PGA Tour announce new FedEx Cup schedule for 2022-23 under LIV threat

The PGA TOUR today announced its 2022-23 FedEx Cup Season schedule of 47 tournaments, featuring 44 Regular Season events and three FedExCup Playoffs events, culminating with the crowning of the 2023 FedExCup champion at the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, August 21-27.

As announced on June 22, qualification criteria for the FedExCup Playoffs have been revised starting in 2023, with just 70 players earning a start in the first Playoffs event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, followed by 50 players advancing to the BMW Championship, with the TOUR Championship field remaining at 30 players. 

Next season’s schedule includes record prize money and eight invitationals spread throughout with players competing for elevated purses ranging from $15 to $25 million. The bonus pools totaling $145 million include $75 million for the FedExCup, $20 million for the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 and $50 million for the Player Impact Program. 

“We’ve heard from our fans and the overwhelming sentiment was that they wanted more consequences for both the FedExCup Regular Season and the Playoffs, and to further strengthen events that traditionally feature top players competing head-to-head,” said PGATOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “We feel strongly we’ve accomplished all of these objectives and more, creating a cadence of compelling drama for every tournament throughout the season. Each week has its own identity and purpose, and we’re set up for an exciting 2022-23 campaign as we transition into a calendar season in 2024 that will include a number of new and innovative competitive aspects in the fall.”

The 70 players who qualify for the first Playoffs event will be fully exempt for the following season as the TOUR transitions to a calendar-year season beginning in 2024 with the core portion of the FedExCup contested from January to August. Following the core FedExCup season, official PGA TOUR events will be conducted in the fall, where all players with status for the 2022-23 FedExCup Season will be eligible to compete. Those outside of the top-70 will compete for FedExCup points in a compelling, consequential final stretch to secure status for 2024.

Following the fall events, the TOUR will introduce a series of international events that include the top-50 players from the final FedExCup Points list, the top performers in the fall and additional eligibility as part of a limited-field, no-cut format. Further details on the fall events and the global series are expected to be announced later this year.

EA Sports announced as title sponsor of all LaLiga competitions

Electronics Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and LaLiga, a leader in football entertainment, announced today they have entered into a one of a kind, multi-year partnership that will allow both parties to deliver groundbreaking experiences for global football fans.

Starting in the 2023/2024 season, the partnership between EA SPORTS FCTM and LaLiga will include title naming rights for all LaLiga competitions, a complete rebrand of LaLiga with EA SPORTS including all logos, graphics, fonts and other visual elements, while also delivering new in-game integration, broadcast highlights, and joint commitments to supporting grassroots initiatives.

This new partnership will encompass the first and second divisions of LaLiga (Spain’s top professional football competitions), LaLiga Promises (the league’s annual youth tournament) and eLaLiga.

“EA SPORTS FC is committed to delivering the most authentic and immersive experiences in global football. Our innovative new partnership with LaLiga further elevates that ambition and solidifies both organizations’ position at the centre of football culture,” said David Jackson, VP Brand, EA SPORTS FC. “The visible reach and scale of this partnership is deeply exciting, as is the opportunity to deliver incredible experiences for fans through in-game innovation, interactive entertainment and grassroots. initiatives.”

“EA SPORTS represents the cutting edge of interactive football experiences while LaLiga is at the forefront of actual football competitions with unmatched in-person, broadcast and digital fan experiences,” said Javier Tebas, President, LaLiga.

“We have been strategic partners with EA SPORTS for years and this expanded agreement is a commitment to providing the next level of innovation to all football fans, a fusion between the virtual and real worlds of football.”

For years, fans have been able to experience unrivaled authenticity in game, playing with their favourite LaLiga teams, players, and stadiums within EA SPORTS’ football ecosystem. With this partnership, EA SPORTS and LaLiga will deepen their collaboration. In addition to the naming rights partnership, fans will experience the benefit through technology, gameplay enhancements and development, and real-world football highlights.

Both LaLiga and EA SPORTS are committed to grassroots initiatives to grow the game which will include increasing accessibility, upgrading facilities, and many more initiatives to truly immerse fans into the world of football.

“This partnership with EA SPORTS is set to truly transform the way football is enjoyed around the world,” said Óscar Mayo, Executive Director, LaLiga. “Moreover the alliance demonstrates LaLiga is a global brand, evidence of the success of our league to connect with fans internationally.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with a worldwide leader in football fandom to better connect our fans to their favourite clubs, players, and LaLiga competitions,” said Nick Wlodyka, SVP & GM, EA SPORTS FC.

“The contributions from LaLiga to our EA SPORTS FC portfolio will be immense, not only from a visual aspect, but across technological and game development improvements, further blurring the lines between the real and virtual worlds of football.”

