For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), over 300 million cricket spectators across the globe were treated to an extraordinary Augmented Reality event on Sunday that left them both stunned and delighted. During the innings break of the final match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans, the sky above the Narendra Modi stadium suddenly transformed. The incredible spectacle was created by Star Sports and Quidich Innovation Labs that teamed up for the show.
The tool used was the Unreal Engine – a powerful real-time 3D game engine, coupled with Quidich’s proprietary real-time drone tracking system, Spatio. The AR production gave the viewers a magical experience that highlighted the might of the IPL and its mission ‘Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi’ (‘where talent meets opportunity’).
The AR show was consumed widely on televisions and mobile phones across the country and has drawn much appreciation from the fans on social media who had never seen anything quite like it before.
“Hours of passion, creativity and teamwork went into creating this unforgettable spectacle for the fans. We wanted the viewer to experience the freedom of opportunity through the eagle and truly feel the power of the IPL and the celebration of great talent.”
Rahat Kulshreshtha, Founder and CEO of Quidich
Sunday’s use of Augmented Reality on the IPL finals marks a new beginning for the use of AR in cricket for creating new and immersive fan experiences.
The Star Sports Labs along with Quidich will be using this technology extensively to create more magical and memorable moments and take sports to a whole new level in the future.
QUIDICH INNOVATION LABS
The company behind the AR experience – Quidich Innovation Labs, is a leading broadcast technology company based out of Mumbai, India. Quidich offers special camera solutions on remotely operated systems such as buggies and drones globally. Quidich was the first company in the world to offer broadcast-grade Augmented Reality graphics on a live drone feed. Quidich specializes in computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, which form the bedrock of their latest proprietary player tracking solution, Quidich Tracker (QT). The company has been working alongside Star Sports for 5 years to enhance the visual and storytelling experience for cricket viewers globally.
iSportConnect speaks to Christoph Winterling, Commercial & Marketing Director at Bologna FC, to find out how one of Italy’s most historic clubs are trying to reinvent themselves from a commercial point of view, taking the club to a new level digitally.
Tell us about your early days in sport and your experience up to this point?
I started working in the sports industry in the late 90s for what is now called SPORTFIVE on the sponsorship team of Siemens Mobile in Europe, particularly Italy where they were the main partner for several clubs. For around ten years I was then working for other agencies and brands.
In 2009, I moved to Italy and started to work for Adidas as the Head of Sport Marketing. In my current role the knowledge of having worked for brands is crucial to understanding things, so I’m very thankful for the experience. AS Roma was bought by an American owner in 2012, who wanted to set up a more international structure and organisation and I was the Marketing and Commercial Director. After this experience I got in contact with Mr. Saputo, current owner of FC Bologna, where we immediately had a very good relationship and I joined in the same role here.
“We’ve made a lot of investment into infrastructure through our training centre and are looking to revamp our stadium very soon.”
Bologna’s a very historic club, we’ve got seven Serie A titles, albeit a long time ago, and had some difficulties prior to Mr Saputo coming in, but we are constantly growing from a commercial point of view. We’ve made a lot of investment into infrastructure through our training centre and are looking to revamp our stadium very soon, so it’s an exciting project with a lot of potential.
When you are heading up the commercial and marketing at a club like Bologna, what are the central areas that your role is focused around, because there are so many layers within that so what are your biggest priorities?
As the Commercial & Marketing Director I’m managing all of the different revenue streams. The biggest for us outside of TV rights are sponsorship, corporate sales, and ticketing, but there are lots of other activities we’re doing where we generate revenue. From the marketing department: marketing research, partner activation, brand development.
But then I also head up the stadium management. We’re not the owner of our stadium, but we manage it during the week, organising around 50 events a year, which has helped to drive a lot of tourists in recent years, which were of course affected by COVID.
“When I joined the club seven years ago, our main goal for our marketing strategy was to strengthen the relationship within our territory.”
The advantage of Bologna is that it’s in the centre of Italy. So for companies which are our sponsor and want to do an event in a football stadium, Bologna is good because every partner or company the client is working together with is here, that’s where the city has a big advantage.
