The MotoGP™ Pick & Play game brings fans into the action on one of the world’s largest social networks.
A new game for MotoGP™ fans is launching in 2022: MotoGP™ Pick & Play! MotoGP™ Pick & Play will launch exclusively on Facebook and will be available to play free worldwide on mobile devices.
MotoGP™ Pick & Play allows fans of the world’s fastest motorcycle racing Championship to get involved in the action by choosing which rider, in a weekly battle, will finish ahead. Playing for fun (and glory!), each face-off tests fans’ knowledge of the sport, with two riders put up in head-to-heads in each Grand Prix. The player just needs to choose which rider they think will finish ahead, and there are some interesting choices for the first round at Le Mans:
Home hero Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) vs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder
Jerez winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) vs 2020 Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar)
Reigning Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) vs Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing)
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) vs Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)
Eight-time Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) vs Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira
The battles will change for each race weekend, with the first choices based on the Championship standings. But the possibilities don’t stop there, with inter-team battles, national showdowns and more on the horizon in future. Fans can also create their own leagues in MotoGP™ Pick & Play, testing their skills against each other to see who comes out on top over the course of the season – and in the rankings each week.
Head to www.facebook.com/fantasy_games/motogp on mobile devices to find out more and get involved in MotoGP™ Pick & Play, with the first battles of the season just around the corner for the SHARK Grand Prix de France!
McLaren Racing today announced a new multi-year partnership with VMware, a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, as an Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team.
The technology-driven partnership connects two brands who value excellence in their respective fields, with VMware empowering McLaren’s operations throughout the F1 season for the team to stay connected and efficient at locations around the world.
VMware will help McLaren manage, connect, protect, and deliver cloud-based apps the team relies on both at-track and at the McLaren Technology Centre. McLaren will leverage VMware’s technology to power app optimisation across multiple clouds, deliver reliable connectivity and best user experience across devices.
VMware branding will be represented on the McLaren MCL36 F1 cars and race suits of McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo from the 2022 French Grand Prix.
Matt Dennington, Director of Partnerships, McLaren Racing, said:
“It’s fantastic to be partnering with VMware, whose technology will play a key role in connecting the McLaren F1 Team. We operate at race pace on and off-track, and this partnership will help keep us agile across the apps we need, from any device and location, to bring our best on race day.”
Laura Heisman, Chief Marketing Officer, VMware said:
“McLaren Racing and VMware share a commitment to excellence and a desire to push the boundaries of what is possible to take on the biggest challenges. Through this multi-year deal, we will help drive innovation for the McLaren F1 Team in their pursuit of a world championship.”
The UK’s number one squash brand is partnering The Hundred with a multi-year deal.
Robinsons has today become the Official Soft Drinks Partner of The Hundred.
The three-year deal will see The Hundred feature on packs across the Robinsons’ ready to drink, no added sugar range, offering ticket giveaways to consumers via a weekly prize draw.
The Hundred launched last summer to packed out crowds across England and Wales, exciting cricket fans new and old with its innovative mix of high energy sporting action and epic entertainment.
From this summer, Robinsons will put their name to the Strategic Timeout, which gives the bowling side 150 seconds to regroup and rehydrate during the most critical periods of play.
Robinsons has a shared aim to help people make healthier choices and live healthier lives. The Hundred will feature on Robinsons’ ready to drink, no added sugar range of drinks. Robinsons’ drinks are also made without artificial colours or flavourings.
The inaugural year of The Hundred captivated the nation. The four-week competition saw over 16m people tuning in to watch games across Sky and BBC and 34.3m video views online, with the opening match trending nationally on Twitter.
More than 500,000 tickets were sold and issued across eight venues, with 267,000 attending the women’s fixtures, the highest number for a women’s cricket event globally.
The new partnership with Robinsons will help The Hundred to grow again in year two and beyond. This summer will see more overseas talent, more outreach into communities, and more kids inspired to get active and pick up a bat and ball.
Rob Calder, Commercial Director, The Hundred said: “Partnering with Robinsons gives The Hundred a fantastic opportunity to get more people into cricket, through the chance to win tickets this summer.
“We are delighted to partner with such an established, British brand like Robinsons and look forward to working with them throughout an important second year for cricket’s newest competition.”
Bruce Dallas, Britvic’s Great Britain Marketing Director, said: “The Hundred has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting events in the UK’s sporting calendar and we are thrilled to be part of the action in the coming seasons. Part of The Hundred’s mission is to make the game of cricket more accessible and more inclusive to families up and down the country and, as a family-favourite brand, Robinsons fully supports these efforts to promote broader engagement with the sport.