More details of the partnership will be shared in the coming months, with information on EA SPORTS FC products being made available in Summer 2023.

EngageCraft appoint Rupert Pratt as Sales and Marketing Director

The co-founder and former Managing Partner of multi award-winning Generate Sponsorship is tasked with driving a new phase of growth for the international fan engagement business, following its acquisition in 2020 by a consortium of UK-based investors.

Founded in Lithuania, EngageCraft has built a reputation for developing digital engagement products for many of the world’s biggest sports rights holders, betting companies and media owners.

The appointment takes place at a time of rapid development in direct-to-consumer offerings within sports, driven by increased sponsor demands for digital inventory and first party data coupled with the impact of betting deregulation in North America.

Pratt, who will be based out of the company’s London headquarters, said: “I’m delighted to be joining EngageCraft at a time when sports rights owners are fully grasping the critical need to take back control of their digital ecosystems.

“EngageCraft’s products are market leading, which is why the business has quietly built one of sport’s most prestigious and progressive client portfolios. I’m proud to be joining them and very excited about our plans for the coming months.”

EngageCraft Board Director Damon Russell said of the appointment: “Increasingly, knowing, growing, engaging and monetizing fanbases is the business of sport.

“Rupert is a sport industry leader with a reputation for innovation and driving commercial growth. I am convinced that his deep expertise across sponsorship and digital will be of great benefit to EngageCraft in this very important next phase for the business.”

Pratt joins EngageCraft following a four-year spell consulting across the sport and digital sector for companies including Snack Media, Reactoo and running the DigitalSport event platform following the sale of Generate Sponsorship to Mission Marketing PLC’s Mongoose in 2013.

Premier League and IMG extend video archive partnership

IMG has extended its long-standing, exclusive worldwide partnership with the Premier League to manage, license and market its video archive, until 2025. 

The representation agreement will see all upcoming match coverage and interviews over the next three seasons (2022/23-2024/25), totalling 1,140 matches, made available on IMG’s digital archive platform, IMGReplay.com. 

IMG has represented the Premier League archive for the past 20 years. All of the most iconic moments and incredible goals from the Premier League’s exciting history, covering 11,646 matches and more than 30,000 goals over 30 seasons, are now available as a fully digitised archive to be licensed via IMG Replay.

Paul Molnar, Chief Media Officer at the Premier League, said: “We’ve forged an extremely successful partnership with IMG over the past 20 years, and are pleased to continue that working relationship over the coming seasons. IMG has proved itself a trusted partner in delivering the very best of the Premier League’s moments around the world, and we look forward to driving further growth together beyond 2022.”

Tom Barnes, Vice President of IMG Replay, said: “IMG Replay plays host to the best sports video archives from around the world, connecting storytellers to the moments that matter. We’re thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership and cement IMG Replay as the home of the Premier League’s most iconic moments. Whether its Sergio Agüero’s last minute title winner against QPR or Dennis Bergkamp’s majestic pirouette goal against Newcastle United, we’re giving storytellers unbeatable access.” 

IMG Replay is one of the largest sports archives in the world with more than 400,000 hours of footage resulting from representationdeals with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Rugby, The Wimbledon Championships, the R&A (The Open), ATP Media, DP World Tour, UFC, Bundesliga and many more.

Scotland national football team partner with Little Dot Sport

Little Dot Sport, award-winning digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios’ sport specialist label, has been awarded a three year social media and digital content contract for The Scotland National Football Team and The Scottish Cup, starting 1st August.

Little Dot Sport will assist with the Scotland National Team and The Scottish Cup’s official YouTube and Facebook channels. The partnership will oversee output for the organisation’s biggest social channels by utilising Little Dot Sport’s specialist industry knowledge to create and distribute content, along with leading on community management to increase audience reach and engagement for each social platform. The collaboration will provide content across player features, match highlights, the best archive content and live streaming for the National Men’s, Women’s and Youth Football Teams, together with The Scottish Cup. 

Michael Paterson, Scottish FA Head of Marketing and Partnerships, commented: “We’ve been extremely impressed with all Little Dot Sport have achieved in collaboration with their existing partners. With their support, we know we can bring fans even more of the access and content they want from the national teams and from the best cup competition in the world. We can’t wait to get started and we’re sure it won’t be long before Scottish football fans start to see the benefit.”

Robbie Spargo, Director of Little Dot Sport, said: “We can’t wait to put Scottish football fans at the heart of the social media we produce during this partnership. It’s an exciting year for Scottish football with the Women’s National team making it to the World Cup play off stages and 2022 marking the 150th year of the National Scotland Team. Little Dot Sport is ready to celebrate Scottish football through this collaboration, as the national teams and the Scottish Cup grow from strength to strength.”

