete in a separate in-port race, as well as a series of pro-am races in which guests race alongside The Ocean Race sailors around an inshore course. ATPI is excited to create unforgettable hospitality experiences that bring guests right into the heart of the Race and the action.

The Partnership

ATPI Sports Events is The Ocean Race’s official hospitality agency, providing tailor-made hospitality programmes with a focus on sustainability at all stopovers for The Ocean Race partners, sponsors, and team suppliers. We create and deliver guest experiences with sustainability at the forefront, aiming to benefit both people and the environment.

Climate-positive hospitality programmes

The Ocean Race is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by up to 75% compared with the previous edition, and working with sailing teams, host cities, partners and suppliers in a shared ambition to slash their GHGs and hold a climate positive event. ATPI Sports Events is tasked with providing a climate-positive hospitality programme that aligns with The Ocean Race’s sustainability goals. To be climate-positive, more greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) must be ‘drawn down’ than emitted. We advocated for investments in nature-based restoration and carbon-offsetting projects for those unavoidable GHG emissions.

A climate-positive guest experience means not only balancing guests’ GHG emissions but also, for the first time in sports, balancing the same number of local people’s GHG emissions, based on per capita emissions for that destination.

The team will collaborate with The Ocean Race to develop new systems that will accurately track and report the GHG impacts of logistics and guests, with automated systems that will simplify data management for the Race. For the guest experience programme, we will calculate the average GHG impact of a guest for two days, including flights, accommodations, ground transfers, food and beverage, and guest boats.

To achieve the ambitious goal of making the event climate positive, the Race will invest in ocean projects through ATPI Halo that will restore vital marine habitats sequestering carbon on behalf of the Race and stakeholders. These ‘blue carbon’ initiatives, which protect or actively regenerate mangroves, are located in carefully selected locations around the world. Healthy mangrove ecosystems can then store carbon, protect coastlines, provide important wildlife habitat, and benefit local communities.

“Sport has the power to inspire and accelerate action and nowhere is this more important than in the race against climate change. We’re drastically cutting emissions compared with the last Race in 2017-18, but creating a climate positive event can only happen with the support and input of every organisation that the Race touches. While some event organisers offset their partners’ emissions we believe that the responsibility should be on everyone involved to play their part. By doing this we don’t just reduce the impact of a single event, but help to create change throughout the industry.”

Meegan Jones, Sustainability Advisor for The Ocean Race

“We at ATPI are extremely proud of our partnership with The Ocean Race, and to be part of what is truly a benchmark for sustainable event management. The dedication and focus of the Race to measure and reduce emissions by including all partners has been inspirational and provided us new learning that will help us better support future events.”

Pippa Ganderton, Product Director for ATPI Halo

Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup to be broadcast in over 100 countries

The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will enjoy coverage in over 100 countries after Infront and River Media Partners secured agreements with multiple broadcasters ahead of the 2022/23 season.

There are a number of first-time agreements including Viaplay (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands), Polsat (Poland), Digi (Romania) and FanCode (India). Infront and River Media Partners are collaborating with European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) to provide a new perspective on the sport in fresh markets globally following the announcement of a three-season agreement in June 2022.

Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman, said: “Broadcasters are key to bringing our world-class competitions to ever-wider audiences. We want to create the best experience for fans globally and engage more viewers than ever before. What we have already seen in this joint partnership is a collaborative effort to work towards an overall roadmap to maximise our competitions’ reach. This is something that will not only help our own ambitions as the world’s biggest club competitions, but also the game as a whole.”

Julien Ternisien, Senior Vice President Summer Sports, Infront said: “We want to embark on a long-term relationship with EPCR and our joint success alongside River Media Partners in this first season builds a good foundation for that. There is so much more we can leverage from the sport using the knowledge all three partners have and we are keen to tap into the competition’s full potential over the next few seasons to work towards even more ambitious commercial goals.”

Nick Chesworth, Director, River Media Partners, said: “We have worked with EPCR for several years now and have always enjoyed a close working relationship with the team in-house. The addition of Infront means we are now able to take the tournament to a broader market on a global scale and contribute to the clear vision EPCR has of growing their competitions and the game of rugby.”

