FIFAe Finals to return in Summer 2023

After the success of the first-ever FIFAe Finals 2022 this summer, FIFAe has announced the return of the pinnacle events in summer 2023. More nations, clubs and players than ever before are expected to enrol in the FIFAe competitions – which will start at the end of September 2022 – with the world’s top competitive gamers set to compete over the next months to qualify for the FIFAe Finals 2023.

Ultimate fame awaits at the pinnacle events as players can qualify for the FIFAe Club World Cup 2023™ presented by EA SPORTS™ as a team, represent their country at the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023™ presented by EA SPORTS™ or compete against the world’s best individuals at the FIFAe World Cup 2023™ presented by EA SPORTS™. More information on how to join each individual respective series is available here. 

With an updated season format, 24 of the best individual players, clubs and nations will each compete at their series’ pinnacle event, enabling more preparation time, more prize money for individuals and more chances to tell the stories of the competitors.

The FIFAe Finals 2023 will once again be the climax of the season featuring all things FIFAe ranging from esports, gaming, music, fashion and much more. A total of USD 1.2 million prize money will be distributed at the FIFAe Finals 2023 in addition to the prize pool available throughout the season via various qualification events.

“Following the positive feedback from the FIFAe Finals 2022, we’ll continue to double down on co-creating with fans, teams and stakeholders whilst offering more opportunities for partners with FIFA’s new commercial structure for football gaming and esports”, said Romy Gai, Chief Business Officer at FIFA. “This season will further cement the FIFAe competitions as the climax for the world’s best and a place for the entire community to share their passion.”

Last season, players from across the globe, over 780 clubs and over 80 nations participated in the different tournament series – making it the most engaging season on FIFAe social media channels ever. As of 2023, brands will be able to take up dedicated partnerships around esports with the new commercial structure for the first time in FIFA’s history. 

In addition to its competitions, FIFAe will maintain focus on creating a positive impact with ‘The Good Game Promise’, which was launched ahead of the FIFAe Finals 2022. FIFA.GG will continue to serve as the main hub of FIFAe for the upcoming season, where fans and players alike will be able to see results, rankings, fixtures and livestreams from the events. 

Fulham announce partnership with Titan Capital Markets

Fulham Football Club is pleased to announce a partnership with Titan Capital Markets, as the Club’s official CFD Trading Partner for the remainder of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. 

Established in Australia, Titan Capital Markets is an integrated educational financial group providing comprehensive online and offline courses and systematic community trading training programmes to improve learners’ financial mindset and Forex Trading skills.

Regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Titan Capital Markets aims to empower students with financial literacy and provide knowledge and assistance in using the right trading tools to achieve their goals of financial freedom in order to have more confidence to trade on a trusted platform.

During the partnership, the Titan Capital Markets’ brand will benefit from exposure to the global Premier League audience through visibility on the Club’s perimeter LED boards at matches played at Craven Cottage. There will also be opportunities to access Fulham FC First Team players for content creation.

In addition, Titan Capital Markets’ official charity, Titan Foundation, will be cooperating with Fulham Football Club Foundation on their Corporate Social Responsibility. Titan Foundation recognizes the importance of building strong communities. The primary focus is to provide support for underserved children and families in the areas of education, health, and human services.

Howard Yan, CEO of Titan Capital Markets quote: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. I am grateful for the partnership with Fulham Football Club and the support of our clients that has helped bring Titan Capital Markets to greater heights. We will continue to provide the best possible service and products to our clients, and to expand our reach to new markets”

Jon Don-Carolis Commercial Director of Fulham FC, added: “We’re delighted to partner with Titan Capital Markets this season. The partnership is designed to drive significant awareness across Titan Capital Markets’ key territories whilst, in tandem, delivering a personalised and rewarding experience.”

OneFootball announce new VP of Women’s Football and purchase of Gloria

OneFootball, the world’s largest football media platform, announced the appointment of leading gender equality activist, campaigner, and tech entrepreneur Victoire Cogevina as VP of Women’s Football. 