As you say, it’s definitely not a small club and you have a 30,000 seater stadium, but since you’ve been with Bologna, how much has changed within the marketing department? What is your main focus – is it enhancing the experience for current fans or trying to create a bigger fanbase?
When I joined the club seven years ago, our main goal for our marketing strategy was to strengthen the relationship within our territory because, as you mentioned, we’re not a global club. We have appeal outside of Italy, thanks to the fact that we are playing in Serie A, but our core is local.
We started to develop a strategy with our partners to make them feel closer to the club. When you now see our stadium, the look and feel is completely in our club colours of red and blue. Partners love this because it shows the link they have with the club. For example, in the second row we have partner boards which are all red in blue, and we have our main partners featured there.
Bologna put their sponsor boards in the same colour as their logo to get the organisations closer to the club and the fans.
At Bologna we wanted to have our partners communicate more with our club, at this time we didn’t have a data system in place so it wasn’t easy to know our fans, but we started to create membership clubs across different age groups and use different initiatives also in the steam again for kids for our hardcore fans, so we wanted to work individually on on our fans, to bring them to bring them back and to enjoy the club in the best way possible.
In the meantime, we invested into data management via a CRM system to better understand our fans to communicate in a better way with them, and use this in a positive way with our partners. The focus was and is to be closer to our local territory and really understanding the needs of every single fan.
Are you trying to bring that via personalisation in your fan communications now that you are able to understand more about them?
This is really necessary because they all have different backgrounds, so it’s always good to understand what the fan needs to do then propose him or her the right thing. I think the fact also that we, besides our CRM investment, decided also to create different activities for different target groups.
That’s very interesting about the pitch side boards being in team colours because obviously every brand has their own logo and colours. Has there been any difficulty at all in selling to people that their logo might be on a different colour scheme to their brand guidelines?
Luckily we’ve had no issues because the partners understood the message we wanted to get across to our fans by being more credible. But also from our perspective many of the partners are from the local area so are supporters of the club. Therefore it’s probably easier to do this than perhaps for an international brand, but with our international partners it is yet to be a problem.
“We have a lot of services they can use on the app, such as live images from the game they can use as well as lots of information about the club that only the club gets.”
You mentioned Covid earlier as well, one challenge was the fact that we have a lot of partners who are also fans, so trying to keep them engaged when they couldn’t come to the stadium and bring employees or clients, because at the end of the day we also sell emotions. Fortunately, we created a lot of activities and a B2B platform on mobile where partners can communicate with each other. We have a lot of services they can use on the app, such as live images from the game they can use as well as lots of information about the club that only the club gets.
Has the way you approach commercial deals changed at all since Covid? Have you been experiencing many changes from your side when it comes to digital partnerships?
COVID was accelerating a process which was already in place before and we were able to increase the digital opportunities for our partners. The clients have now become more and more digital so we have to keep pace with them and offer them the right opportunity in the future via digital work, but I think what the match they can offer is still very important for our partners.
Leading on from that, In terms of a digital transformation what are the biggest changes you’ve been undergoing in the past couple of years to keep driving the club forward?
As a club we are only at the beginning. It will take some time to do a real digital transformation within the club, because it’s not only sponsorship, but communication, the finance department, administrative department and the sports department.
“We signed a deal with Socios a year ago for fan tokens and are now close to signing an NFT deal with a global company.”
We work together also with accelerated programmes where we would like to understand how the world is evolving to find the best opportunity for us to do this digital transformation. One of the most recent opportunities are NFTs, we signed a deal with Socios a year ago for fan tokens and are now close to signing an NFT deal with a global company. We’re also looking into the metaverse, which is a big, big discussion at the moment. Those are our most important digital projects.
What are the next steps for the club’s modernisation process then as you continue to develop the physical facilities and the internal processes?
Moving forwards we want to keep this capacity within the stadium but make sure it is modernised by bringing our main stand closer to the pitch, with more commercial activities inside the stadium like bars, restaurants, a museum and so on. We want this to be a smart venue and we’re working together with potential partners to create the best service possible for our fans.
We’ve got so much potential through our history and luckily an owner who supports us in planning a great vision. I hope that not only us but also Italian football can come back quickly to where it was 20 years ago. Some infrastructure can be improved but overall everyone wants Serie A to be managed well and competing at the highest level within Europe too.
