NFL appoints Claire Parnell as senior director, international communications

The National Football League has appointed Claire Parnell as Senior Director, International Communications.

Parnell will be responsible for communications in key overseas markets, helping to grow audiences, deepen fan engagement and elevate key NFL events, products, programmes and initiatives.

NFL International is invested in a long-term strategic plan to grow the game globally, including the delivery of the International Games, development of initiatives including the NFL Academy and the International Player Pathway, expansion of NFL Flag, plus the innovative International Home Marketing Areas programme allowing further opportunity for clubs to expand their brand and build new fan bases around the world.

Parnell brings more than 20 years’ experience in the sport industry to the League, spending nine years at Nike in European and UK Director roles, and was most recently Director of Marketing and Communications for England Netball. Parnell will be based at the NFL offices in London and will report to Alex Riethmiller, Vice President of Communications at the NFL.

“We’re thrilled to welcome someone with Claire’s deep experience and communications acumen to the NFL,” said Riethmiller. “Claire is an ideal fit not only for our work in London and across our international regular-season games but also to lead a strategy that helps the NFL establish a presence and grow its brand in additional markets around the globe.”

“NFL International is one of the League’s fastest growing business areas and a key strategic priority for the organisation and its 32 clubs,” said Parnell.  “I am delighted to be joining the team at such an exciting time and look forward to helping to continue to drive the growth of the game globally.”

Parnell joins the team effective 12 September.

Harlequins signs Saxo as official trading partner

Harlequins has inked a new partnership with investment platform Saxo who become the Official Trading Partner of Harlequins. 

Saxo, the leading fintech specialist focusing on multi-asset trading and investment, partners with Harlequins as the company reveals a new-look logo to celebrate 30 years of providing services to customers to look after their financial future. 

With Saxo’s new branding and tagline, ‘Saxo, be invested’, now seen across the Twickenham Stoop – the home of Harlequins, the two companies today celebrate the joining of two businesses that have learnt how to evolve and win. 

Much like Saxo within the financial sector, Harlequins has learned over time that risk management, technology and technical analysis are essential ingredients to success.  

Saxo has a history of sport partnerships including with the Tour De France and in Formula One once sponsoring Renault and Lotus, alongside some of the sport’s biggest stars including Romain Grosjean.  

Commenting on this new deal, Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple said: “As a sports club we strive for best-in class performance both on and off the field, with the lifting of the Gallagher Premiership trophy at the end of  each season the ultimate marker of success. 

“Having won the league two times during the club’s history, we are fortunate enough to have a good understanding of what it takes to be the best in class to reach the pinnacle of professional sport. We are delighted to partner with Saxo who are the pinnacle of their industry and understand what it takes to win.” 

Saxo UK CEO Charles-White Thomson added: “We are delighted to announce this partnership which we envisage growing further with time. It is a pleasure to partner with a rugby team with such a rich pedigree and a track record of winning. 

“Though from different fields, Saxo and Harlequins share many similarities, including a strong and competitive spirit, esprit de corps, a shared desire to continually evolve, and a keen focus on delivering an excellent experience for our engaged and loyal clients or supporter base. I look forward to developing this relationship further and evidencing that sport and finance make excellent teammates. ” 

The partnership has been agreed in association with Saxo celebrating 30 years since opening its doors in Copenhagen in 1992.

PGA TOUR partners with Autograph in long-term NFT deal

The PGA TOUR and Autograph, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady, today announce a long-term deal to create a comprehensive “digital collectibles” NFT platform, revolutionizing golf fandom by allowing fans to celebrate their love of the game by owning a token of its storied history. 

The PGA TOUR will work with Autograph to create a digital collectibles platform that pulls from TOUR competition video, data, imagery and other competition-related components. Golf fans will have the opportunity to own and collect NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) featuring the best PGA TOUR golfers in the world as well as some of their favorite moments from the archives and the current FedExCup Season. Additionally, collectors will have a chance to earn rewards with a wide range of utility, including access to exclusive digital, in-person and onsite experiences, along with other program benefits. 

“The PGA TOUR is excited to work with Autograph to offer digital collectibles that highlight the most talented golfers in the world and their role in the sport’s history,” said Len Brown, PGA TOUR Chief Legal Officer, and EVP, Licensing. “The TOUR is continuously looking for innovative ways to engage fans to bring them closer to the game and their favorite players, so we’re thrilled to start building the future of golf fandom with the Autograph team.”

“We are thrilled to expand our roster of iconic partners with the addition of the PGA TOUR as our first professional league,” said Richard Rosenblatt, co-founder and co-chairman of the board at Autograph. “Over the last year, we have defined the future of fandom by leveraging NFT technology to bring fans closer to the icons they love across sports, music and entertainment and each other. We look forward to unlocking new potential and offering our community exclusive access to the PGA TOUR team through this partnership.” 

