Euroleague basketball names new leadership

Euroleague Basketball (EB) announced changes to its senior management on Wednesday, September 14, with a new President and a new CEO appointed by its shareholders. 

EuroLeague icon Dejan Bodiroga, who won three EuroLeague titles and multiple individual awards during a legendary playing career, has been named President of Euroleague Basketball, and will also fulfill the role of Director. Bodiroga is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in European basketball history. 

Bodiroga brings his deep knowledge and experience into his new role and will focus on increasing the quality of the competition for clubs, players, fans, partners, and all EB stakeholders. His extensive international network provides the foundation for a new strategy focused on improving EB’s institutional relationships within the global basketball community, including the EuroLeague Players Association, the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board, the Union of Euroleague Basketball Officials, FIBA, domestic leagues, and other basketball-related institutions. 

Following his playing career, Bodiroga served as Vice-President of the Serbian Basketball Federation between 2011 and 2015 and subsequently as President of the Competition Commission of FIBA Europe. 

“We are entering a new era for EuroLeague,” Bodiroga said. “The past 20 years have seen Europe’s premier basketball competition establish itself as a powerhouse in global sports. I’d like to thank Jordi Bertomeu and his team for their vision and hard work and look forward to continuing to build and expand the impact of EuroLeague and EuroCup.” 

Marshall Glickman, G2 Strategic’s CEO and a long-time advisor to Euroleague Basketball, has been named the Acting CEO of EB, Director of its affiliated companies, and Special Advisor to Euroleague Properties. Additionally, he will have a seat on the board of Euroleague Ventures, the league’s joint venture with IMG Media. Glickman will serve a transitional role and will assist Euroleague Basketball’s shareholders in recruiting a permanent CEO. 

Glickman’s focus will be on the business side, working closely with IMG to optimize the value of the league and the clubs’ collective commercial assets, expand its fan base, integrate European basketball into popular culture across the globe and, ultimately, expand into more key markets. 

“Euroleague Basketball is like family to me,” said Glickman. “I have always believed that the top pan-European basketball league has tremendous potential, particularly its appeal to the digital native generations. I am thrilled to help our friends at the league office and the best clubs in Europe transition to new leadership. I am grateful to EuroLeague’s founder, Jordi Bertomeu, for his leadership, friendship, and support, helping me adapt to European cultures and sporting traditions, and look forward to his counsel and wisdom going forward.” 

Glickman has an extensive career in the sports industry, including being the President of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and Oregon Arena Corporation, Broadcasting Coordinator for the National Basketball Association, Director of Media Sales for NBA Properties, and Chairman & CEO of Portland Family Entertainment. Glickman has a profound knowledge of the European sports ecosystem, as G2 Strategic has been a business advisor to Euroleague Basketball for 20 years. G2 Strategic’s European client portfolio has included LaLiga Santander (Spain), Ligue de Football Professionnel (France), French Tennis Federation, FC Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rochelle, Stade Français, CSKA Moscow, Association of Tennis Professionals, Tennis Canada, as well as several European sports clubs (PSG, Olympique Lyonnais, CSKA) and tennis tournaments. 

Glickman has also played a leading role in the development of several planned or built arenas and stadiums, including Moda Center (Portland, Oregon), Providence Park (Portland, Oregon), Moscow Sports & Entertainment Center, American Airlines Arena (Miami, Florida), Roland-Garros (Paris), and a new arena in Villeurbanne, France. 

Glickman has served on several boards in his hometowns of Portland, Oregon, and Bend, Oregon, and has produced live jazz shows for several years. 

Jordi Bertomeu, 22 years at the forefront of EB

Glickman and Bodiroga will take over from CEO Jordi Bertomeu, who had been in the role for 22 years. 

Bertomeu was one of Euroleague Basketball’s founders in 2000 and has led it since then throughout its continuous growth. Under his management, the EuroLeague rapidly became the most recognized basketball competition outside of North America, gaining a worldwide audience for both the intensity of the competition and its role in forging breakthrough talents. Bertomeu was at the center of decisions on competition structure and rule changes that consistently heightened the dramatic effect of the EuroLeague to make every game count more than any other league of its kind. 

