Lewis Hamilton joins ownership group of Denver Broncos

It’s a new era in Denver, where the Broncos are hoping to return to a championship-winning standard.

They’re welcoming in someone who knows quite a lot about winning. The Broncos have officially added Formula One superstar Sir Lewis Hamilton to the team’s new ownership group, the club announced Tuesday.

“We’re delighted to welcome seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton to our ownership group,” Broncos owner-to-be Rob Walton released in a statement on behalf of the team’s new ownership group. “He is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team and a fierce advocate for global equality, including in his own sport. With over 100 race wins, Lewis is considered the most successful F1 driver of all time. His resilient spirit and standard of excellence will be an asset to the ownership group and the Broncos organization.”

Hamilton stands alongside Michael Schumacher as the only two drivers in Formula One’s 70-plus-year history to win seven World Drivers’ Championships. His F1 career began in 2007, a season in which he impressed the racing world by finishing second in the drivers’ championship, and a year later, he won the title at just 23 years old. Since then, he’s won six more titles with two teams (McLaren and Mercedes) and has established himself as a driver who must always be respected, no matter the condition of his car.

Everton and Davanti Tyres extend partnership

Everton Football Club and international tyre manufacturer Davanti Tyres have announced a renewed, multi-year extension of their global commercial partnership. 

The deal will see Davanti, a long-standing Club partner since 2017, remain as Everton’s ‘Official Global Tyre Partner’.

The ongoing partnership enables the Club to continue to support the brand’s objective to further increase its presence in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Far East and South America.

The renewal will also allow Davanti to benefit from enhanced exposure across Everton’s digital channels and at Goodison Park on matchdays.

Richard Kenyon, Chief Commercial and Communications Officer at Everton, said: “We are pleased to confirm this partnership renewal and would like to thank Davanti for extending their commitment to the Club.

“Our Partnerships team has worked closely with Davanti over the past five years to help develop its brand internationally and it has been really pleasing for us to play a part in their growth – growth which we are sure will continue as our partnership develops in the years ahead.”

Peter Cross, General Manager of Davanti Tyres, added: “Last season demonstrated just how much passion Evertonians have for their great club, and after five years of partnership with Everton we really feel a part of the Club’s journey. 

“We’re delighted to have extended the agreement, and that Davanti will remain as a long-standing partner.”

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.”