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.

SailGP announce 14 events for season 4

The fourth season of SailGP, the purpose-driven global racing championship, will deliver more events than ever as the league’s season-on-season expansion continues at impressive pace. SailGP’s national teams will compete around the world with the aim to reach fourteen events – nearly triple the number of events seen in Season 1 – in a bumper season that will span 14 months.

SailGP Season 4 will launch in spectacular fashion in Chicago on June 17-18, 2023, in a city where this summer crowds packed onto Navy Pier for an extremely successful Season 3 edition of the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix. That event will be followed by a northern hemisphere Summer sweep across Europe, featuring a return to fan-favorite Season 2 location Taranto, Southern Italy, on September 23-24 and a third visit for the league to Cádiz in Andalucía, for the Spain Sail Grand Prix on October 14-15. 

After the planned five events in Europe, the league will head to the Middle East before going on to Asia, where the second edition of the Singapore Sail Grand Prix will take place on January 13-14, 2024.

Sydney will then host SailGP for a record fifth time as the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix takes place on February 17-18, 2024 before the league heads to New Zealand. In Season 4, the action switches from Christchurch to Auckland as part of a four-season, alternating multi-city hosting arrangement and Auckland will play host on March 16-17.

SailGP Season 4 will then finish back in the northern hemisphere, stopping for the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix on May 4-5 before a further two North America events, including a potential first home event for the Canada SailGP Team following the launch of a competitive bid process earlier this year. The season will finish July 13-14, 2024, and culminate with the Grand Final in the United States. 

SailGP Co-founder and CEO Russell Coutts said: “Halfway through our Season 3 calendar, we are delighted to be sufficiently advanced with our venue procurement process to announce our Season 4 schedule. With the aim to have fourteen events and an impressive list of some of the world’s most iconic cities and destinations, SailGP continues its rapid expansion. 

“We believe we now have a really compelling sporting calendar and i’m extremely proud to see us returning to many of our existing venues for this season – highlighting the strong commercial demand for our events around the world with our existing host cities and title partners recognizing the benefits SailGP brings – as well as welcoming some new cities and partners as part of our extended Season 4 calendar.”

Many of the cities returning for Season 4 do so as part of multi-year deals, highlighting the growing level of commercial confidence in the global league after only two and a half seasons  into its existence on the sporting calendar. Further cities in the Season 4 calendar will be announced in the coming months. 

Purpose and Impact continues to be a strong focus for the global league and Season 4 will mark the third edition of SailGP’s pioneering Impact League, the championship’s second podium for the planet. Won by the New Zealand SailGP Team in Season 2 the Impact League is currently being fiercely contested by all teams in a tight Season 3 championship.

Season 4 will also see the continuation of SailGP’s Women’s Pathway, which aims to fast-track the training and development of female athletes with the goal of creating an inclusive sporting championship that has gender equity. In addition, SailGP’s community outreach program Inspire and its three pillars – Learning, Careers and Racing – will continue to expand and ensure SailGP has a positive impact in each of the venues where it races in Season 4. 

Now at the halfway mark, SailGP Season 3 continues next week in Andalucía – Cádiz for the NEAR Spain Sail Grand Prix, before heading to the Middle East for the Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas on November 12-13 at Mina Rashid, to complete 2022. 2023 will see the league head to Singapore, Sydney and Christchurch before the Grand Final in San Francisco in May. 

The schedule for SailGP Season 4 is set out below. 

SAILGP SEASON 4 SCHEDULE // 2023-2024

2023

June 17-18 // United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier 

July 29-30 // European Sail Grand Prix | Event 1

August 18-19 // European Sail Grand Prix | Event 2

September 9-10 // European Sail Grand Prix | Event 3

September 23-24 // Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto

October 14-15 // Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz

November 18-19 // Middle East Sail Grand Prix | Event 1

December 9-10 // Middle East Sail Grand Prix | Event 2

2024

January 13-14  // Singapore Sail Grand Prix

February 17-18 // KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney

March 16-17 // New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland

May 4-5 // Bermuda Sail Grand Prix

June 22-23 // North America Sail Grand Prix | Event 2

July 13-14 // SailGP Season 4 Grand Final 

AC Milan and eBay announce partnership

AC Milan and eBay are pleased to announce a new partnership, which sees the leading marketplace in global commerce become the Official Marketplace of the Rossoneri.

The new partnership is based on the sharing of objectives and values by these two global brands with the concept of passion at the heart of the agreement. On the one hand, eBay positions itself as the “marketplace of passions” to its community, where users, who share the same wishes and interests, can find whatever they are looking for and what will make them truly happy. On the other, there is AC Milan, which provides unique experiences to its 500 million fans around the world, driven every day by their dedication for red and black colours.