The 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup begin on Friday 9 December and the Finals will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on 19 and 20 May. Fans across the world will have access to fixtures involving iconic clubs such as Leicester Tigers, Leinster Rugby and Stade Toulousain. They will also be able to watch the best of South African rugby as the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs compete in both tournaments for the first time.

UEFA announce long term technology partnership with Atos

The partnership, which will run until 2030, sees Atos become UEFA’s Official Technology Partner for all men’s national team competitions.

UEFA is delighted to announce that Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has agreed an eight-year partnership to sponsor UEFA National Team Football. 

Atos will help UEFA manage, improve, and optimise its complex technology landscape and operations with the overall aim of organising and supporting national team football events over the coming years, which include the UEFA EURO, UEFA Nations League Finals, European Qualifiers, UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and the UEFA Futsal EURO.

Guy Laurent-Epstein, UEFA marketing director said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Atos, who are committing themselves as a key partner of UEFA national men’s team football for the next eight years. The world is becoming more digitalised and with Atos onboard as our technology partner, we are ensuring we will have all the necessary technological expertise to help deliver our competitions to the millions of fans around the globe.”

Atos will be responsible for managing and securing the underlaying hybrid-cloud environment and the infrastructure required to host UEFA’s services, applications, and data. Atos will also offer its cybersecurity services, from identity and access management to advanced incident detection and response, to anticipate, monitor and remediate any potential threats in real time.

Stéphane Igolen, UEFA services and management director, added: “We are pleased to advance into a new phase of technological growth with this partnership with Atos and look forward to working alongside them.”

“Our teams will leverage their expertise in cloud, cybersecurity, integration, digital sovereignty and digital workplace services to manage and modernize UEFA’s digital backbone to deliver outstanding events for the benefit of all football fans. Today a new great sporting and technological story has begun,” said Nourdine Bihmane, co-CEO in charge of tech foundations, Atos

In addition to the activities related to the organization of UEFA events, Atos will also provide a full range of services – with state-of-the-art digital workplace, user support and network solutions – to optimize UEFA’s IT operations and improve the internal user experience. Atos will work closely with UEFA in all these areas to support its business strategy and bring efficiencies and innovation to its IT environment for the benefit of fans and the entire football family in Europe.

CAA Eleven is the exclusive marketing agency of UEFA appointed to manage commercial rights to UEFA national team football competitions, including the UEFA European Football Championship; the UEFA Nations League; the European Qualifiers; the UEFA European Under-21 Championship; and the UEFA European Futsal Championship.

WMRT announces presenting partner for Sydney finale

The World Match Racing Tour is pleased to announce the addition of Zenus Bank and PrimeXM as the two official Presenting Partners for the 2022 WMRT championship final event next week in Sydney, Australia.

The event is being co-hosted with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and is the first time the WMRT Final has been staged in Australia. The winner of the event will be crowned official World Sailing Open Match Racing World Champion.

Founded in 2019, Zenus Bank is a U.S digital bank which gives people and businesses worldwide access to the security, freedom, and convenience of U.S. banking, as well as providing Retail, Corporate, Institutional banking and BaaS. The partnership with the World Match Racing Tour is Zenus’ first venture into sports sponsorship as it looks to raise its profile as a U.S. Retail and Corporate bank for international citizens and businesses.

“Sponsoring the World Match Racing Tour is an exciting opportunity for Zenus. The international sailing community reflects the demographics of our client base, and the commitment to excellence and teamwork also exemplifies the values we hold as a business,” said John Woods, Chief Marketing Officer at Zenus Bank.

PrimeXM, established in 2010, is an award-winning technology provider to the global financial industry, providing cutting edge aggregation software, ultra-low-latency connectivity, and institutional grade hosting solutions. Over 250 financial institutions worldwide choose PrimeXM as their trusted technology partner. The company operates from offices in Dubai, Limassol and Shanghai.

“As a global provider of technology services, we are delighted to partner with the World Match Racing Tour as the world’s longest running professional sailing series, and with its global reach and audience in the international sailing community” commented George Swann of PrimeXM Exchange Markets.

“We are very pleased to welcome Zenus Bank and PrimeXM as Presenting Partners for the WMRT Final” added WMRT Executive Director James Pleasance. “Sydney promises to deliver world class conditions next week, and we are grateful for the support of Zenus Bank and PrimeXM to help us deliver an equally world class event.”