This move represents OneFootball’s long-term commitment to women’s football as it continues to invest in new club, league, federation and player partnerships to bring the women’s game to its 100+ million monthly active users. Under Victoire’s stewardship, OneFootball is looking to significantly grow its women’s football offer and female audience. In her new role, she will work to make women’s football even more inclusive, accessible and enjoyable through the OneFootball platform to bring fans and a new host of brands promoting equality even closer to the game than ever before. She will report into Chief Business Officer, Patrick Fischer.

Victoire, 31, is an American-born Greek-Argentine entrepreneur whose career has been focused on democratising football and advocating for women on and off the pitch. She co-founded the first female sports agency representing male professional players in Major League Soccer, and is currently serving as a UN Women ambassador for Gender Equality in Football. 

In 2018, Victoire co-founded Gloria in Silicon Valley, a football community which will now be  rolled into OneFootball. As part of the transaction, existing Gloria investors including Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and founder of VC firm, Seven Seven Six; Garry Tan, founder and managing partner of Initialized Capital; and Assia Grazioli, co-founder of Muse Capital are transferring their investment to OneFootball.

Lucas von Cranach, founder & CEO, OneFootball: “Victoire has made an incredible contribution to women’s football, while also serving as an inspiration to aspiring women entrepreneurs around the world. With her insight and expertise, she will elevate OneFootball’s offer of the women’s game to a whole new level, making it more accessible for a new generation of fans that want to see more equality and diversity in women and men’s sports. This is a really important moment for us – together we can continue the momentum that the Women’s EURO sparked just a few months ago.”

Victoire Cogevina, founder of Gloria, said: “Women football fans have long been an underserved community, with most products and services designed with only men in mind. But in Europe alone there are 144 million women’s football fans who aren’t being engaged and catered for – that’s a lot of fans to onboard which present  a huge commercial opportunity. When we first founded Gloria, we set out to build the world’s most inclusive football community. Now as part of OneFootball’s leadership team, I can truly cement that vision – driving in forward off the back of a larger platform, OneFootball. We are perfectly placed at the heart of the football ecosystem to be the platform that delivers everything that matters to football fans, irrespective of gender. The fantastic team at OneFootball are already well on their way to achieving that, which is why I’m proud to now be part of that journey.”

Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and founder of VC firm, Seven Seven Six, said: “As a football fan, I was immediately drawn to Victoire’s passion for the sport and her drive to build an inclusive, global football community online. By joining OneFootball, she will have even more opportunity to expand that vision and bring the sport of football to a whole new generation of fans. As the lead founding investor in the NWSL’s Angel City FC, I’m especially thrilled Victoire will become VP of Women’s Football at OneFootball. The move signifies an understanding of the massive global appeal of women’s football — it’s obvious value proposition. It’s also not lost on me that Victoire is one of the few female tech founders in football to have made such an impact on the industry and help further the cause of women’s equality in sport. I am proud of her and the Gloria team for all they’ve accomplished and I can’t wait to see how they continue to progress the sport forward, especially for women.”

Member Insights: Taking back control

In this article Rupert Pratt – global sales and marketing director of EngageCraft, provider of digital fan engagement products for sports federations, clubs, media, broadcasters and betting clients – looks into why FIFA’s pricing of the video game license is a signpost to sports future.

Given the seismic events of September, this week’s drop of EA Sports FIFA 23 may have failed to make an impact on your cultural consciousness. But its significance to the sport industry is considerable: the last edition of the smash-hit FIFA game to be published (with co-naming rights) by EA Sports. It follows the video game publisher’s decision not to renew its longstanding licence with football’s global governing body – a move that generated much comment when it was announced back in May, but which should really be viewed in the context of FIFA’s far-sighted D2C strategy and as a lesson for all rightsholders in this new era.

Let’s first recap the story of one of sport’s most successful collaborations – a relationship that dates back almost 30 years to the launch of the first game in 1994. In the years since, EA Sports’ FIFA title has exploded in worldwide popularity, driving interest in football and all the major leagues featured, with FIFA’s name and proprietary assets helping boost global awareness and interest in the title, and FIFA profiting in return from more frequent brand engagement and the chance to break out of its four-yearly World Cup window with a 24/7/365 presence in fans’ lives. 