Euroleague Basketball broke new ground again in 2016 by creating the first true international European league among major European team sports in a joint venture with media and entertainment giant IMG. As a result, EuroLeague’s popularity and commercial performance have experienced significant increases in television viewership, social media engagement and global recognition. 

The Euroleague Commercial Assets shareholders would like to thank Bertomeu for his unmatched dedication over 22 years and wish him well in his future endeavors.

The9 Limited’s NFTSTAR to launch Neymar and Giannis NFTs, Metaverse dApps and Games

The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) (“The9”), an established internet company, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary NFTSTAR Singapore Pte., Ltd, which operates the Web3 metaverse platform
NFTSTAR, will hold the four new products launching conference on October 15, 2022.

NFTSTAR will launch four different products，including a NFT collection designated for the international soccer superstar Neymar Júnior, a unique Web3 metaverse social platform “Playmaker” to provide worldwide Web3 users with moments of reunion for the coming important global soccer matches, a Blockchain soccer game “Metagoal” for gamers to build their own Web3 soccer clubs to compete for the honour of the “Meta-World-Cup” and a sports prediction collecting game “Wonder Win” for gamers to collect commemorative NFTs and quiz each game.

The launch of these NFTs, metaverse dApps and games constitutes the core foundation of the NFTSTAR metaverse ecosystem.

The NFTSTAR community platform will cover superstars in various fields, including but not limited to sports, entertainment, art and celebrities in different industries. The NFTSTAR community platform aims to become a significant portal to the metaverse.

ELLVEE announce appointment of Iain Higgins and Brett Sherrard

ELLVEE, the Dubai-based commercial and strategic advisory business for the sports and entertainment industry, today announced the appointment of Iain Higgins, the former Chief Operating Officer of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and first ever Chief Executive of USA Cricket, as its Managing Director. 

Higgins, who started this month, is the latest appointment to ELLVEE’s leadership team, which was also strengthened over the summer by the arrival from UEFA of Brett Sherrard, as Commercial Director.

Higgins, a former professional rugby-league player, who, in 2019, left the ICC after eleven years to spearhead efforts to develop cricket in the USA, returns to the UAE to join ELLVEE’s growing business as it moves into new offices in One Central, Dubai. 

He has previously led campaigns to secure the inclusion of women’s cricket in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and to secure the awarding of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 to the USA and Caribbean. He was also responsible for the development of a Global Strategy for the sport of cricket and a Foundational Plan to establish cricket as a mainstream sport in the USA by the end of the decade.

Like Higgins, Sherrard, brings with him a wealth of sports leadership and knowledge, with particular expertise in supporting the staging of major global events such as UEFA EURO Championships, UEFA Champions League and the Ladies European Golf Tour, and in structuring and delivering the commercial programs around them.

Sherrard has also previously held a senior role within Standard Chartered Bank providing support across its entire global sponsorship portfolio, which included the bank’s marquee sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club.

ELLVEE Founder and CEO, Sam Hollis, commented, “We are thrilled and very proud to have Iain and Brett join the team at ELLVEE following an extensive executive search process.  Over the past twelve months, ELLVEE has quickly established itself as a trusted adviser to senior leaders in sports and entertainment in the Middle East and to those looking to do business in the region. From their years of experience in leadership roles, both Iain and Brett have a deep understanding of the business of international and domestic sporting rights holders and events, and are ideally suited to help our clients capitalise on the evolving opportunities within the UAE, KSA and Qatar.” 

Higgins added, “Brett and I have followed the recent growth and success of ELLVEE, which has a talented and motivated team with great connections, experience and insight across the region. We are both very excited to be working alongside them to help drive the continued growth of ELLVEE’s business.

“We are observing an emergence of exciting opportunities in this part of the world that ELLVEE is uniquely placed to support, and we are looking forward to helping local authorities, operators, investors and other entities identify and partner with sporting and entertainment properties in ways that will help them to achieve their business objectives.”