A perfect union that is reinforced by the opening of the AC Milan store on eBay.it,where all Rossoneri fans will be able to enjoy an exclusive experience that will allow them to purchase original products of their favourite team.

Maikel Oettle, Sponsorship Sales Director of AC Milan, stated: “Today we announce a partnership between two international and prestigious brands, recognisable all over the world. We are particularly proud to provide our fans with an additional touchpoint to bring them even closer to the AC Milan world through the creation of an AC Milan store on the eBay platform.Launching a store on eBay underlines the innovative spirit of the Club, which is always focused on improving the experience of our fans also in the digital world.”

Alice Acciarri, General Manager of eBay Italy, added: “We are very excited about this partnership, which for us represents a further demonstration of the centrality of our community. The union of two important global brands will be able to further consolidate the relationship with our users, with the ambition to nurture their interests, dreams and experiences”.

RLWC 2021 announces new broadcast partners

Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) is pleased to announce the acquisition of two new broadcast partners as it continues its ambition to deliver the biggest, best and most inclusive World Cup and take the game to new audiences around the world.

BeIN SPORTS are set to show all the French teams’ matches, across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments, as well as other key games, including all the men’s tournament matches and all matches from the quarter finals onwards, across its platforms. These will be shown in France and across French territories.

The tournament has also confirmed Viaplay as a broadcast partner, meaning matches will be streamed across 10 of Viaplay’s markets: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Poland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

In addition, it has been confirmed that VOGO UK will become the official sports services provider for the tournament to provide match officials communications systems, timing systems and the Head Injury Review System for the first time in an international rugby league event.

VOGO UK’s comms kit will enable effective communication amongst match officials across the 61 games, while the timing system will be operated via a specially designed app which enable the timekeepers to manage timing and restart clocks. The Head Injury Review System will allow doctors to review multiple angles of an incident to inform decision making.

Jon Dutton, RLWC2021 Chief Executive, said: “It’s a big step forward for the RLWC to be broadcast on beIN SPORTS platforms across France, raising awareness of our fantastic sport in France before we hand the baton over to France 2025, while our partnership with Viaplay means we are showcasing rugby league across 10 of their European markets, which is a fantastic opportunity to attract a new audience.

“In addition, I am delighted we have secured VOGO UK as our official sports services provider and I am looking forward to deploying their world-class products throughout the tournament.”

RLWC2021 will show the restart clock on the big screens, thanks to VOGO’s technology, making each game even more engaging for fans while the Head Injury Review System will have a big role to play in player welfare. 

Stephen Pagliuca appointed Chairman of Deltatre after acquisition

Deltatre, one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment technology providers, today announced that Stephen Pagliuca will take on the role of Chairman of the Board at Deltatre.

The appointment comes following the completion of the acquisition of Deltatre by Bain Capital and Nextalia SGR, first announced in June 2022.

Stephen Pagliuca, Chairman of the Board at Deltatre, said: “I have followed Deltatre’s journey for years and the growth it has experienced as a provider of leading media technology solutions – particularly in North America – is nothing short of remarkable. The company is at the forefront of a transformational shift in how consumers engage with content. Its investments across video streaming, fan data, and broadcast technology have positioned it well to capture new markets. I’m proud to take on the role of Chairman and to help Andrea unleash the full potential of Deltatre as a unique, trusted, and proven brand.”

Andrea Marini CEO of Deltatre, said: “There is no person I trust more than Stephen to take on the role of Chairman of the Board. His credentials are unmatched, and he will provide tremendous value to Deltatre as we embark on this new chapter in our company history. It is an incredibly exciting time in the sport and media sector with a huge opportunity to drive innovation across the entire ecosystem. I look forward to working closely with Stephen – and the wider team at Bain Capital – as we continue to deliver on our mission of transforming fan experiences.”

Mr. Pagliuca is Co-Chair of Bain Capital and has played a leading role in a wide spectrum of prominent businesses in which Bain Capital Private Equity has made investments. He is also a Managing General Partner and co-owner of the Boston Celtics and Atalanta in the Italian Serie A.

Endeavour appoint new President, Global Partnerships – IMG Events, IMG Media and On Location

Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company, announced today Robbie Henchman has been promoted to President, Global Partnerships – IMG Events, IMG Media and On Location.

In addition to leading Global Partnerships teams across the three groups, the new role will see Henchman, who was previously Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for IMG, work alongside Endeavor’s senior leadership team to maximize partnership alliances for all of the company’s divisions and business units. He will report directly to Paul Caine, President of IMG Events and On Location, with additional responsibilities into IMG Media which is run by Adam Kelly.