“At Britvic we are committed to helping people make healthier choices and live healthier lives through our brands by keeping well hydrated and Robinsons’ involvement with this competition provides a great platform to further this agenda.”
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will become the first football federation globally to officially launch a personalised NFT platform with OneFootball. Fans of the Argentine National Team will be able to purchase officially licensed digital collectibles on the platform.
The AFA, in association with the world’s largest football media platform, OneFootball, will soon launch the first unique collection with officially licensed digital assets. These products will feature a variety of price points to make them widely accessible for all National Team fans. Fans will also be able to purchase and store digital collectibles with just their email address.
The AFA will be the first football federation in the world to have its Web3 partnership with OneFootball for the development of NFTs. This long-term agreement between OneFootball and the AFA will see the two organisations commit to working closely together to transform the football experience for fans, making available assets from current, past and future national teams, such as Lionel Messi, Angel Di María, and legends Diego Armando Maradona, Claudio Paul Caniggia and Gabriel Batistuta.
In relation to this new agreement, Claudio Tapia, President of AFA stated: “Our growing partnership with OneFootball is helping us to reach fans in ever more innovative ways. Our content agreement is helping us to reach millions more fans worldwide, and we’re excited to be the first federation to release a personalised NFT platform with OneFootball, transforming in further the digital experiences for our national teams and football fans. This is the start of an exciting new era in football and the Argentine National Team will be at the heart of it, thanks to this partnership with OneFootball.”
For his part Leandro Petersen, Commercial and Marketing Manager of AFA stated: “Since the beginning of this year together with OneFootball we have designed a long-term agreement that allows us to reach all our fans around the world in an effective and direct way. Being able today to announce AFA’s personalised NFT platform together with OneFootball means taking another step in our expansion in the digital world. Soon we will launch the first AFA NFT collection, reinforcing our bond with the Argentine National Team fans, not only in this World Cup year, but also, for the years to come”.
Lucas von Cranach, CEO & Founder at OneFootball, said: “OneFootball will take tens of millions of football supporters from Web2 to Web3 over the coming years. In order to do that, it’s crucial that we have the right partners which share our excitement about delivering a future of football that is decentralised and built on Web3. By becoming the first federation to launch licensed digital collectibles with OneFootball, the AFA will be giving fans more access and more ownership, helping to bring them even closer to the game they love.”
The partnership between AFA and OneFootball has been made possible thanks to a new joint venture, OneFootball Labs, with Animoca Brands and Dapper Labs, the digital collectible company behind NBA Top Shots.
It is a great pleasure to announce that the Thinking Football Summit 2022, organised by Liga Portugal, will be partnering with iSportConnect, the world’s largest sport business network and community of executives working across the sports industry.
iSportConnect works to build relationships in sport across a number of different verticals: their events, community offering and advisory service. The organisation hosts many exclusive, invite-only events around the world for its community of executives in the business of sport.
As part of this partnership, iSportConnect will be curating and moderating a panel at the Thinking Football Summit 2022 that will be centred around the topic of Web3 and the impact it is going to have on sport in the future, with speakers to be announced shortly.
The Summit will be taking place on 18 to 20 November 2022, an event that will be held for the first time in Porto, Portugal. For three days, the Super Bock Arena – Pavilhão Rosa Mota will breathe football, in a summit that is intended to become a reference and one of the best in European Football. Tickets for the event can be purchased here – (www.thinkingfootballsummit.com).
iSportConnect’s Chief Relationship Officer Ray James commented: “We are delighted to be working with the Liga Portugal on this exciting new event and to discussing the game-changing technology that will have an influential impact on the way sports organisations not only operate, but interact with their audiences, manage their relationships and monetise their IP and assets.”
Web3 is going to transform how we operate within the business of sport and across many other sectors, so we look forward to providing a highly educational session, as well as seeing our members in Portugal and helping Liga Portugal to deliver a first class event.”
Tiago Madureira, Executive Director of Liga Portugal, said about the partnership: “iSportConnect is the ideal partner for us to join up with, due to their terrific insight into the commercial world of sport and experience within this space. They are a good sports membership organisation and it is a pleasure to host them and their members in Porto later this year.”
We are also pleased to be able to offer a discount of 10% for the iSportConnect Web3 Summit presented by Tezos on the 28/29 June at Emirates Stadium in London to Thinking Football Summit 2022 ticket holders – use the code TFS10 at checkout to receive the discount.
Join Tata Communications for the first ‘London to IBC’ bike ride supported by Tata Communications. Get the chance to take on a great challenge and meet some sustainable goals. More information below.
Coverage of the inaugural eSkootr Championship™ (eSC) will be shown live in 34 countries on beIN SPORTS in the Middle East and North Africa and parts of Asia.