Roundtable round-up: The role of web v apps in growing fan relationships

Our community Roundtables are a vital part of what we do at iSportConnect, it gives senior people from all over the sports business world the chance to come together and discuss – in a private and intimate setting – their thoughts on a particular issue. 

On Tuesday September 6th, one of these roundtables was held at Queensland House, on the Strand. We debated: The role of web vs app in your digital transformation and growing fan relationships.

We were joined by people from Premiership Rugby Clubs, International Federations, Agencies and a National Governing Body. 

The session was kicked off with some case studies by app developers Choicely, which highlighted the amount of time people spend on apps. “On average people spend 4 hours and 40 minutes on their mobile devices and in that time people spend 4 hours and 12 minutes in IOS and Android apps.”

The group discussed the ability that apps have to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for fans is unique. This makes them more likely to stay in your ‘digital ecosystem’ for longer increasing the chances of them making another purchase or signing up to something else. 

To get maximum value from an app you need to make sure it contains high quality content and to do so “you should treat your app as a media channel”. Strong content is all well and good but you need to understand what it is that your audience wants to be reading and interacting with. Without that understanding you will be wasting time, money and only pushing your audience further away.

According to Choicely, push notifications are one of the best ways apps allow clubs and rights holders to keep in regular contact with their users without them feeling like they are being spammed. Instead you can make them feel special and send out exclusive offers, promote tickets and run prize competitions.

The biggest concerns in the room surrounded the work needed to keep an app up to date and whether their inhouse teams could manage both an app and a website. There is no denying that the technology with apps is more complicated and the ability to be able to effectively manage an app to maximise ROI was another challenge especially for a national governing body which already is struggling for resources. Choicely experts said that it would only require 2-3 hours per week to keep the app fully up to date and full of interesting interactivity.

The move towards OTT in particular with developing sports was considered by the group to be complimented by the use of apps. OTT can be easily integrated into apps and can give these growing sports, with dispersed fan bases, the chance to push out regular content (and monetise when the time is right). This was of particular interest to the national governing body and international federation. 

Here is the upcoming schedule for our Roundtables:

September 27: Maximising Event Profitability

September 29: The role of technology in taking your live sports broadcast to the next level

To register your interest in our Roundtables please email: Henry@isportconnect.com

Nottingham Panthers announce partnership with The Skinny Food Co

Fast-growth Nottingham based healthier alternative food and drink brand The Skinny Food Co., who earlier this summer placed 18th (4thin the Midlands) on The Sunday Time’s coveted list of Britain’s fastest growing businesses, have just announced an exciting new two-year partnership with the Elite Ice Hockey League’s Nottingham Panthers.

Alongside having their logo feature on main playing shirts and helmets, The Skinny Food Co will use their wider partnership rights with the Panthers, including a branded in-the-ice centre circle and rink side dasher board promotions at each goal end, to further increase their brand awareness across the UK and internationally. In addition, the brand will engage Panthers fans with a range of exciting offers and promotions throughout the season, displayed on regular jumbotron announcements. Skinny Food Co will also be celebrated as official community partners with a large banner displayed in the arena of the main foyer, a very high traffic area at all Panthers home games.

Launched in 2018 after co-founders James Whiting and Wayne Starkey were tired of seeing many people close to them forced to avoid great tasting food for the sake of their health, the Skinny Food Co is now stocked in a number of major high-street retailers across the UK – this includes ASDA, Morrisons, Co-Op, Home Bargains, Holland & Barrett, TK Maxx, SPAR, Aldi, B&M Bargains and Lidl, while the brand’s products are also stocked in excess of 50 countries globally.

Featuring over 300 great tasting products including high protein, low sugar and low-calorie sauces, breads, snacks, syrups, flavoured coffee and more, The Skinny Food Co is committed to helping people source healthier alternatives whilst still enjoying food to the maximum. Their aim is to allow anyone to eat a wider variety of foods often avoided when choosing to eat healthy or due to specific dietary requirements, making it possible again. The products are created to suit everybody’s needs, from fitness and sports enthusiasts to busy parents and office workers, to diabetics, vegetarians and vegans alike, and those with food intolerances.