The Scotland National Football team and Scottish Cup joins Little Dots Sport’s roster of over 30 retained clients including global sport federations, clubs, broadcasters and brands such as Formula E, the England & Wales Cricket Board, Premiership Rugby, Eurosport, Serie A, eSkootr Championship™ (eSC) and most recently, Ascot Racecourse, which was announced last month.

DAZN to broadcast all Ligue 1 matches in Japan

Following a successful negotiation between beIN SPORTS and DAZN, they are delighted to announce that we have secured a deal together, where DAZN will be broadcasting all matches of Ligue 1 exclusively on the channel in Japan.

This is a fantastic result for the top French football league, taking the broadcast of the premium European league to Japanese fans this season. 

BeIN SPORTS are the exclusive distributor of Ligue 1 rights internationally. The deal, arranged and concluded on Saturday, 30 July, demonstrates beIN SPORTS’ commitment to elevating the profile – and value – of the Ligue amongst fans and markets all around the world. 

In November 2021, it successfully arranged for the broadcast in Belgium (with Eleven Sports), India (Viacom 18), Norway (Amedia), Spain (Enjoy Television), Sweden (Bonnier) and Vietnam (with VTV Cab brokered by the Reddentes Sports agency). 

With the DAZN deal, it takes the league to over 50 broadcasters, reaching 200+ territories. BeIN SPORTS are continuing to play a crucial role in ensuring the French league, with its star-studded player line-up across all clubs, is appealing to the hearts and minds of football fans all around the world. 

NBA launch “NBA Creator Series” in Europe to celebrate league’s 75th anniversary

The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the launch of the “NBA Creator Series,” a series of original artwork commissioned by the NBA featuring artists from France, Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK in celebration of the league’s landmark 75th Anniversary Season in 2021-22.

Featuring a diverse range of styles and compositions, each piece of artwork is centred around the artists’ passion for the NBA, their favourite moments from the league’s history, and the connections between Europe and the game of basketball.  Beginning tomorrow Tuesday, Aug. 2 and continuing every Tuesday throughout the month, each piece of art will be released across the NBA’s social media channels in Europe.  Each release will be accompanied by behind-the-scenes video content of each artist focussing on their development of the artwork and relationships with basketball and the NBA.  Below are brief overviews of each artist participating in the NBA Creator Series and their work:

Anaïa Hoard (France): Anaïa, who has represented France internationally in basketball, including winning a gold medal at the 2017 U-16 European Championship and a silver medal at the 2017 U-17 World Championship, combined her passion for basketball with art studies in the United States.  Born in Evreux and living in Montpellier, her profile as an artist grew significantly when she began to share charcoal portraits of athletes and artists on her Instagram account because of their staggering realism.  She also takes inspiration from causes that matter to her, which comes across in her work.  Anaïa’s artwork will be released Aug. 2 on Facebook (@NBAFrance), Instagram (@NBAEurope), Twitter (@NBAFrance) and YouTube (@NBAEurope).

Charis Tsevis (Greece): Based in Pafos, Cyprus, Charis is a multiple award-winning visual designer, illustrator and art director who specializes in digital mosaics, high-complexity illustrations and neo-futuristic compositions.  Since 1996, Charis has been a visiting professor of editorial design and typography at several educational institutes around the world and has delivered lectures at a number of national and international conferences and symposiums.  Charis’s artwork will be released Aug. 9 on Facebook (@NBAHellas), Instagram (@NBAEurope), Twitter (@nbahellas) and YouTube (@NBAEurope).

Maria Emegé (Spain): María Emegé is an illustrator, video game concept artist and designer from Madrid.  She has illustrated for international companies, books, magazines and NFT galleries, and has given lectures and taught classes at the university level.  Her specialty is traditional watercolor art, with which she paints live at events and sells original work to major art collectors.  Maria’s artwork will be released Aug. 16 on Facebook (@NBASpain), Instagram (@NBAEurope), Twitter (@NBAspain) and YouTube (@NBAEurope and @NBASPAIN).

Reuben Dangoor (UK): British artist Reuben Dangoor creates work heavily influenced by current affairs and his surroundings in London.  As the first artist to bring the stars of the Grime music movement into British museums, his work and collaborations have appeared in TV shows and as part of consumer and fashion brands and videogames.  In 2018, his work went viral when his line drawings of the England Men’s National Football Team were picked up online, in print and on TV.  Reuben’s artwork will be released Aug. 23 on Facebook (@nbauk), Instagram (@NBAEurope), Twitter (@NBAUK) and YouTube (@NBAEurope).