Animoca Brands, the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, has become the latest sponsor of the iSportConnect Web3 Summit presented by Tezos.
iSportConnect’s Web3 Summit presented by Tezos will be taking place on the 28th and 29th of June 2022 at Emirates Stadium in London. Head to https://www.web3summit.sport/ for more information, the full agenda and to purchase tickets.
Animoca Brands is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification, and works to advance digital property rights. It develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, MotoGP, and more.
“The transition to Web3, the advent of true digital ownership, and the formation of the open metaverse are already under way and will impact all industries.”
The company has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, Lympo, Forj, Darewise, Eden Games, Grease Monkey Games, nWay, and GAMEE, among others. It also has a growing portfolio of more than 200 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), and many others.
Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “The transition to Web3, the advent of true digital ownership, and the formation of the open metaverse are already under way and will impact all industries. The iSportConnect Web3 Summit is an ideal forum to learn about the exciting new trends that will reshape the future of sports.”
“For anyone familiar with the space, Animoca Brands needs no introduction. It isplaying an integral part in funding, building and guiding next-generation organisations that have Web3 technologies and the metaverse at their core,” said Joe Condon, Commercial and Marketing Lead for the iSportConnect Web3 Summit.
“We’re extremely well aligned in our goal of helping sports organisations through this transition, and we’re absolutely delighted we can have Animoca Brands involved on 28/29 June.”
The 2022 IIHF Annual Congress has allocated tournaments for the upcoming season including the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship that will be co-hosted by Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. The 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Worlds return to Tampere & Riga
The Congress approved a joint bid of Finland and Latvia to host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship replacing St. Petersburg after the hosting rights had been withdrawn from Russia.
The next Worlds will take place at the biggest venues of two of the world’s most passionate hockey countries in Tampere and Riga from 12 to 28 May 2023.
Finland and Latvia are ready to fill in at short notice and will use the organizational experiences and staff from the 2021 and 2022 editions. “It is a privilege and we are grateful to jointly host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship,” Finnish Ice Hockey Association President Harri Nummela said about the bid of the two Baltic Sea nations.
“We are happy for your trust and are ready to host the World Championship with the best conditions for the teams and the best atmosphere for the fans,” said Latvian Ice Hockey Federation President Aigars Kalvitis.Nokia Arena in Tampere is planned as main venue of the Finnish-Latvian bid to host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
The newly opened Nokia Arena in Tampere will serve as the main venue as per the ongoing 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and will host one preliminary-round group, two quarter-finals, all semi-final and medal games. Up to 11,695 fans have filled the arena during the current tournament and in total 219,124 have come to the 30 games in Tampere.
For co-host Latvia it will be the chance to host the World Championship with fans since last year’s event had to be played in mostly empty arenas due to Covid-19 restrictions. Arena Riga with a capacity of up to 9,550 spectators will serve as the Latvian venue same as in 2006 and 2021 and will host one preliminary-round group and two quarter-final games. Fan zones are planned next to both arenas. Latvia is well-known for its passionate fans travelling to the World Championship and thanks to them also had the second-highest average attendance at the current World Championship only behind host Finland.Arena Riga hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2006 when it was opened and in 2021.
Riga and Tampere are 501 kilometres apart and connected with a 70-minute direct scheduled flight between the two cities. Teams who have to move to the cross-over quarter-finals or to the semi-finals will be transported with charter flights.
Originally there was a second co-hosting bid of Budapest, Hungary and Ljubljana, Slovenia with a site visit by the IIHF already conducted this month. However, Hungary withdrew the bid on 23 May due to lack of government guarantees, which was acknowledged by the IIHF. Therefore no vote was needed but two countries still used the opportunity to present the bid for future considerations mentioning 2028 as a potential year and receiving encouraging ratings for their bid and passion.
Switzerland to host in 2026
The Congress approved Switzerland as host country of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which will take place in Zurich and Fribourg from 15 to 31 May 2026. The Swiss were originally slated to host in 2020 but the tournament got cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. No vote was needed as the only other applicant, Kazakhstan, had earlier withdrawn its bid.
The Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, which will open later this year in the Altstetten district of the city, will serve as main venue for the event. The arena will offer a seating capacity for 11,200 fans for ice hockey and have the largest video cube of an ice arena in Europe. Zurich is the country’s most populous city with 400,000 inhabitants in the city and 1.5 million in the canton.
About a 90-minute car or train ride away, Fribourg will serve as secondary venue for the event. The city of 40,000 (320,000 in the canton) is at the German-Swiss language border and well known as a hockey town in Switzerland. The BCF Arena that was renovated and extended in recent years offers a capacity for 7,100 fans and was sold out for all games in the past season.
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships of the upcoming years:
2023: Tampere (Finland) & Riga (Latvia), 12-28 May 2023
2024: Prague & Ostrava (Czechia), 10-26 May 2024
2025: Stockholm (Sweden) & Herning (Denmark), 9-25 May 2025
2026: Zurich & Fribourg (Switzerland), 15-31 May 2026
The LTA have today announced a comprehensive new broadcast agreement that will see the UK summer grass court events given the widest coverage to date on network television, streaming and digital platforms.
All the action will be available across multiple platforms after the BBC and Prime Video confirmed broadcast arrangements for this summer.
Tennis fans are set to enjoy a bumper summer on the British grass courts, with Emma Raducanu, Andy Murray, Cam Norrie and Alfie Hewett among the homegrown heroes taking on some of the biggest names on the ATP and WTA Tours.
Murray’s first appearance at the Surbiton Trophy since 2004 will be screened live on the BBC’s digital platforms next week, with the former two-time Wimbledon champion starting his grass court campaign with an appearance in the ATP Challenger tournament.
The British tennis summer will then roll onto the Rothesay Open Nottingham, where 2022 Madrid Open winner and world No.7 Ons Jabeur is on the entry list, with both Prime Video and the BBC (for the first time) broadcasting the WTA 250 event while the concurrent ATP Challenger tournament at the Nottingham Tennis Centre will also be on BBC digital platforms.
Birmingham and the Queen’s Club in London are then next stops on the calendar, with Prime Video and the BBC sharing co-exclusive rights to screen both tournaments.
US Open champion Raducanu will lead an impressive cast list for the 40th anniversary edition of the Rothesay Classic Birmingham (a WTA 250 event), while British heroes Murray, Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper will be joined by Carlos Alcaraz (ATP No.6) and defending champion Matteo Berrettini (ATP No.10) for the ATP 500 cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club in an action-packed week.
Our grass court tournaments will then conclude with the Rothesay International Eastbourne from June 18, where eight of the world’s top ten women will compete in a high-quality field for the WTA 500 event.
The Devonshire Park courts in Eastbourne will also stage an ATP 250 tournament featuring British No.1 Norrie, defending champion Alex de Minaur and 2022 Indian Wells Masters champion, Taylor Fritz which will be exclusively on Prime Video, while the women’s action will be broadcast live on Prime Video and the BBC’s platforms, giving tennis fans the most comprehensive summer of coverage ever served up in Britain.
Richard Daish, LTA Marketing & Commercial Director said, “The LTA continues to open tennis up to new audiences and we have created more opportunities for UK based sports fans to engage in tennis this year.
“With even more British stars competing across our events this year, we want as many fans as possible to enjoy a fantastic summer of tennis and be inspired by what they see.”
Director of BBC Sport, Barbara Slater said: “We are delighted to bring comprehensive coverage of an exciting summer of tennis to our audiences.
“We will once again cover the prestigious Queen’s and Eastbourne tournaments on BBC TV and online, as well as Emma Raducanu leading an impressive line-up in Birmingham and Andy Murray’s highly anticipated return to the Surbiton Trophy. Fans can follow all the action 24/7 across BBC TV and online.”
Alex Green, MD Live Sport, Prime Video Europe said, “We are delighted to be bringing Prime members an exciting summer of British tennis on Prime Video this year.
“These events are an important part of the tennis calendar featuring the best British players and they will only add to our existing coverage.”
MyRacehorse, the pioneering racehorse micro-share ownership operator, today announced the appointment of two of the most experienced industry leaders in British Racing.