This was a relationship that was delivering for both parties, including delivering a healthy licensing fee to the FIFA coffers. So why have the two industry heavyweights decided to part ways? And why now? 

The easy answer is the price point for renewal, rumoured to have doubled to more than $1bn for the next World Cup cycle. But stop there and you fail to see what the episode tells us about the direction of travel for the sport industry as a whole. Indeed, EA Sports is on record as saying that the real sticking point in negotiation was FIFA’s reluctance to allow the publisher to introduce new features to the game, such as NFTs.

Beware the iceberg

Seen in the context of the industry’s shift towards fan-centric revenue generation, it’s understandable that FIFA perceived increasing demands as the threat of an iceberg. Because the value of such rights depends increasingly not on brand and visibility, but what lies below the water: first-party data, audience insight and direct monetization opportunities. There’s enormous value in the engaged digital fanbase held by EA Sports, which FIFA, as a smart and far-sighted rightsholder, wants back in its own control.

The price FIFA placed on its gaming community is a clear indication of the importance of digital fanbases to the future of sport business, set against the backdrop of declining broadcast rights and the rewiring of the sponsorship industry around digital inventory and first-party data.

It was a price that ultimately proved too high for EA Sports; and FIFA is now freed up to pursue a truly owned gaming strategy, having already committed to work with a third party to create a new simulation game by 2024. 

Will the new game be able to compete with EA Sports’ own-brand title? In a way, it doesn’t matter. Because every percentage point of the market gained represents a part of the audience that FIFA would not otherwise control.

It’s a long-term play that, when seen alongside FIFA+, the newly-launched direct-to-consumer OTT platform, shows FIFA as an organisation ahead of the curve in seeking to revolutionise its whole approach to digital content, fan engagement and revenue generation. The real question is how long it will take others to catch up.

Formula 1 and Sky Sports extend partnership until 2029

Sky has today announced a new multi-year extension of its broadcast partnership with Formula 1, cementing Sky as the official broadcaster of the sport in all Sky markets. Sky UK & Ireland will remain the exclusive home of F1 until 2029, having first entered partnership with the sport in 2012. Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia will retain rights until 2027 with greater exclusivity – with all race weekends exclusively live and home nation races simultaneously live on free-to-air.  

From 2023, Sky Sports F1 viewers will get even more innovative award-winning coverage and analysis from the likes of Martin Brundle, Jenson Button, Natalie Pinkham and Simon Lazenby. Fans can take control of how they follow all the action through an improved multi-screen and second-screen option, tracking their favourite driver’s position on the circuit or selecting a driver’s on-board camera.

Stephen van Rooyen, Executive Vice President & CEO, Sky UK & Europe, said: “Every race. Every moment. Every twist and turn. All exclusively live on Sky for years to come! Formula 1 continues to break records on Sky, with millions more watching than ever before across our markets, driven by new younger and female fans which is fantastic for the sport. More than 80 countries will continue to enjoy our world class analysis and content of one of the most exhilarating sports in the world.”

Stefano Domenicali, President & CEO of Formula 1, said: “We are incredibly proud of our long-term partnership with Sky, and we are delighted to announce that we will continue working together until 2029, a very important commitment from Sky. Since the beginning of our relationship in 2012 we have both strived to bring the excitement, emotion, and drama of Formula 1 to our traditional fans while engaging new and more diverse audiences. Formula 1 has seen huge growth in recent years, and I can’t think of a better partner to continue to reach our fans with dedicated, expert and in-depth coverage. Sky not only brings fans live coverage but a range of behind-the-scenes access and content that brings F1 to life. We are hugely excited about the future of the partnership and the journey of Formula 1.”

Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights and Content Creation, Formula 1, said: “Since Sky joined Formula 1 in 2012 the scale and the quality of their F1 content has continually increased. This new agreement with Sky reflects our long-term partnership and shared ambition to grow Formula 1 to new audiences and markets. In recent years we have returned to historic venues such as Zandvoort, and brought in new and exciting races such as Miami and of course Las Vegas next year. I am delighted that Sky will continue to be with us through this exciting era of our sport.”  