Ten teams from seven countries will compete for the 2022 WMRT Final and Open Match Racing World Championship. Racing will be scheduled daily 14-18 December from 1200 AEST with live results available throughout the event. For information about the event, visit wmrt.com and cyca.com.au

FIS announce acquisition of Freeride World Tour

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is delighted to announce that it has acquired the Freeride World Tour (FWT) and that the two organizations will join forces already for the 2022-2023 season.

The FWT is the worldwide circuit of freeride snowboarding and skiing that features the best riders in the world competing on the most challenging alpine faces across iconic ski resorts. 

By acquiring the FWT, FIS will further unite all the disciplines in skiing and snowboarding, giving them more strength and power to develop on the global stage. 

FWT will continue to run the daily operations of the tour, remaining committed to their core values of safety, performance, responsibility, inclusivity and fun. FIS will focus on the marketing and governance of the FWT, and integrating FWT into the FIS structure that follows the guidelines of recognized FIS and Olympic sports.

The FWT currently includes more than 6,000 licensed athletes from the junior level to the elite Freeride World Tour competitions. On average, five top-level events take place each season with another 200 development events.

“Integrating FWT will see FIS add one of the most exciting, dynamic winter sports competition formats to its portfolio,” said Johan Eliasch. “This is truly a win-win for all parties as FIS can bring massive growth potential to the FWT providing the chance to develop on a broader stage. FWT brings a highly professional tour that offers breathtaking action and an entirely new element of skiing and snowboarding to FIS.”

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with FIS,” said Nicolas Hale-Woods, FWT founder. “For our freeride athletes and event organizers, being under the umbrella of the largest winter International Federation, recognized by the International Olympic Committee, will give them more access to support, increased visibility and additional resources that will ultimately allow the FWT and all of its stakeholders to grow.”

“We are excited to welcome all the freeride athletes to the FIS family,” said FIS Council Member Dean Gosper. “We look forward to working with the entire FWT to ensure the development of the sport on a global scale as FIS has done with so many of the youth- oriented events of snowboard, freestyle and freeski,” said Dean Gosper. who has been appointed Executive Chairman of FWT and will work closely together with Hale-Woods.

Freeriding has experienced massive growth during the last few years. The elite-level Freeride World Tour has three development tiers, Challenger, Qualifier and Junior, allowing athletes to hone their skills and work their way up to the top level. The organization also cooperates with ski schools to share the sport with riders of all ages.

Based in Verbier (SUI), the FWT was established in 1996 with start of the Xtreme Verbier events and has since grown to include a full circuit with competitions in Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.

FIS announce Swatch as Official Partner of FIS Park and Pipe World Cup for next four years

FIS is pleased to announce that Swatch has been named the Official Partner of the FIS Park & Pipe World Cup. The agreement lasts for four years and will run through the 2025-2026 season. 

Park & Pipe is the youngest of the FIS disciplines and includes both Freeski and Snowboard. The events that fall under the Park & Pipe umbrella include Big Air, Halfpipe and Slopestyle.

Since its founding in 1983, Swatch has shaken up the watch industry. Thanks to its striking designs which always reflect the zeitgeist, Swatch remains one of the leading watch manufacturers and the most sought-after brands in the world – and has always stayed true to itself. The company surprises again and again, whether it be with regularly released new models or special collections. The revolutionary way in which Swatch thinks and acts has always been evident with its early involvement in action sports, such as BMX, longboarding and surfing. 

“I can think of no better brand that fits the values of our Park & Pipe disciplines better than Swatch,” said FIS Secretary General Michel Vion. “It is a young watch brand that took the world by storm thanks to always being unique and true to itself, much like the athletes that compete on our tours.”

“Action sports is our playground and we are proud to be the Official Partner of the FIS Park & Pipe World Cup tours,” said Alain Villard, Swatch CEO. “It’s a great fit for us to support the FIS Freeski and Snowboard disciplines, where extremeness meets creativity for spectacular events on the winter sports calendar.”

Swatch also has a stable of professional athletes as part of their Proteam that span across skiing, snowboard, mountain biking and freeriding, to name a few. Familiar faces to the FIS family include Snowboard Big Air World Champion and Olympian athlete Laurie Blouin and Snowboarder and Olympian athlete, two-time Halfpipe World Championship bronze medallist and professional musician Pat Burgener. 