One of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters, beIN MEDIA GROUP will show the first season of the eSkootr Championship in 24 countries in the MENA region including the UAE, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The deal will also see the broadcaster offer coverage from all six 2022 races in 10 Asian countries including Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as in Turkey.
The season begins on 13/14 May at Printworks London, with a further five rounds for the 2022 season confirmed in the Swiss city of Sion, and in France, Spain, Italy and the US. eSC is using new, creative camera angles and industry leading production techniques to provide viewers with a unique sports broadcast, and fans in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Turkey will be able to see live coverage of the races and the 90-minute highlight show on beIN SPORTS.
beIN SPORTS will show eSC’s own programme, created by Canadian production company Boombox, which includes pre-race build-up, live race commentary and post-race interviews, highlights and analysis.
Sharon Fuller, Chief Content Officer at eSC, commented:
“Our vision for eSC is to be as accessible as possible for all, and by partnering with beIN SPORTS we are working with one of the biggest sports broadcasters in the world who will make the series available in 34 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
“Motorsport is growing in popularity in the regions and we are excited to introduce our new form of racing to the sporting calendar with our industry leading, innovative broadcasting production.”
Following the agreement with BKT, the Indian multinational specialized in Off Highway tires, as globalsponsor of LaLiga from 2019 to 2022, both organisations have agreed to renew the deal for the next three seasons.
This agreement, which will run until the end of the 2024/2025 season, is based on BKT’s objective to strengthen its brand awareness and builds on the commitment to LaLiga and the Indian multinational’s affinity with sport, as it has other sponsorship agreements across a range of sports such as basketball, cricket and rugby.
Óscar Mayo, Executive Director of LaLiga, details: “The partnership between LaLiga and BKT over the past three years has allowed us to help them increase their global exposure through our fans and audience. We both strive for excellence in what we do, and this is certainly a relationship that we are delighted to renew for a new cycle.”
LaLiga and BKT share a number of unique sporting values, such as competitiveness and strategic thinking. This ensures that the Indian company has a significant boost, not only in brand visibility, but also from a commercial perspective.
Lucía Salmaso, CEO of BKT Europe, said: “We are thrilled and proud of pursuing our journey alongside LaLiga. I like the idea that we are two important entities, each in its respective market, that are able to see beyond a simple marketing operation, rendering instead joint and mutual inspiration. The market now is the world. In order to act globally, a common language is needed to reach increasingly larger communities. That being said, what can be more viral than sport?”
On a national level, Spain is a strategic market for BKT, one of the most important in Europe, especially in the agricultural sector. BKT offers tires which operate in different specialist fields, but it is particularly in agriculture where it started its journey and where it has literally taken to the field.
“This cooperation gives us again the opportunity to strengthen both our presence and brand awareness in Spain, a country we consider strategic and highly important in terms of business.” Lucia concludes. Through sports, we can reach our users by means of a channel that makes hearts leap, because sport is a simple and direct language that everyone can understand – and it is hence universal.”
Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, has today become the Official Insights Partner of The Hundred and, from 2023 onwards, The Hundred Draft will be powered by Sage.
The Hundred launched last summer to packed out crowds across England and Wales, exciting cricket fans new and old with its innovative mix of high energy sporting action and epic entertainment.
The partnership is a key symbol of change as part of Sage’s new brand refresh, aligning with The Hundred’s aims to engage new audiences and put gender parity at its heart. The competition sees men and women playing side-by-side on the same stage, with equal prize money on offer.
Through the activation, Sage will bring fans closer to The Hundred’s big decisions, powering the Decision Review System (DRS) in broadcast and big screens inside the grounds, together with branding appearing on the umpires’ kit during the tournament.
Sage will also be Presenting Partner for The Hundred Draft, highlighting the importance of using in-depth analysis to drive effective player selection. To support this, the partnership will launch a content series this summer, focusing on the use of data and insight behind cricket’s newest competition. The content will feature the key decision makers from this year’s draft, reviewing the big signings and demonstrating how insights determined the teams’ key selections.
The inaugural year of The Hundred saw more than 510,000 people attend games, with a TV audience of over 16 million, and record-breaking crowds for the women’s competition.
Rob Calder, Commercial Director, The Hundred said: “As a global leader in supporting small and mid-sized businesses with data-driven decision making, Sage is the perfect partner to power our Decision Review System this summer, and The Draft from next year. We look forward to working with Sage as we get ready for another huge summer for The Hundred.”
Cath Keers, CMO, Sage, said: “The Hundred is a tournament with rich data at the heart of its decision-making, from drafting players to in-game analysis. Fast accurate decision making powered by deep insights is how we help business flow for our customers. The partnership is an exciting opportunity to share the power of data with a global audience of cricket fans and communities around the UK.