Simon Bazalgette, the former Chairman of Jockey Club Racecourses and founding Executive Chairman of Racecourse Media Group, becomes Chair of MyRacehorse’s UK Board, while Paul Fisher, the former Chief Executive of Jockey Club Racecourses, has been appointed as Chair of its UK Advisory Board.
The appointments follow the launch of MyRacehorse in the UK and Ireland last month with shares available in three horses currently in training: a £450,000 son of Dubawi with Andrew Balding, a Mendelssohn filly with John & Thady Gosden and a Zoffany filly with Joseph O’Brien.
MyRacehorse has achieved great success in the United States and Australia since launching in 2019, growing to become the leading shared ownership group in global racing, with over 100 horses in training around the world and more than 40,000 registered owners.
MyRacehorse has already provided unforgettable experiences at the very highest echelons of the sport to racehorse owners since its inception, including Authentic winning the 2020 Kentucky Derby and the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Commenting on the appointments of Bazalgette and Fisher, Jules Pittam, Managing Partner, MyRacehorse UK and Ireland, said: “Simon and Paul bring a wealth of experience from both horseracing and the wider business community which will prove invaluable as we seek to grow MyRacehorse throughout the UK and Ireland.
“Our core philosophy is to bring new people into the sport by experiencing elite ownership at affordable prices, all done with the highest standards of transparency and governance.
“This is real ownership – elite horses, top trainers and a share for the entirety of the horse’s racing and breeding career. We are all looking forward to lots of exciting days on the racecourse with our three horses this summer.”
Simon Bazalgette said: “It is vital for horseracing to attract and engage new fans in as many ways as possible and MyRacehorse is doing exactly that through its innovative technology, which enables racing fans to experience the thrill of ownership at affordable prices.
“Importantly, the service is designed to meet financial security regulations, and therefore will be best in class in terms of transparency and protection of its members. They have achieved extraordinary things in the US and Australia in a short period of time, securing top quality bloodstock and providing an incredible experience for their owners. I look forward to working with the team to help achieve future growth as I am sure the concept will prove hugely popular in the UK and Ireland.”
Paul Fisher added: “MyRacehorse is one of the most exciting innovations I have seen when it comes to racehorse ownership, and I’m delighted to Chair the UK Advisory Board.
“The model has been proven in the US and Australia with MyRacehorse bringing so many new people into the sport, and I fully expect that to happen in the UK and Ireland as well. The chance to experience ownership of these elite horses at such an affordable price is truly ground-breaking and one that will undoubtedly appeal to many existing and new racing fans.”
The winners of the 2022 Football Business Awards were announced today with Rick Parry receiving the Lifetime Contribution to the Business of Football award and Wigan Athletic’s Malachy Brannigan crowned FC Business CEO of the Year.
Wigan were arguably the most successful football club at the awards, with their chief executive Malachy Brannigan claiming League One CEO of the year as well as overall CEO of the year. The Latics also received the award for best fan engagement by a club.
Rick Parry said when receiving his award:
“I don’t do looking backwards, as there’s too much to look forward to. I’ve worked with phenomenal people. I wasn’t sure about the EFL role for a long time, but saw the brilliant owners and people at all levels that exist in the football league, and took the role. Then the pandemic hit. But with thanks to these people we got through.
The model Is changing and things need to change. You don’t need a parachute to fall off a step, things need to change”
Manchester City also continued their winning streak off the back off Premier league victory, after receiving the award for Best New Player/Contract Signing Reveal Campaign:
Rick Parry won the ‘Lifetime Contribution to the Business of Football award’ for making a truly significant and wide-reaching impact on the business of football.
In the 10-year history of the Football Business awards, this honour has only been given out on three occasions. Previous recipients; Richard Scudamore CBE, Peter Kenyon and Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Clubs from across the Premier League, EFL and SPFL joined sponsors, partners, community schemes and businesses to celebrate exceptional work in football across 23 categories at a lunchtime ceremony at The Brewery in London.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Football Business Awards recognise and reward the off-pitch talents and endeavours that are an invaluable, part of the fabric of football and the communities clubs serve.
Attended by over 415 leading football industry executives, the awards are considered the industry’s foremost accolade, attracting hundreds of entries every year from both the business units within football clubs and those professional services and businesses dedicated to supporting clubs and the game itself.