Through the partnership, Sky’s platforms are helping Formula 1 reach new audiences with its coverage, with more women tuning in than ever before this season and with audiences skewing younger than previous seasons across the majority of Sky markets.  The 2022 season has already smashed viewing records, including:

Sky UK and Ireland

  • Average viewership for the 2022 season is 1.7m, up 60% since the UK exclusive deal began in 2019, including 4.3m new viewers to Sky Sports F1
  • Of all 4.3m new viewers since 2019, 1.7m were women
  • Of five of the most watched races ever in Sky Sports F1 history, four have taken place this year

Sky Italia

  • Average viewership so far this season is 1.5 million, up 20% compared to 2021
  • Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March was the most watched GP in Italian pay-TV history, recording 1.937 million viewers

Sky Deutschland

  • 2022 is on track to be the most successful season ever with a 24% increase in viewing compared to 2021
  • Half of new viewers this season are under the age of 35 and 40% of new viewers overall are women
  • The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix achieved a new Sky record for any F1 race in Germany as 1.38 million tuned in

Since first broadcasting Formula 1 in 2012, Sky Sports has delivered extensive award-winning coverage of the sport for viewers, of the like never seen before in television history. Earlier this year, Sky Sports and F1 were awarded a BAFTA for their coverage of the dramatic 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Sky Sports F1 will continue to be the only dedicated channel to broadcast motorsport in each of Sky’s markets and the broadcaster’s best-in-class commentary will continue to be available in over 80 markets. As part of this deal, Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Super Cup will also continue to be shown on Sky Sports F1.

Member Insights: Roger Federer the journey to $1bn

In this Member Insights piece David Alexander looks at the career of Roger Federer through a marketing and public relations lens.

It speaks volumes for the respect and admiration that Roger Federer inspires that his greatest rivals joined him at his tearful farewell tribute during the Laver Cup at the O2 last week.

Federer has been the epitome of tennis – the style, the smile and the elegance of his game which entertained and enraptured fans for almost a generation.

It’s no wonder, given that Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles and spent more than 300 weeks ranked No. 1 in the world that he also secured the ATP Fans’ Favourite awards 19 consecutive times as well.

Federer seeming had no weaknesses, strong on all surfaces with a game so complete that he gave the impression that he could have competed in any era, his performances ensuring that he will be remembered as the most beloved men’s player in the history of the game, provoking feelings of universal admiration.

It’s a far cry from the reputation the Swiss garnered in his early years, known for his petulance that saw him throwing racquets and tantrums that even saw him get thrown out of practice sessions and threatened to derail his career before it had even begun.

Federer’s transformation into a charming and even-tempered champion is rooted in his ambition to be the best and serves as a case study for aspiring athletes and sponsors about the role and responsibility that comes with sporting fame.

Mindful of how short a sporting career generally is, there was a time when Federer did not have an agent, using a small network of family and friends who agreed a relatively modest $1m deal with Nike while he focused on honing his playing skills.

But it takes more than just talent to earn the $1bn Federer has secured through lucrative exhibition events and a careful portfolio of commercial collaborations that have included Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Moët & Chandon and Lindt chocolates and saw Nike increase his fee to more than $10 million per year.

Few other athletes could secure a 10-year apparel deal with Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo worth $30 million per year even after Federer retires from serious competition.

Undoubtedly, Federer has mastered the balance between performance and partnerships, his likeable persona certainly not an act put on for the cameras.

Calacus has had the pleasure of working with Federer with Laureus and Gillette over the years and can attest to the charm and kindness that has served him so well.

New York Times journalist Christopher Carey, who has written a book about Federer, has seen at first-hand how the Swiss has built such strong relationships which makes him the perfect brand ambassador.

He explained: “It is…his knack for delivering personalised service with sponsors — that Federer’s performance has been especially remarkable. Even in his early years, he would endeavour to visit all 20 of the sponsor suites at the Swiss Indoors to meet and greet. He has stuck with that philosophy.”