James Whiting, Skinny Food Director and Co-Founder, said: “Personally, I’m a huge sports fan myself. As a Nottingham based company, it’s important to us to have a strong presence in our home city. Partnering with such an established team such as the Panthers will help build our brand presence in Nottingham and we’re excited to continue to grow with the club.” 

Wayne Starkey, Skinny Food CEO and Co-Founder, added: “Not only are we extremely happy that our partnership with Nottingham Panthers will help us build upon our strong local presence, we’re also super excited to produce some fun campaigns for and with our local community.”

“It’s a massive honour to build upon the success we have already had with another prestigious sports club in our home city in Nottingham Forest. We’re looking forward to supporting our local team on and off the pitch, and I for one cannot wait to get started.”

Expressing her excitement of the partnership, Nicola Strachan, Panthers Commercial Director, said: “I’d like to welcome James, Wayne and the team at Skinny Food Co and look forward to working with them. It’s fantastic to get such an up-and-coming and exciting Nottingham brand on-board with us and we hope this is the start of a very successful partnership.”

McLaren Racing and Jack Daniels announce partnership

McLaren Racing today announced a new multi-year partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey as an Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team from 2023. 

Jack Daniel’s has over 155 years of heritage in crafting whiskey and will enter Formula 1 for the first time with McLaren to evolve its global presence and reach new consumers. 

McLaren and Jack Daniel’s will host a variety of events and media and hospitality programs throughout the 2023 F1 season. The two brands will also collaborate to develop McLaren and Jack Daniel’s-themed programmes at retail outlets. 

McLaren and Jack Daniel’s will create custom marketing and advertising campaigns including a special edition bottle in select markets in 2023.

Jack Daniel’s branding will feature on the nose of McLaren’s 2023 F1 cars as well as on the driver’s overalls and pit crew helmets. 

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing:  “We are thrilled to welcome Jack Daniel’s to the McLaren F1 Team. Together we will look to reach new audiences as well as hosting a variety of events together. 2023 is an important year for McLaren as we commemorate our 60th birthday, and we are excited to celebrate with an iconic brand like Jack Daniel’s by our side.”

Sophia Angelis, SVP, Global Managing Director, Jack Daniel’s: “Entering the fast-growing world of Formula 1 with McLaren Racing aligns perfectly with our vision to make Jack Daniel’s the most iconic spirits brand globally.  Jack Daniel’s and McLaren Racing have always been bold, confident brands and we are excited about the platform that this partnership presents for Jack Daniel’s and McLaren to take our responsible drinking message to a new audience and engage fans all over the world.”

Kukri Sports announce partnership with British Wrestling

Kukri Sports have announced a five year partnership with British Wrestling.

The deal will see the international sportswear brand provide a full range of bespoke sportswear for British Wrestling competitors and coaches, while offering support to grassroots clubs across the country.

British Wrestling is the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United Kingdom, which includes the Olympic and Commonwealth styles of wrestling, as well as additional types under the jurisdiction of United World Wrestling and other indigenous forms of wrestling.

Craig Anthony, Chief Executive of British Wrestling, said: “I’m delighted with our new five-year partnership with Kukri. After working with them as the Team England kit supplier for the past two Commonwealth Games the athletes have provided consistently strong feedback and working with a UK-based supplier means reduced costs and logistics for all.

“We’ve worked closely with Kukri’s design team to develop a British look that I’m sure will help to instil pride in all representatives across the talent and performance pathways.”

Josh Beal, Sales Director of Kukri Sports, said: “We are delighted to partner with British Wrestling for the next five years. The performance and quality of the wrestling suits has gone down extremely well throughout the Commonwealth Games and we are thrilled to continue to supply the top wrestlers with Kukri singlets, a bespoke off mat range and support wrestling clubs around the country in this exciting partnership.”