Simon Burton, Co-founder of the Football Business Awards, said: “Football is no ordinary business. It is at the heart of communities everywhere and we are honoured to celebrate these outstanding achievements and initiatives.”
The winners are:
Lifetime Contribution to the Business of Football: Rick Parry
fcbusiness Overall CEO of the Year: Malachy Brannigan, Wigan Athletic FC
CEO of the Year (Premier League): Phil Alexander, Crystal Palace FC
CEO of the Year (Championship): Dane Murphy, Nottingham Forest FC
CEO of the Year (League One): Malachy Brannigan, Wigan Athletic FC
CEO of the Year (League Two): Colin Garlick, Port Vale FC
CEO of the Year (SPFL): Andrew McKinlay, Heart of Midlothian
Best Club Marketing: Bradford City AFC
Best Brand Activation Involving Football: BT
Innovation Award: Southampton Football Club
Agency of the Year: Ten Toes
Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme: Aston Villa
Best Digital/Social Media Team: Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Best Professional Service Business Serving Football: KSS Design Group
Best New Player/Contract Signing Reveal Campaign: Manchester City FC
Best Business Serving Football: Football Fun Factory
Best Fan Engagement by a Club: Wigan Athletic FC
Sustainability Award: Tottenham Hotspur FC and Sky
Innovation Award – Non-club: Element 16 Media
Diversity and Inclusion Award: Brighton & Hove Albion
Best Use of Technology in Football: EE & Cake
Sponsorship/Partnership of the Year: Qatar Airways & Fifty Digital
XE Sports Group has today announced it will enter Season 3 of Extreme E, the sport for purpose electric off-road series which uses motorsport to promote sustainability and diversity.
Extreme E marks a major milestone in global reach with XE Sports Group becoming the first Asian Pacific Team headquartered in Australia to compete in the series.
The team will officially sign its contract in Monaco later today on board the St Helena, the series’ floating centrepiece, which transports the Extreme E cars, freight and logistics around the world.
Luke Todd, Director of the XE Sports Group, commented:
“Since its inception, Extreme E has demonstrated to be a major drawcard for both extreme racing and climate awareness plus diversity, which aligns perfectly with the XE Sports Group’s focus of raising awareness of global climate and social challenges with the ability to make a real impact at the ground, local level.”
XE Sports Group is the impact sports division of EVDirect.com, the distributors of BYD Passenger Vehicles within Australia and New Zealand and their investment and participation in Extreme E will enable them to showcase BYD’s high quality, affordable luxury vehicles and raise awareness within Australia and wider Asia Pacific Region of the benefits of electric vehicle technology.
Sporting executive and former international professional football star Tim Cahill will also be a member of the group from its inception. Cahill said that he was looking forward to connecting the world of professional football with Extreme E, commenting:
“I’m really excited to be a part of this team. The combination of thrilling, competitive racing and leaving a lasting, positive impact makes the sport totally unique. We look to bringing a significant new audience to Extreme E from within the millions of football fans across the world.”
Todd added:
“XE Sports Group will be bringing our own climate science and legacy program to Extreme E to complement the existing Extreme E programme with XE Sports Group to roll out an Asia Pacific Foundation with the mission to reduce poverty and increase living standards through the adaption of technology such as 2nd life lithium battery deployment combined with solar capture in remote or impoverished locations.
“Competitively, we are joining Extreme E to race and win. We will be delivering a world-class racing package and eagerly await to line up against the likes of the X44, Rosberg X Racing, and JBXE teams as well as the rest of the top-class field. Australians are renowned for overachieving in the sports arena, and we aim for nothing less in Extreme E. We will be racing for the planet and racing to win.”
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said:
“We extend a huge, warm welcome to Luke and the XE Group to Extreme E, and we can’t wait to see how the team performs in its racing debut. Not only that but it is a great to see the goals of the team so closely reflecting our own in terms of climate and community impact, and we are very excited about the possibilities we have together in these shared purposes.
“The grid is really filling up now and it’s great to have our first Asian Pacific team involved. This championship is growing and the countdown to Season 3 starts now!”
Extreme E aims to minimise environmental impact but maximise awareness, racing in places that have already been damaged or affected by climate change, taking fans deep into the heart of the most pressing environmental issues facing the planet. At the same time, the series has built-in equality and diversity, with each team fielding one male and one female driver.