Federer goes above and beyond at corporate events as agent Max Eisenbud, who knows Federer through agency IMG, explained: “He’s just so good if you’ve seen him with sponsors, with CEOs. He just has the ability to make you feel like he really cares what you are saying and he has time for you.

“He’s never rushing you. If you’re a fan at a hundred-person event that one of his sponsors puts on and you are talking to him, he makes you feel he has all the time in the world to talk to you and hear what you have to say. I think it’s genuine, and I’ve never seen another athlete like that.”

There are countless stories of him making a real effort to liaise with staff, even participating as a cashier at the Nike cafeteria and going around meeting everyone who’d stopped by for refreshments.

Beyond endorsements, Federer’s philanthropic focus has seen his Foundation supporting children in his native Switzerland and southern Africa, birthplace of his mother, since the start of his career.

Nearly two million underprivileged children and their families have taken part in its educational programmes, which aim to act as a springboard for a better future. “I think once we intervene and we help the people, it’s that once we leave, they are sustainable by themselves,” Federer said in 2017.

“I love empowerment. Making somebody a stronger person and then that person being able to do it on their own is a wonderful thing. A little push can really do wonders and we’re going to keep doing that for years to come.”

Federer clearly understands that his media image is also important, and made time for questioning after every match and he once said in a BBC interview: “Be yourself, be authentic, don’t get carried away.”

Former player and BBC presenter, Sue Barker said of Federer: “He plays the most beautiful tennis, he’s an incredible role model and he’s wonderful with the press. If you wanted to have a blueprint for the perfect player, he is it and we will really miss him.”

When Federer announced his retirement, he said: “To the game of tennis, I love you and will never leave you,” and millions of fans will feel the same way about him.

David Alexander is the Managing Director of Calacus, a PR agency working with organisations who use sport to make a positive difference to society.

Liverpool and Coca-Cola announce partnership

The long-term partnership will see LFC and Coca-Cola provide fans of the club’s men’s and women’s teams with magical matchday experiences, unique money-can’t-buy moments and limited-edition merchandise prizes. 

The partnership is built on Coca-Cola’s rich heritage of supporting football from grassroots level to the world stage and comes at a pivotal moment in the sporting calendar, just ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Coca-Cola is the latest globally recognised brand to join Liverpool FC’s growing family of official partners.

Ben Latty, commercial director at Liverpool FC, said: “We are delighted to have Coca-Cola join our family of official partners. We’re really excited to grow this partnership together and we extend a very warm welcome to Anfield to Coca-Cola.

“We understand the vital importance of teaming up with a like-minded brand and using our combined reach in positive ways.

“Liverpool FC and Coca-Cola are two iconic global brands working together to bring magical experiences and unique money-can’t-buy moments to fans. 

“The ambition with all of our partnerships is to work with the most inspiring and innovative brands in the world and Coca-Cola fits this ambition in every way.”

Michael Willeke, integrated marketing experience director, Europe, Coca-Cola, said: “Having been an integral part of the football matchday for decades, we are excited to offer fans the chance to enjoy incredible experiences and unique moments at home, at bars and restaurants and in the stadiums as part of our new campaign.

“Football has the power to bring people together and we cannot wait to reward fans across Europe with access to unforgettable moments and a host of benefits that only Coca-Cola can offer in collaboration with our partners.”

IMG’s Sport 24 announce deal to show FIFA World Cup inflight and on ships

Sport 24, IMG’s inflight and in ship sports channel, today announced a deal with Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to broadcast the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022Ô. 

Sport 24 and its secondary channel Sport 24 Extra will show more than 125 hours of live coverage from this year’s much awaited FIFA World Cup™. In addition to the live broadcast of all 64 matches of the tournament, these channels will also air multiple repeat matches and highlight shows, on airlines and cruise ships across the world.