“I’m very excited to be a part of this next chapter with Autograph and the PGA TOUR,” said Tiger Woods, who sits on Autograph’s Board of Advisors. “Enhancing the golf world with NFTs will create a connection between us as players and the fans.”

The TOUR’s exclusive NFT Digital Collectibles platform with Autograph will launch in early 2023. To learn more and sign up for news and updates, visit autograph.io/pgatour.

Register your interest for inaugural Rabbit Hole Webinar with Tom Fleetham from Zilliqa

Introducing: The Rabbit Hole 🐰

A new series dedicated to exploring the Web3 and metaverse projects at the cutting edge within:

🏀 Sports
🎥 Entertainment
👾 Gaming 

Hosts Joe & Jay will be joined by inaugural guest Tom Fleetham, who leads the sports and gaming business at Zilliqa; one of the leading blockchain protocols.

Tom’s background is over a decade of experience at IBM, where he most recently held the position of Sports and Entertainment Lead. He was responsible for delivering digital transformation and developing partnerships with global brands across sports, gaming, and esports.

Join us down the rabbit hole on 29th Sept at 2pm!

Register here: https://lnkd.in/emPi3Wim

Looking back on our Lausanne Masterclass

The Lausanne Masterclass on the future of sports monetisation yesterday marked iSportConnect’s return to the Olympic Capital, the site of its annual Lausanne Summit at the Olympic Museum, for the first time since the pandemic.

There was a great mix of people in the room at the Maison du Sport Internationale for an event that out the focus firmly on group discussion in a friendly setting that encouraged people to share their thoughts, and they did so enthusiastically.

Archie Woodhead, CSO and co-founder of InCrowd, kicked off the day with a data presentation on the growth trends in sport. Federations, clubs and leagues have bucket loads of data, but the question of what to do with it and how to harness it seems to be on everyone’s lips.

After his insightful presentation the topic moved on to the key issue of the development of D2C and the future of television revenues. Appearing on the panel were Andrew Ryan, Managing Director of FIBA Media; Jan Olsson, Head of Sports Rights at SVT and Jerome Parmentier Head of Broadcasting and Media Rights for the IOC.

They were joined by Abhishek Ranade from Tata Communications and Aviram Sharon, InTheGame, representing two technology companies helping to shape the TV landscape of the future.

The discussion focused on direct-to-consumer as complementary to broadcast television rather than a stand-alone proposition. The experts addressed areas such as the complexities of managing rights around the world and how smaller federations can work with partners to build their own D2C offers.

The panel, presented in a fishbowl format that put the speakers in the middle of the audience, offered some great insights and valuable contributions came from people all over the room sharing their experiences and expertise.

A high point of the day was a freewheeling interview with Dan Rossomondo, Head of International Commercial Strategy & Development at the NBA who was full of frank and entertaining insights into the strategy and operations of one the world’s top leagues.

Our next masterclass is the Brands Masterclass, which will take place at stunning Orbital in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on October 19, to register your interest click here: https://www.isportconnect.com/event/isportconnect-brands-masterclass/

YMU expands into gaming and sports marketing as Digital Sports MGMT join group

YMU today announce the integration of leading sports marketing, gaming, and entertainment agency, Digital Sports MGMT (DSM), into their global YMU Sports division.

This exciting expansion sees YMU gain a majority stake in DSM and marks the group’s first move into the world of gaming and sports marketing. The merger comes at a time of growth for YMU as they further develop their sports offering and continue to establish their reputation as one of the most innovative, progressive, and forward-thinking talent management companies in the world.

Launched in 2016 by founders Rob Wadsworth and Tom Henderson, DSM is at the forefront of the sports marketing, entertainment, and gaming industry. Trusted by leading brand clients such as EA Sports, Sorare, Avery Dennison and Warner Bros, they also represent some of the world’s best gaming talent, including Danny Aarons, ShaunaGames, and AJ3.

Working collaboratively, DSM will leverage YMU’s extensive global footprint, talent management expertise and elite brand clients to break new ground in the ever-growing sports and gaming industry. This will see DSM’s gaming and esports talent benefit from the support of YMU’s unrivalled global management services.

The merger will also allow YMU Sports to expand its service offering to include esports consultancy, sports marketing, sponsorship brokerage, licensing, and live production. Further enhancing the expertise and support that can be provided to current and future clients.

Tom Henderson and Rob Wadsworth, Co-Founders and Directors, DSM, said: “YMU and Digital Sport Mgmt’s partnership strengthens our position at the crossroads where sport, gaming, technology, and entertainment meet and interact. Our collective expertise will enrich the services we provide our talent and brand clients and will allow us both to scale into new markets. YMU is the perfect partner to expedite our business plan globally and in turn extend the YMU Group’s premium services into the future.”