In parallel, Extreme E is helping the car industry to develop future-facing technology using racing as a platform for mobility innovation, which motorsport has long been associated with as an accelerator of research and development.
The current Extreme E line-up includes teams run by legendary motorsport names including McLaren, Lewis Hamilton (X44), Nico Rosberg (Rosberg X Racing) Jenson Button (JBXE), and Carlos Sainz (ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team).
Season 3 of Extreme E will get underway in early 2023, with dates and a full racing calendar to be confirmed in the coming months.
The iSportConnect Web3 Summit presented by Tezos has linked up with Capital Block, the specialist NFT agency.
iSportConnect’s Web3 Summit presented by Tezos will be taking place on the 28th and 29th of June 2022 at Emirates Stadium in London. Head to https://www.web3summit.sport/ for more information, the full agenda and to purchase tickets.
Capital Block is the leading dedicated sport NFT agency, building long-term strategies and fan engagement for sports brands around the world.
They help organisations to navigate and understand the NFT space, build communities, execute concepts, connect the world and deliver stories.
“Capital Block is delighted to be teaming up with iSportConnect Web3 Summit and Tezos for this year’s summit. As an NFT agency, we are passionate about spreading the message about the benefits of NFT in sport,” Tim Mangnall, CEO of Capital Sports Media commented.
“We also believe in guiding clubs to enter the space in the right way with the right research and fan engagement. We look forward to speaking more about this at the Summit and sharing our experiences and expertise.”
“Nearly every sports team in the world is currently exploring how they can make the most of NFTs and create strong fan engagement for their supporters,” added Joe Condon, Commercial and Marketing Lead for the iSportConnect Web3 Summit.
“Getting expert advice is imperative to ensure you are not taking the plunge on an NFT project that will fail to provide benefits. It’s great to have Capital Block joining us for the event next month and we look forward to having them at the Emirates.”
On Sunday 5 June, everyone in the UK will be able to watch Wales take on either Scotland or Ukraine in the FIFA World Cup Play-Off Final. The important fixture will see the winner securing a place at the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar this November and will be available free to air on ITV in England, S4C in Wales and STV in Scotland, following agreements between Sky Sports and the British public service broadcasters.
The deal means everyone in Scotland and Wales can get behind their national teams on Sunday, in their bids to reach the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The game, which will also be shown on Sky Sports, is the culmination of a long qualifying campaign for both nations, following initial postponement of Scotland’s fixture with Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, while Wales beat Austria 2-1 back in March.
Jonathan Licht, Managing Director of Sky Sports, commented:
“Next Sunday’s game is a huge fixture for Wales and Scotland supporters, and for football fans throughout the UK and Ireland. We are thrilled to make a game of such national sporting significance available to the widest possible audience, thanks to our partnership with ITV, S4C and STV.
Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, said:
“This agreement ensures free to air coverage for all football fans for the crucial World Cup Play-Off Final. The deal with Sky Sports will bring fans of the Home Nations the chance to watch their team progress to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which we hope our viewers will enjoy.”
Bobby Hain, Managing Director of Broadcast at STV, said:
“After initiating discussions with Sky Sports and working closely with them to secure an agreement, we’re delighted that this potentially historic moment in Scottish international football will be available for everyone to watch for free on STV.
“There is of course a decisive fixture to come before then, but regardless of the result, it’s hugely exciting to have international football returning to STV next Sunday.”
Sian Doyle, S4C Chief Executive, said:
“The play-off final is one of the biggest games in the recent history of the Welsh football team and one the whole nation will be watching with tremendous excitement.
“S4C is here to provide a service to the people of Wales and we are proud to be a part of the Red Wall.
“We will be turning our channel red to show our support for the team and we will be behind them all the way. We hope Wales supporters will join us and enjoy our coverage. Yma o Hyd.”
Scotland vs Ukraine will be live on Sky Sports at 7.45pm on Wednesday 1st June.
The FIFA World Cup Play-Off Final between Wales and Ukraine or Scotland will kick off at 5pm on Sunday 5th June, live on Sky Sports and free to air on ITV, STV and S4C.