FIFA’s Director of Media Partnerships, Jean-Christophe Petit, said, ‘We are pleased to be able to extend our partnership with IMG, to ensure that fans travelling inflight or in ship have the fantastic opportunity to enjoy the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ on a live basis thanks to the Sport 24 services’

Richard Wise, SVP, Content and Channels for IMG’s media business, said: “The FIFA World Cup™ is one of the most popular sports events in the world and is a huge hit with passengers. We are delighted to partner with FIFA to ensure that passengers don’t miss out on live action, even while travelling.  As Sport 24 celebrates its 10thanniversary this year, we are thrilled to expand our portfolio and strengthen our position as the premium live sports channel for the airline and cruise industry.” 

Scheduled to take place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022Ô will feature a host of international football stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Harry Kane as they strive to take their national teams to glory. 

Launched in 2012, both Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are produced from IMG’s production HQ at Stockley Park, near London’s Heathrow Airport. Sport 24 also shows live action from the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NBA, golf’s majors, tennis’ grand slams and more.

The Ocean Race and Warner Bros. Discovery agree live coverage and distribution partnership

Following an initial collaboration with The Ocean Race Europe in 2021, Warner Bros. Discovery, the leading global media and entertainment company, and The Ocean Race, the world’s toughest fully-crewed offshore sailing race, have agreed a long-term partnership that will extend the global race to Warner Bros. Discovery’s audience around the world. 

The partnership will focus on live broadcasts, editorial content production and multi-platform distribution as well as third-party commercial agreements and will lead off from the start of next edition of The Ocean Race, starting in Alicante, Spain in January 2023.

Warner Bros. Discovery and The Ocean Race share a common goal to be the leader in sailing storytelling encompassing every genre the Race touches from the natural world and sustainability to technology and science. Working together, the partnership will unlock the power of The Ocean Race and its wide and engaging content and serve sailing, sports and broader household audiences across a wide range of Warner Bros. Discovery platforms in Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery will also utilise its sports rights expertise to explore partnerships with broadcasters to optimise distribution and audiences in other territories around the world.

Warner Bros. Discovery, whose sports content reaches up to 130 million people internationally each month, will partner with The Ocean Race to lead the creation of this content, bringing their vast experience from innovative sport and crossover programming. This includes many of the world’s greatest sporting events such as the Olympic Games, cycling Grand Tours, tennis Grand Slams and the winter sports World Cup season to name a few. 

Warner Bros. Discovery will present The Ocean Race live on television, including on Eurosport, its widely available leading multi-sport brand and the number one sport destination in Europe. Viewers can enjoy streaming coverage of every race live and on-demand on discovery+* and the Eurosport App. Fans can also follow the Race on Eurosport.com, which provides free news and video clips to up to 50 million unique users a month, and find updates and features from the race as part of its year-round approach to telling the stories of Olympic sports and its athletes.  

The Ocean Race is a pinnacle event in sailing and has long been considered the toughest test of a team in sport. Since 1973, the around the world race has attracted the best sailors in the world and pushed them to the limit. In recent editions, building on a heritage of environmental stewardship by its sailors, the Race, in collaboration with founding partner 11th Hour Racing has led the way in developing an award-winning sustainability programme, inspiring change and driving impact towards the restoration of ocean health.

Richard Brisius, Chairman, The Ocean Race, commented: “This is the first time that we have an official broadcast partner take on such a wide-ranging role across multiple editions of the event. The appetite for the exciting content that is unique to The Ocean Race is second to none. We are excited to expand on the immersive, multi-platform experience around the race action that we share with fans on our digital channels, and the partnership with WBD, will help to expand our reach outside of our traditional audience and ensure that this historic and iconic race reaches new territories. It is an exciting time both for our partners and stakeholders, as well as for the sport of sailing.  We very much look forward to working with WBD and continuing to create the stories that make this race unique amongst sport.”   

Scott Young, Senior Vice President, Content and Production, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “The story of The Ocean Race will be live, engaging, immersive, and entertaining. We see a great opportunity in our partnership around production to elevate its recognised world class live coverage alongside new formats that unearth the stories, people and relationships that are at the heart of this epic race. By striving for greater storytelling around the event, we can help audiences better understand the race and everything that goes into competing in the greatest round-the-world sailing challenge.”