Francesco Persichella (Italy): Born in Bari, Francesco Persichella, aka “Piskv,” is an architect and visual artist currently based in Rome.  Having always been interested in architecture and art, he tries to find a synthesis through street art that allows him to interact with the architectural context, enhancing it through the beauty of representation.  His artistic career developed in Italy’s capital city, where he made himself known by carrying out numerous street art interventions in the city and participating in exhibitions and events.  His aesthetic ranges from the realistic to the futuristic-cubist geometric style, all united by a purely figurative attitude.  Piskv’s artwork will be released Aug. 30on Facebook (@NBAItalia), Instagram (@NBAEurope), Twitter (@NBAItalia) and YouTube (@NBAEurope).

The Jockey Club appoint new Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Stuart Williamson is to become Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at The Jockey Club, which stages many of British horseracing’s leading events, including the Cheltenham Festival, the Randox Grand National and the Cazoo Derby.

He will take up the position on The Jockey Club’s Executive Team on Monday 26th September, becoming responsible for all external and internal communications and reputation management for the largest employer in Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport. He will report to Chief Executive, Nevin Truesdale.

Stuart joins from Nationwide Building Society where he was Director of Communications, responsible for internal and external communication and reputation management, and providing strategic communication advice to the CEO, Executive, Chair and Board.

He has worked across a range of communications roles since joining Nationwide in 2009, including as Director of Internal Communication and Head of Media Relations.

Stuart previously worked for communications consultancies, representing the likes of British Gas, Mars, Heinz, Lloyds TSB (as was), British Airways and John West. His first role was with a consultancy in Cheltenham where he supported The Jockey Club’s Cheltenham Racecourse.

He will succeed Scott Bowers who will stand down after 12 years to launch Spectacle Partners, a reputation advisory firm working in sport and entertainment, alongside 2022 FIFA World Cup communications advisor and two-time broadcast sports journalist of the year while at the BBC, Richard Conway.

Stuart Williamson said: “The Jockey Club occupies a unique place in British racing, sport and wider society through the iconic sporting moments it stages, enabling it to invest all profits back into the long term good of the sport. I’m really excited to be joining Nevin and the team. It’s a pivotal time for the horseracing industry and I’m committed to building on Scott and the team’s great work and contributing to a thriving sport for the benefit of all.”

Nevin Truesdale said: “Stuart is clearly a hugely talented corporate affairs and communications professional, and we are very excited he will be joining our team following a highly competitive process. His experience at Nationwide in particular will be valuable in helping to advise The Jockey Club’s Executive and Board on strategic decision making that helps us to live up to our mission to act for the long-term benefit of British Racing, as well as how to communicate to the wide variety of audiences who matter to us.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Scott for everything he has given to The Jockey Club, his colleagues and British horseracing for more than a decade. He has been a hugely valued and respected member of our Executive Team. He leaves an award-winning legacy and fantastic team of communicators as testament of his work, which we will look to build on.”

Veloce Esports announce partnership with Next Level Racing

Veloce Esports has revealed an exciting partnership with world-leading simulation brand Next Level Racing, aimed at encouraging greater innovation within the sector.

This collaboration sees Next Level Racing become Veloce’s Official Cockpit Provider, as they supply the squad’s leading esports drivers with specialist hardware and equipment. 

With both organisations continuing to excel in the esports industry, Veloce and Next Level Racing will also proactively work together for the benefit of the sim-racing community, including attending events and hosting competitions – both online and in-person.

Founded in 2009, Next Level Racing has earned itself a top spot among simulation brands, revolutionising simulation with its industry leading product range, sold in more than 40 countries.

At the heart of both Next Level Racing and Veloce lies a focus on innovation and quality to meet the ever-changing demands of sim racers and gamers, with the former now providing the latter with the highest quality and reliable hardware available.

Next Level Racing continues to lead the market, while maintaining a strong presence and partners in the global gaming industry, which now includes Veloce.

Meanwhile, Veloce Esports is the world’s leading esports and racing growth platform focused on innovation within the gaming, sport, media and entertainment sectors; comprising high-profile drivers, influencers and teams from across the globe. 

There will be many events for the community to enjoy throughout the duration of this partnership, with Next Level Racing benefiting from Veloce’s ever-expanding online ecosystem, with monthly viewership figures in excess of 500 million.

Cam Royal, Head of Talent at Veloce Esports, said: “Since the start of the year, Veloce has continued to elevate and improve our in-house esports programme and we have actively been seeking a cockpit provider which shares our ethos of wanting to enrich the environment for sim-racing drivers and also provide opportunity to them. We feel Next Level Racing is that partner; and we are thrilled to enter into this partnership where we will work collectively to give back to the community and ensure both new and existing talent have the best hardware available.”