Mary Bekhait, Group CEO, YMU said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Digital Sports MGMT and diversify our Sports division into gaming and esports, marketing activation, and sponsorship. In Rob and Tom, we have found two phenomenal, industry-leading executives and I’ve been incredibly impressed with what they have built with Digital Sports Mgmt. Entering into gaming and esports has been one of YMU’s key strategic objectives and with the acquisition of DSM I am pleased to be able to offer further, exceptional expertise and bespoke knowledge to our current and future global sports clients.”

Vodafone announces partnership with Welsh Women’s Rugby Team

Vodafone has announced a landmark multi-year partnership with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to become the Founding Principal Partner of women and girls’ rugby in Wales and a Digital Transformation Partner to Principality Stadium.

Vodafone will work with the WRU to support the continued growth of women’s rugby, with the aim of reaching over 10,000 female players in Wales by 2026 through continued investment in grassroots clubs and programmes.

The partnership will allow the WRU to further develop its elite female pathway, through expanded talent identification and development initiatives and by supporting the Wales Women U20 and U18 programmes to discover more promising young players and provide effective routes to the highest level of the sport. 

As part of the deal, Vodafone will be front-of-shirt sponsor for Wales Women, on a unique women’s fit kit from Macron which will be worn for the first time in the 2023 Tik Tok Six Nations. 

Meanwhile, Vodafone’s role as a Digital Transformation Partner to Principality Stadium will see the brand use innovative tech solutions and the power of Vodafone 5G to bring fans closer to the action, with the aim of making Principality Stadium the most connected stadium in the world.

The landmark sponsorship of Wales Women marks the first step in a growing, multi-year partnership between Vodafone and the WRU to develop Welsh rugby.

Vodafone UK’s Consumer Director, Max Taylor, said: “It is such an exciting time for women’s sport and with the Women’s Rugby World Cup just around the corner I am incredibly proud to announce our new partnership with the WRU. We’ll work with them to support the growth of Welsh rugby from the grassroots up. This is only the first step in an ambitious partnership with the WRU, and we can’t wait to get started.”

WRU Performance Director Nigel Walker said: “Women’s rugby in Wales is going from strength to strength, and we’re delighted to have a partner that shares our commitment to the continued growth of the women’s and girls’ game.

“Vodafone are supporting Welsh rugby to make further significant progress at all levels of the game for women and girls in Wales as well as growing the performance  pathway,  including our U18 and U20 programmes

“The support will also enable further developments within the full-time, international programme and of course significantly add to the growing profile of Wales Women.”

WRU CEO Steve Phillips added: “This partnership and the initiatives it will support will have a directly positive impact on participation levels in community rugby, where we aim to produce over 10,000 players by 2026. It will provide significant help to the development of the next generation of female players.

“We are also looking forward to seeing how Vodafone can work with us to create unique experiences for supporters at Principality Stadium, with the aim of bringing fans even closer to the action than ever before in what is an incredibly exciting time for us.” 

The announcement follows Vodafone’s role as Official Connectivity Partner of Wimbledon and Lead Partner for the British & Irish Lions for the 2022 Tour to South Africa, and builds on Vodafone’s commitment to support grassroots sport and help develop the next generation of talent.

UEFA and Fanatics sign licensing, e-commerce and event retail deal

UEFA and Fanatics, a leading provider of licensed sports merchandise and global digital sports platform, today announced a long-term e-commerce, event retail and licensing deal, in one of the most comprehensive sports merchandising partnerships in European football.

This national team football deal, for both the men’s and women’s games, is an extension of the previous event retail partnership and will now see Fanatics gain e-commerce rights and the right to design and manufacture unbranded apparel. 

Fanatics will exclusively operate the e-commerce business for UEFA’s national team competitions and will become the master licensee for its full merchandise portfolio with UEFA taking advantage of Fanatics’ vertical commerce model. The new partnership will see Fanatics continue to operate event retail at UEFA’s major international events, including Euro 2024, Women’s Euro 2025 and Euro 2028.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director said: “We are delighted and excited to have agreed this long-term partnership with Fanatics, who are a market-leader in their field. Our national team competitions for both the men’s and women’s game are some of the most followed sporting events across the globe and together, we are looking forward to offering fans an extensive range of merchandise so that the memories of these great tournaments remain with them for years to come.” 

Matthew Primack, senior vice-president of international business development at Fanatics, said: “UEFA is one of the most respected brands in global sport and we are proud to be chosen to deliver their retail and merchandise solutions.  Fanatics is poised to provide UEFA with its first fully integrated e-commerce, event retail and licensed programme, and service a truly world class integrated experience for fans, regardless of whether they choose to shop online, at an event or at a retail store.”