Kukri Sports are partners to some of the world’s best sports organisations, supplying elite apparel to assist their team’s challenges on a local, national, and worldwide scale.

The brand are kit partners to a number of leading sports organisations such as Commonwealth Games England, British Gymnastics, England Athletics and Somerset County Cricket Club.

The brand also supply high quality multi-sport teamwear to some of the biggest schools and universities around the world. With kit partners spanning across the globe, competing on a local, national and international level Kukri are at the forefront of bespoke sportswear design.

Extreme E and Aurora Media Worldwide pick up awards

Ground-breaking electric off-road racing series, Extreme E, together with its host broadcast agency Aurora Media Worldwide, has won two accolades at the prestigious SVG (Sports Video Group) Awards, Amsterdam.

The pioneering duo were presented with SVG’s coveted One Planet award for Sustainability in Sports (TV) and Outstanding Production (Event) award.

Both Extreme E and Aurora Media Worldwide faced fierce competition from the highest echelons of the sports industry. Throughout the selection process, the judges were looking to reward those that have taken risks, led by example, overcome challenges, and achieved results in both production and broadcasting throughout the 2021 calendar year.

Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “We are beyond delighted to have won these two very prestigious SVG Awards. It is a huge fillip for both us and Aurora Media Worldwide.

“Working with Aurora Media Worldwide is a joy. They are a trusted leader in broadcasting and do an amazing job of bringing our unique motorsport adventure, in incredible locations, to life while inspiring fans in ways never seen before in motorsport.

“Nothing beats recognition by our peers of the immense hard work that we have all done in highlighting environmental issues, promoting sustainability and gender equality, whilst at the same time bringing world class sporting entertainment to millions of viewers.”

As a sport built out of social purpose, but with racing at its core, Extreme E utilises its platform to promote electrification, sustainability and gender equality. Racing in remote locations previously damaged by climate change or human interference, the series aims to maximise awareness around these critical issues, whilst minimising the environmental impact of its events.

Extreme E’s host broadcaster, Aurora Media Worldwide, is a fully integrated content agency which is central in bringing Extreme E’s world-first motorsport to life. The Championship’s remote race locations – which include desert, arctic, glacier and coastal sites – provide a challenging yet stunning canvas for hybrid storytelling. 

Lawrence Duffy, Managing Director at Aurora Media Worldwide, said: “Once in a while a project comes along which genuinely moves the needle. The pioneering spirit and innovation behind Extreme E has been very well recognised by our industry and that is very gratifying. But we have only just started to tell the story of climate change through the lens of sport.  We all have much more to learn about sustainability and we hope to take the audience with us.” 

George Bevir, SVG Europe editorial director and Chair of the judges, added:“Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who was shortlisted. They should all be rightly proud of their achievements. The jury’s choices reflect the best of sports television in Europe but also highlight the incredible work that the industry continues to do. Long may it continue.”

Since the series launched last year, Extreme E has won the following awards:

Sport Industry Awards 2022: Environmental Sustainability Award 
The Race Media Awards 2022: Brand of the Year, alongside Interstate Creative Partners
Motorsport UK’s Night of Champions 2022: 2022 Environmental Award
Broadcast Tech Awards 2021: Technical Innovation (Sport) Award and Creative Use of AR/VR, alongside Aurora Media Worldwide and North One
Broadcast Sport Awards 2021: Sports Production of the Year
Leaders Sports Awards 2021: The Sustainability Award

Mass Adoption: The message to sports is Web3 needs you

iSportConnect’s Editor-in-Chief, Jay Stuart takes a look at why sports are so important for the future of Web3.

After doing a deep dive into the Web3 rabbit hole for our ground-breaking iSportConnect Web3 Summit, I’ve come up for air and let my thoughts re-settle into the Web2 real world. In the process I think I’ve had a sort of epiphany that I would like to share. 

Note I’m coming at this as largely a newbie of web3 who has a much better understanding of the sports and entertainment business than Web3.