Kam Khadem, Head of Brand at Next Level Racing, said: “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Veloce Esports. This partnership allows both organizations to work more closely together to support Veloce esports drivers with our cockpits in highest level of sim racing competitions. We also look forward to creating an engaged experience for the sim racing community with several online and in person activations. Veloce’s extensive experience in motorsports and esports make them the perfect partner for Next Level Racing.”

Sail GP’s Impact League having sustainability impact

Just one year since SailGP launched its ground-breaking Impact League, the world-first initiative is already delivering on its promise to embed sustainability action into the fabric of sport and ignite the competitive nature of its world-class athletes.

Unveiled in Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, in July last year – the scene for this weekend’s Great Britain Sail Grand Prix – the Impact League is sport’s first podium for the planet and tracks the positive actions teams make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing.

A survey completed by all SailGP athletes showed that nearly 80 per cent believe the Impact League has changed the way they behaved, while two thirds said the Impact League has the potential to change the mindsets of fans to act more sustainably.

In a huge vote of confidence, 84 percent of SailGP athletes think other sports should introduce an Impact League.

Despite still being in its infancy, global director of purpose and impact Fiona Morgan said the Impact League was already proving to be a revolutionary initiative.

“I’m really proud of how all the teams have embraced the Impact League and changed their behaviour,” Morgan said. “When we first introduced the concept, I think people were worried it would take away from performance and be a distraction, but it’s been the opposite and a big opportunity for all involved. It’s amazing how quickly athletes saw the benefit. Harnessing the competitive nature of our athletes and infusing it with social, environmental sustainability and impact has been incredible to see.”

Highlights of the Impact League’s maiden year include teams reducing their on-water chase boat fuel usage by more than 10 per cent by becoming significantly more efficient, and removing a wide range of single-use plastics from the F50 race boat. In addition, team-reported submissions show more and more athletes are embracing plant-based diets (vegetarian or vegan) – with 60 percent of SailGP athletes now going meat-free at events.

In the latest demonstration of teams’ commitments to keeping their carbon footprint and travel to events as low as possible, three members of the Great Britain SailGP Team – Neil Hunter, Matt Gotrel and Luke Parkinson – cycled more than 450 miles over two days to arrive in Plymouth.

The first-ever winning team – New Zealand – earned USD $100,000 for its purpose partner Live Ocean to fund partner research into the importance of kelp forests and their regeneration, while Great Britain came second, collecting $35,000 for STEM Crew and Australia finished third to walk away with $15,000 for Parley for the Oceans.

Through the Great Britain SailGP Team’s digital education resources and events of Protect our Future and STEM Crew,  the two programmes have reached more than 20,000 students with resources highlighting the science behind sustainability projects on and off the water.

The Australia SailGP Team used the Impact League to secure a commercial partnership with sustainable digital banking brand WLTH, who are committed to funding clean-ups of coastline in Australia for every race the Australia SailGP Team wins. Joining its Race For the Future partner Parley For The Oceans, the partnership has to-date converted a total of 15,700m² of Australian beach and coastlines to be free from harmful plastics and rubbish.

Using teams’ global platforms and their voices for good has also been incentivized through the Impact League, with the Denmark SailGP Team generating more than 13.5 million views of its sustainability-related content series ‘Beneath The Surface’.

The New Zealand SailGP Team also used its voice to play a role in the signing of an historic agreement between the Governments of New Zealand and Spain to address the conservation emergency facing seabirds that migrate across international waters, including albatrosses and petrels.

While the tangible results of the Impact League are already evident, SailGP has much greater long-term ambitions.

Morgan said: “We want to be the most purpose-driven and sustainable sport in the world, and the Impact League is just one of the ways we’re doing that. Ultimately, we have an ambition to have one integrated league where the racing and purpose are combined and celebrated together because sport should care and act on both – that is the future.

“We need to start slowly and integrate it more into the league, so we’re just getting started and you’ll see more and more sporting and performance benefits given to Impact League winners and I really hope other sports follow suit.”

In the latest evolution to integrate Impact League rewards into performance, the winners of the Impact League at each event will be given a golden ticket to choose their craning slot, which effectively allows teams more training and coaching time on the water compared to others – an invaluable prize when training time in the global championship is so precious.

Denmark will make the most of it at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix this week – July 30-31. As Impact League winners from the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix, the team will get to choose a day when it can launch the boat earlier or later than others to capitalize on time on the water. Something that could make all the difference to the results this weekend.