Trojan Paillot, Vice President, Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndication, Warner Bros. Discovery Europe, added: “The Ocean Race is one of the most spectacular and inspirational properties in sport and we are privileged to showcase it around the world. The Race provides action and stories that appeal to audiences across our sport and entertainment platforms, providing an outstanding opportunity to grow viewership of the race throughout the household. With our proven ability to optimise rights distribution, we also have an exciting opportunity to strike partnerships with broadcasters in territories around the world who offer the potential to expand audiences even further.”

Member Insights: How sports organisations can thrive in a changing world

In this article, Heikki Rotko Chairman of Choicely, looks into the issues facing the world’s smaller sports.

The event that inspired me to write about this was a iSportConnect Masterclass which was held at the Maison du Sport Internationale in Lausanne Switzerland. Attendees represented global sports federations, teams and leagues accompanied by global sports tech suppliers.

How can a small sports club, league or a federation thrive against the big players? How will different sports disciplines do in the future, as consumer behaviour changes? These were the topics I thought about the most after I left the Masterclass.

The group was made up of 40-50 experienced thought leaders from well-known global, regional, and even local sports organisations.

Not all questions got final answers but the discussions was lively.

My main takeaways from the workshop are listed below and fueled by my own views around the discussed topics:

  • The Big 10 getting (almost) all the attention
    • Opportunities in broadcasting and direct to consumer distribution
    • Since all sports is produced live, how to get the signal to the fans?
    • Has the role of social media giants become too big in the ecosystem?
    • How to secure first party data capture for those who own the content and the brands?
  • How to guarantee visibility and fan connection for the remaining 790+ sports disciplines?
  • Sustainability and integrity have become really important in all of sports

Here is the outcome for me who have dealt with these issues throughout my professional life.

The Big 10 getting (almost) all the attention

There are approximately 800 to 8000 different sports in the world.

It is common knowledge that the top 10 biggest sports and the federations and leagues of those disciplines* get 95% of the attention in general discussion even among sport business professionals.

These Tier One organisations also generate a very high percentage of the total revenue of sports. Is this good or bad? In my opinion it is just a fact.

On the other hand, the time has never been so good and favorable for mid-size and smaller teams, leagues and federations to get more visibility, attention, fans and revenues. The thing called ‘the internet’ has made this possible, now the question is more about competence, attitude, and willingness to innovate in these SME’s of sport.

Opportunities in broadcasting and direct to consumer distribution

Big broadcasters and streamers will own 99% of the top 10 sports content, distribution and money involved. Still, there are more opportunities for the remaining 790+ sports disciplines that have suffered from not having even their fair share of the visibility.

The big broadcasters and streamers have a lot more capacity in their channels than they used to have, and therefore they have realized that if they will not pay attention to the SME’s of sports, someone else will. They also follow the trends in sports and they know that they also have to renew their offering in order to attract younger audiences.

The new kids on the block, and there are hundreds of them who would like to get relevant sport content on their platforms to attract bigger audiences and make more revenue. There is a huge gold rush going on within this segment. As things go further, the big boys will acquire the winners of this gold rush and then your content and brand will keep on getting the visibility.

Your own actions and platforms (direct-to-customer) can make a big difference if you do it right and respect your loyal fans and sponsors. You have to build it from the group up, but it is doable with the resources that you have.

You just have to make sure that you have parallel rights to your precious content, you have to partner with the right tech and marketing partners and you have to be loyal to your mission, learn from the fan data that you own, reward the fans over and over again and you will realize the positive loop that you have created.

Since all sports is produced live, how to get the signal to the fans?

As Jan Olsson, Head of Sports at TV4, Sweden said: “as all sports is produced live, now we just have to make sure that the signal reaches their fans.” Production has become so much easier and cheaper and so has distribution. A good example of this is one of Europe’s largest junior football tournaments Helsinki Cup that had 20 000+ attendees and 4000 matches were live streamed into their app and website over the course of just 6 days. And the fans, parents and coaches paid for the stream.