The long-term partnership means that Fanatics will create products or license the rights to category leaders in their respective fields to manufacture and distribute a significantly expanded, real-time selection of UEFA branded products thereby enhancing the choice and experience for fans of European National football.

Fanatics partners with more than 900 sporting organisations and clubs in the world, as well as many top world sporting organisations, including NFL, NBA, MLB, the Tour De France and Formula One.

IMG Arena secures exclusive streaming and betting rights for British Basketball League

IMG ARENA, a leading sports data business for the betting, media and professional sectors, has secured the exclusive worldwide betting data and streaming rights for British Basketball League (BBL).

The multi-year deal includes BBL’s domestic UK betting streaming rights and marks the first time that the data and streaming rights have been packaged together. It covers the 10 franchise-strong BBL Championship, its end-of-season BBL Play-offs, and knockout competitions, the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy.

IMG ARENA will capture and deliver FastPath data from over 214 games per season for its global network of over 460 sportsbook operators. In addition, IMG ARENA will also distribute live streaming for betting.  This expands IMG ARENA’s portfolio of top tier basketball, which already features EuroLeague, NBL Canada, Italy’s LBA and Spain’s ACB.

As a key partner, IMG ARENA will help BBL deliver on its growth strategy, following the basketball organisation’s recent £7m investment from 777 Partners.

Mark Wrigley, Senior Director, Rights at IMG ARENA, said: “Basketball is a sport that we are incredibly passionate about and committed to helping grow its global reach. The BBL and its competitions are an exciting addition to our portfolio, increasing our offering of premier-level basketball from key territories around the world.”

Andy Webb, Chief Operating Officer at BBL, said: “BBL has a stated mission to grow basketball and its following in the UK and beyond. Working with IMG ARENA helps us to do this by maximising returns from an important commercial asset while also widening BBL’s audience and fan engagement.” 

Headquartered in London, IMG ARENA is a sports data and technology hub serving the sport, sport betting and sport media industries. IMG ARENA delivers live streaming and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually, as well as for on-demand virtual sports products and front-end solutions including the UFC Event Centre. IMG ARENA’s clients include the ATP, UFC, DP World Tour, PGA Tour, EuroLeague, MLS and the FA.

Skateboard GB and Skiddle join forces to announce Virtual Skate Championship

Skiddle, the events discovery platform, has shown its support for Skateboard GB, the NGB which supports skateboarders to reach the Olympic Games, as it announces that they will be co-hosting Skateboard GB x Skiddle Virtual Skate Championship. 

The groundbreaking event will enable entries without barriers based on location, gender or wealth that may normally stop skilled Skateboarders from competing in a traditional Skating Tournament. 

Skateboard GB, the organisers of the event, hope that the championship drives more people to compete in skateboarding, as searches for the sport grew to the highest ever level last year, with searches for skateboard lessons increasing by 25% after the last Olympics. 

While the number of people skateboarding is increasing year on year, and the number of females skating has increased by over 20% in the last year, by opening the competition up online, the hope is that more people from around the UK will feel comfortable putting themselves forward to compete in the still male-dominated sport.

Skaters from across the country will film themselves doing a 45-second line (showing off their tricks in a single run) for a chance to win cash prizes and skate shop vouchers. The ultimate incentive to keep skaters skating!

Both platforms have a shared passion for advocating for grassroots talent, inclusivity and offering up new opportunities to those who may otherwise not have them. The partnership aims to create an ongoing relationship between Skiddle and Skateboard GB going forward, and potential future events to support these causes.

Lisa Braithwaite, Senior Marketing Manager at Skiddle said, “We are thrilled to be working with Skateboard GB on the Virtual Championships 2022. We look forward to seeing entries from all over the country, discovering new talent and supporting grassroots skateboarding.”

Neil Ellis, Head of Engagement at Skateboard GB said, “We are excited to partner with Skiddle on this event. The Virtual Championships will give skateboarders from across the country an opportunity to compete on a national level and showcase the amazing skateboard talent we have here in the UK”.

Skiddle’s dedication to supporting new opportunities for disenfranchised youth is clear, when looking at their other projects; most recently partnering with Young Urban Art Foundation (YUAF), to support young people in the London community. Their aim: to empower marginalised creatives in hard-to-reach areas, such as those where young people are at high-risk of child exploitation, being a victim of crime, or simply do not have access to opportunities. 

The new partnership aims to create greater exposure for Skiddle – generating a larger audience and greater demand for sporting events. Skiddle has already experienced a massive growth in business this year, allowing for an expansion on the events that they have been able to promote – seeing an 183% increase in growth this year and almost doubling its team of staff, going from 39 employees at the start of 2022 to 71 employees to date. Due to this team expansion, Skiddle have opened their doors to more events, now having worked with over 60,000 promoters, expanding their roster to more sporting and foodie events.