ITF announce calendar for first part of 2023 with record prize money for women’s competitions

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is continuing its drive for gender parity in tennis with today’s announcement of the Q1 (1 January to 30 March) calendar of events on the ITF World Tennis Tour.  

The schedule offers 114 tournaments (up 15 on 2022) and a record $3.3m for professional female players, as well as a new W40 level of competition worth $40,000 in prize money. The creation of this category will increase the total number of tournaments in 2023 above the $15,000 and $25,000 entry category to 150 tournaments. 

The ITF has also revealed today that total prize money on the 2023 ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour will increase by 10% to a record $16.5m.  

There will be 16 W40 events in total in Q1 with host nations including Estonia, France, Portugal, Tunisia, Mexico and India. The number of W60 events will also be increased from 14 in 2022 to 18 in 2023. The $3.3m total prize money on offer in Q1 represents a 25% increase on the same period in 2022 and a 50% increase on 2019. Players will also benefit from the requirement to provide complimentary hospitality at W100 and W80 levels from 2023 onwards. 

The move is part of the ITF’s ‘Advantage All’ commitment to develop and maintain tennis as an equal advantage sport for all. 

The new Q1 calendar also features over 100 events for men at M15 and M25 level, with over $2m prize money on offer for the first time. 

The ITF World Tennis Tour features 75% of the world’s professional tennis tournaments. It is a fundamental pillar of the professional game globally and acts as a pathway between the ITF Junior World Tennis Tour and the WTA (women) / ATP (men) Tour. 

The results of ITF tournaments are incorporated into a player’s WTA or ATP Ranking, which enables professionals to progress through to the elite levels of women’s or men’s professional tennis. 

The ITF has been investing significantly to achieve gender parity in the professional events that act as the main artery for the top level of the game, according to Mary Pierce, a member of the ITF’s Board of Directors and Chair of the ITF Women’s Player Panel.

She said: “The ITF is committed to gender equality and inclusion in general at all levels of the game and on a global basis. We’ve put a lot of focus on this through our Advantage All commitment designed to develop tennis as an equal opportunities sport. That‘s been driving a lot of investment, decisions and action in the professional game, including the creation of the W40 category of tournaments announced today. 

“We’ve also worked hard to structure a calendar of opportunities for men and women on the ITF World Tennis Tour that makes playing and touring easier to schedule and more cost-effective for our professional players, coaches and families.” 

Capital Block appointed official web3 agency of Debreceni VSC

Capital Block, the leading web3 agency for the sports and entertainment markets, can today share that it has been appointed by Debreceni VSC (DVSC), the Hungarian football club, as its official web3 agency.

The club is now gearing up to offer revolutionary new web3 products that enable fans to get closer to their club than ever before.

As a result of this partnership, DVSC has become the first Hungarian football club to signal its intentions in web3. Capital Block will be responsible for advising and implementing DVSC’s ventures into the web3 space, which could include Token launches, NFTs, and a push into the Metaverse.

DVSC alongside Capital Block will soon be making further announcements of potential launches of web3 products. All the products and launches will be owned by DVSC, rather than outsourced to a third party provider, allowing maximum autonomy when it comes to decision making.

Capital Block has a strong track record in developing successful web3 products that enable football fans to get closer to their club, and already works with major football clubs like AS Monaco in France, Legia Warsaw in Poland, and Galatasaray in Turkey.

Capital Block ran Galatasaray’s first ever NFT drop, which sold out in under one minute.

Capital Block says that web3 is still considerably untapped by European football clubs. Even though more football clubs are announcing their involvement in web3 projects, the continent is still some way behind markets like the US.

Tim Mangnall, CEO of Capital Block, continues: “We’ll now get straight to work developing innovative web3 products that bring fans closer to DVSC, and ensuring that DVSC remains at the forefront of innovation in Hungarian football. Watch this space!”

“Our focus will initially be on helping DVSC fans understand web3 and the real-world opportunities it can bring them, before launching a suite of web3 products.”

DVSC press secretary Tóth Csaba Zsolt comments: “We can’t wait to get started with Capital Block, who are Europe’s leading experts when it comes to the intersection of web3 and sports. We were so impressed at their plans to keep our brilliant DVSC fans at the heart of this project, and we can’t wait to share our plans very soon.”