There is also a large amount of new streaming platforms that offer good enough streaming service to the fans of a given sport. I believe that the key here is to make brave and clever partnerships between the rights owner, their marketing partners, tech companies and media owners. And when I say media owners, I mean big, small and anything in between.

Has the role of social media giants become too big in the ecosystem?

Talking about media – social media giants are certainly by far the biggest new factor within sports and media business in the past 15 years. They have changed the game quite radically with their massive audiences fueled by clever and catchy algorithms and super user-friendly mobile apps that allow anyone of us to start being a media company.

They have also made massive revenue growth which is almost mainly based on advertising type of revenues taking already a 40+% share of global media investments. Hats off – well done.

Many sports organisations rely quite heavily on these platforms in their content distribution and PR and marketing strategies. There is only one thing that is often forgotten. These tech giants will own all the data that in this case the world’s sports industry feeds into them.

In the last three years, it has finally become more clear for content owners how important it is to own first party data of your customers, fans, and other stake holders. It is the only way to be the “landlord” and not the “tenant”.

And don’t get me wrong. I am not against these platforms. I just want to remind that how important it is to have a healthy balance with your own and operated channels (web, app, email, brick and mortar) and these platforms.

How to secure first party data capture for those who own the content and the brands?

Coming back to my previous point, I want to give you some food for thought, how you can balance these items.

Yes, it used to be very difficult to build and operate a website for a sports organization, and even more complex with mobile apps.

So, it has been a very easy choice to utilize social media platforms, give them your content, get likes and keep going. The user experience with the mobile optimized platform apps is so very good, plus everybody talks about them whether it is a consumer or a business person. It started with Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. BeReal or something else will be next.

For sports organizations, especially those tens of thousands that don’t have unlimited budgets and resources within their reach; the times have become better than ever. By utilising the latest, most modern SaaS-based tech you can build or update your own and operated digital platforms (web, email, app, ticketing, merchandising, real time stats, fan engagement, etc.) with budgets and resources that you already have. The market between the big boys and small boys is finally getting more equal, more democratic.

Use social media to get attention to your brand and direct the fans to be active also on your own and operated channels were you will do your actual ROI: serving the fans with the content they love, ask their opinions and have constant dialogue with them, serve them first on you own channels, give them offer son tickets, merchandising and promotions. Learn of their behaviour of the first party data that you receive and what you own – and keep serving them even better. It is a positive loop that will never end. Your fans will love you – and so does the other stakeholder of your brand.

How to guarantee visibility and fan connection for the remaining 790+ sports disciplines?

Nothing is given. ”big boys” like to stay big and “small boys” are always dreaming of becoming big. By innovation around the sport itself and by making record breaking marketing, media and promotional deals, also the SME’s of sport business can start to grow their importance, media coverage and revenues.

I think that the best example of this is women’s sport that has made substantial leaps in the past few years and I don’t see an end to this. Same with Paralympics and many smaller and newer disciplines, like Triathlon, Surfing, Skateboarding, Paddle, just to mention a few.

Sports must change and adapt more to the tastes and trends of younger generations

American football is commercially the biggest sport in the world, but it has only 21 minutes of active play time on average and the game lasts over 3 hours. Not very intensive – but still hugely popular…

In Golf, LIV, the tour that started in 2021 and is funded by the Saudi-Arabian Public Investment Fund has challenged PGA in a very dramatic way. Many hate them, many love them and their money and the attitude for innovation.

There are dozens of examples of sport disciplines of how they have renewed themselves and gained continuous success and how some keep going with the old recipe and are still successful – but for how long – is the question.

Younger generations want to consume more and faster tempo sports content, snackable highlights and fun stuff on top of the real outcome and result.

Sustainability and integrity have become really important in all of sports

There are many new sports leagues that have been born on the idea of being more sustainable than the former version of the same discipline, mentioning FormulaE and many others alike.

Scandals like what has happened among many sport organizations like the Canadian National Hockey team are catastrophical signals from the past and hopefully will be a quickly diminishing trend among sports. Fans and sponsors who are a crucial lifeline for any sport organization will become even more vocal and more concretely vote with their wallets and budgets. Good and “bright” is just so much better than evil and dark.