First, let me get one thing out of the way. Forget about cryptocurrency. I’m tired of hearing about it and reading misinformation about blockchain written by people with a crypto meltdown axe to grind. The whole subject is a toxic distraction and I’m going to ignore it. 

And yes, I am aware that there are those who will say that talking about Web3 without crypto makes no sense. Too bad, I’m doing it.

Out of principle, I’m not going to use the abstruse and annoying expression ‘NFT’ either. 

I want to talk about Web3 as the next big thing that comes after Web2 and pick up on a number of general ideas that I’ve heard expressed not by the sceptics but by people who have bought into the basic notion that there is going to be a blockchain revolution in some shape or form.

Because Web2 is a super-entrenched default infrastructure supported by the richest companies in the world, Web3 faces the challenge of a certain amount of inertia, to say the least. I think we all agree that mass adoption of blockchain isn’t going to happen tomorrow. 

But what’s going to push things in that direction?

Remember that Web3 is about back-end technology and ordinary people won’t even know if their internet is Web2 or Web3, so the adoption discussion is really more about B2B embracing blockchain than B2C. 

And Web3 is by no means an all-or-nothing proposition. Blockchain might work for some things and not others. Everybody agrees that blockchain ticketing, for example, makes sense for all kinds of reasons. But that’s a small application in the grand scheme of things.

What about the bigger picture?

So, here goes. And be patient, because this is not going to be some negative rant, quite the opposite.

Point One

Many true believers express the view that the Web3 revolution is just like the Web2 revolution, and that, basically, mass adoption will happen when everybody wakes up to all the great things that blockchain can do for them.

Difficulty. 

Yes, while the Web2 internet took time to get off the ground, and there was even a dot.com crash on the way, the reason it eventually gained traction was because it made life easier for millions and millions of ordinary people in their everyday lives. They could shop without leaving home and manage their bank accounts and make appointments and communicate with each other. It saved time and effort and money. A lot of stuff’s cheaper to buy online. Who in today’s world would want to go back to pre-Web2 living?

Does Web3 promise to make daily life easier for ordinary people? Not that I’ve heard. Sure, blockchain can do cool new things. But saving time, effort and money for the average person does not immediately appear high on the list.

Point Two

One of Web3’s selling points is the promise that blockchain will enable people to control the data and personal information currently being sucked up by the big platforms that dominate Web2 and the websites that consumers frequent online. 

Difficulty.

Who really cares?

Do people who buy stuff online really give a damn if the company they buy from has their data? Or the online news source they subscribe to? Do they care that if they do a Google search that it cooks up some algorithm that they’re part of? Is that anything that grown-ups who are paranoid about their own snooping government or the Russians lose sleep over?

No. In return for the convenience of Web2, people are largely comfortable with surrendering some of their privacy, even if they might not like it and want more regulation. This is not a complex equation. I remember Obama saying something to this effect years ago. 

Of more relevance is the B2B issue of whether companies and organisations – including sports entities − that depend on the big platforms for distribution will embrace blockchain in order to gain control of their data. Is that a priority? Most of them don’t even know how to make optimal use of the data they already have. 

Is the data aspect going to be what drives Web3 mass adoption? How long will that take? I don’t know the answer to those questions. What do you think?

Point Three

We’re told that Web3 is about a creating immutable distributed ledgers of transactions and ownership. People will be able to own tokens and transact in a new transparent economy based on blockchain.

Difficulty. 

So what? Who’s asking for that?

How much can tokenisation benefit ordinary consumers and businesses? Will the advantages of blockchain become so obvious that Web3 achieves mass adoption? In the next 20 years? Again, I don’t know. What do you think?

Point Four

Web3 has the potential to transform the entertainment ecosystem for music, film, sports, art, games, all the fun stuff people like to consume and take pleasure from. They will be able to own their own blockchain treasure chests of content and get access to new experiences and deeper engagement in the entertainment they are passionate about and be part of and transact with communities of like-minded fans. 

Ah ha, now we’re getting somewhere!