Henchman will continue to oversee the IMG Events international offices in North America, Europe, APAC, and MENA, and the leads of IMG’s sports events sub-divisions across Golf, Tennis, Football, Action & Winter Sports, and Rugby will now report into him.

Mark Shapiro, President of Endeavor, said: “Robbie’s deep global expertise and wide-ranging personal network of key relationships, built over 25 years at IMG, have made an invaluable contribution to our organization. Under Robbie’s leadership and with his track record of connecting Endeavor’s businesses to drive maximum value for our clients and owned assets, we are confident that all businesses that rely on our Global Partnerships team will benefit tremendously from this new appointment.”

Henchman was credited with creating the Women’s World Cup of Golf in 2000, as well as bringing Tiger Woods to China for the first time in 2001. He and his team in Asia were responsible for much of IMG’s early growth in APAC, including the company’s 20-year joint venture with the Asian Tour, the development of the LPGA’s footprint in Asia and HSBC’s world-renowned golf programs. Over the past decade, his efforts have reached far beyond golf to impact IMG’s tennis, football, mass participation and arts & entertainment events, as well as Endeavor businesses like UFC and its marketing agency 160/90.

The changing landscape of Women’s Tennis

In this article, Thomas Inskip, Head of Sport & Fitness at The PHA Group, looks into the future of Women’s Tennis, the stars of tomorrow that are taking centre stage today and what that means for sponsorships.

The landscape of women’s tennis is currently going through one of their biggest transitions ever with the retirement of one of the greatest sporting stars of all time, Serena Williams. Despite being 40 years old and ranked 605th in the world prior to this year’s US Open, most of the talk across both the men’s and women’s tournament revolved around Serena, who was bidding to end her career with an incredible 24th Grand Slam.

Serena is irrefutably the biggest star in the female game, who sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium for her first-round match within a ‘nanosecond’ according to tournament director, Stacey Allaster (CBS News). Given this was her swansong, it begs the question where and how the next star from the women’s game will emerge.  

For the last ten years, there has not been enough women who have consistently stayed at the top of the game winning grand slams on a regular basis, apart from Serena of course. Before the US Open, the last seven grand slams saw seven different female winners, which from the outset might appear exciting and unpredictable to the casual tennis fan, but for the future of the sport, building and maintaining loyal fanbases may prove a lot trickier. 

For the women’s game to move forward, it’s important we start seeing big rivalries forming between the players at the top of the game. Between 1999 – 2015, Serena built up some of the game’s most intense clashes, none more so than with her sister Venus Williams, but also with the likes of Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin and Jennifer Capriati among others. Repeated rivalries and familiarity are what draws fans in across all sports. El Clásico between Real Madrid & Barcelona is the most watched football game in Spain without question, as are matches like Manchester United vs Liverpool in England, while in tennis terms, matches between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were always the most eagerly anticipated contests that drew the most eye-balls to the sport. 

Looking at the current landscape of women’s tennis, it’s difficult to think how the game might entice new viewers without rivalries beginning to develop. The top 10 ranked women have only won four grand slams between them, while the top 20 ranked women have only won six. Current world number one and recent winner of this year’s US Open, Iga Swiatek, has had an incredible 2022 having achieved the longest win streak in the 21st century (37 matches) aside from her Grand Slam triumphs both in France and USA and at just 21 years old, she appears to be the obvious heir to Serena Williams in taking the women’s game to new heights.  

This year’s Roland Garros may have presented a glimpse of the future, with the final being contested by 21-year-old Swiatek and 18-year-old Coco Gauff, but the Pole has won all three meetings between the pair in straight set victories. Having said that and still only a teenager, Gauff is widely tipped as one of the game’s future stars and her appearances in three Grand Slam finals across both singles and doubles would have given her good big-match experience to take into her later years as a professional. Britain’s hopes for the future are pinned on 19-year-old Emma Raducanu, who may also be considered as a potential rival to Swiatek in the coming years. Her incredible maiden win at the US Open in 2021 has lifted expectations considerably and despite a turbulent 2022, that experience of winning a major will put her in good stead going forwards.

Developing rivalries and more eyes on the women’s game can also create huge commercial earning opportunities for the players. The Forbes list of highest-earning female athletes is always dominated by tennis players, with Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Ashleigh Barty all listed in the top ten highest earners in 2021. However, comparing that to the nine tennis players that featured in 2020’s list could be a sign of declining interest into the sport. 

Swiatek is beginning to reap those rewards having secured partnerships with brands such as Rolex, Lexus and Red Bull but despite her number 1 status, she’s not quite a household name yet as the Williams’ sisters were. Winning grand slams on a regular basis may change that narrative but competing in thrilling finals and developing ‘Fedal’-esque rivalries could see the landscape of women’s tennis change for the better.