And here is my simple-minded epiphany. Pardon me for being slow on the uptake because this is something visionary big brains have no doubt known from day one.

Forget technology and think use cases.

The difference between adoption of Web2 and Web3 is that Web2 growth was driven by information, communication and shopping for goods and services, and Web3 growth will probably be driven by entertainment, including sports entertainment and especially gaming. 

Web2 adoption was geeky, Web3 adoption will be fun.

A corollary is that while Web2 started out being for grown-ups, Web3 is really for kids. I mean that playfully. I don’t know what the upper age limit for being a kid is nowadays, it seems to keep rising. Anyway, gamers and sports fans are all kids at heart. 

The softest target for Web3 is the same young digital natives who already form gaming communities and spend billions on owning in-game digital assets in Web2 games. They buy skins in Fortnite and League of Legends. They already understand the token thing.

There’s supposed to be about three billion gamers in the world. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by suggesting that gaming is likely to be the main driver of Web3 adoption. 

Sports can be another big driver, perhaps in connection with gaming. New entertainment metaverses between Web2 and Web3 may speed things up.

The Web3 conversation can go in all kinds of directions. To make it

profitable for sports, keep the focus on how innovation more generally can deliver new experiences and better entertainment for the fans. That’s what matters most, not technology.

Sometimes Web3 will be the answer, but there may be valuable solutions that don’t require Web3 at all.

Follow our Web3 Summit LinkedIn page here

Rodolpho Riskalla elected to new WADA Athletes’ Council

Two time Paralympian and World Championship medalist Rodolpho Riskalla from Brazil, has been elected to the newly created World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athletes’ Council.

The WADA Athletes’ Council was created in May 2022 as part of widespread Governance reforms to “enhance athletes’ representation within WADA through the establishment of a 20-member Athlete Council, composed of athletes’ representatives chosen by athletes.” The Athletes’ Council, which replaces the 12-member WADA Athlete Committee, is also responsible for appointing athlete representatives to other WADA bodies.

The Athletes’ Council is structured into three groups, with Group 1 comprising five athletes appointed to their position by the Athletes’ Commissions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Riskalla, whose nomination was put forward by the Athletes’ Committee of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), is one of only eight athletes to be elected to Group 2 from a stellar nomination pool of 34 candidates. Athletes who ran for election in this Group have competed at the international level within the last nine years, and were from the same sport as the International Federation Athlete Commission nominating them. Riskalla will hold this position for a three-year term beginning in 2023. 

A further seven positions in Group 3 will be selected by the Athlete Council Appointment Panel to fill skills and diversity gaps. The Panel will be composed of two athletes from the new Council (one representative each from Groups 1 and 2) and one member of the WADA Nominations Committee.

“I would like to offer my congratulations to Rodolpho on his election to the WADA Athletes’ Council and I’m confident that he will be an excellent ambassador to represent the interests of the athletes,” FEI President and Member of the WADA Executive Committee Ingmar De Vos said. 

“Rodolpho is fully committed to the core principles of WADA and eager to put his knowledge and experience of international sport to the service of the athlete community. His passion and courage apply to all facets of his life, and he has been an inspiration to many athletes in equestrian sport. 

“We greatly value his enthusiasm and resolution to achieve his goals and fight for his principles and values, which includes a world where all athletes can participate in a doping-free sport environment.”

Riskalla became a Paralympian in late 2015 after contracting bacterial meningitis in the run up to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, at which he had hoped to represent his country in Dressage. 

He defied the odds and went on to ride at the Paralympic Games in Rio, just months after his illness cost him both legs below the knees and a loss of fingers, finishing in 10th place individually. 

His extraordinary story earned him the 2016 FEI Against all Odds award, and he was also named Para Equestrian Rider of the Year by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Competing in Grade IV, he went on to secure two silver medals at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon (USA) on his mount Warenne. He followed this with an individual silver in Grade IV at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020, and more recently a bronze medal at the Orifarm Healthcare FEI Para Dressage World Championship 2022 in Herning (DEN) in August, with his beloved Don Henrico.