“We’ll bring this partnership to life over the coming months and years making sure our colleagues, customers and communities all benefit with access to tickets and experiences, content and promotional opportunities.”
Europe’s leading smartwatch company for kids is teaming up with The Hundred to get children active this summer.
Xplora today announce a multi-year deal to become the Official Children’s Smartwatch Supplier of The Hundred.
The technology company was founded in 2017 to help children enter safely into the digital world and having a better balance between screen time with physical activity.
The Xplora watches are ideal as a first phone allowing children to make and receive calls to a list of approved contacts, send messages and emojis and even take photos. The innovative Goplay platform encourages children to be more active by rewarding steps taken with Xplora coins (every 1,000 steps is equal to 1 Xplora coin) which can be redeemed on the platform for physical prizes and also can take part in competitions.
Xplora will launch a new The Hundred themed Goplay campaign in the lead-up to the tournament, throughout which kids across the UK can compete both individually and as part of a favourite team.
The Hundred launched last summer to packed crowds across England and Wales, exciting cricket fans new and old with its innovative mix of high energy sporting action and epic entertainment.
In addition, The Hundred and Xplora will give away 100s of Xplora smartwatches to children across England and Wales through competitions and promotions this summer.
Inspiring more children to pick up a bat and ball is a key objective of cricket’s newest competition. Over 105,000 children played All Stars and Dynamos Cricket in 2021 during a record-breaking summer of participation. Dynamos Cricket, linked directly to The Hundred, introduced kids to the game and gave participants experiences such as a coaching session on Lord’s Nursery Ground.
The Hundred is committed to opening cricket’s doors to all those that want to play the sport, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, background or ability and last summer’s All Stars and Dynamos programmes saw 27,000 girls, 13,000 children from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and over 3,000 disabled children pick up a bat and ball.
James Brown, Senior Commercial Manager of The Hundred said: “Xplora and The Hundred are perfectly placed to help children across the country to get active this summer.
“Last year saw more kids playing the game than ever before, and we look forward to working with Xplora to build on this momentum, using The Hundred to inspire even more young people to pick up a bat and ball in 2022.”
Sten Kirkbak, Founder and CEO of Xplora: “We are proud to partner with a competition that promotes healthier lifestyles and social engagement among children. Our mission drives us to keep finding new ways to keep kids active and create healthy habits in this changing, digital world. Establishing a partnership with such a great tournament such as The Hundred is an important step towards our vision of enabling children to experience how their everyday activities can make a positive change in the world.“
UKG, a leading provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions for all people, and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) today announced a historic, multi-year partnership, making UKG the first-ever title sponsor of the NWSL Challenge Cup, increasing the Cup bonus pool tenfold in 2022, and the total pool will more than double again in 2023. The 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup will be the first-ever women’s professional soccer tournament to achieve pay equity with its U.S. peers in the men’s game.
“We refuse to accept that one organization cannot make a difference in the fight for pay equity — just look at what these remarkable women have done with their collective voice to raise awareness on a national stage about a problem that has plagued our workforce for decades,” said Brian K. Reaves, chief belonging, diversity, and equity officer at UKG. “These worthy athletes are also champions on the field of equality. We are so proud to stand beside the NWSL and work toward bringing pay equity to a sport that, for too long unfortunately, reflected the working reality of many women. This partnership is just one of the many actions UKG is taking to raise awareness and encourage action on pay equity across all workplaces and industries.”
The multimillion-dollar, multi-year UKG sponsorship will close the wage gap for the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, with the prize money directly benefiting the women on the winning team, runner-up team, and semifinalist teams. This is in addition to the recently ratified collective bargaining agreement reached by the NWSL and the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association that includes a substantial investment from ownership that significantly increases compensation packages and benefits, enhances training and playing environments, and provides the standards essential to securing the NWSL’s position as the best women’s soccer league in the world.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have a partner like UKG, a brand with whom we have shared values,” said Jessica Berman, NWSL commissioner. “Our partnership is purpose-driven, and we believe that will eventually lead to broader impactful change, not only for women in professional sports but for women and underrepresented groups worldwide who have advocated tirelessly for the equity they deserve.”
In addition to its sponsorship with the NWSL, UKG will also partner with individual NWSL athletes Christen Press and Sydney Leroux to further advocate for closing the pay gap in every field.
“I can’t say how much it means to us that UKG is taking a stand on behalf of pay equity for our players,” said Christen Press. “We have fought long and hard for pay equal to that of our male counterparts, and we need more people to take a stand on closing the pay gap and fighting for fair and consistent pay for everyone, regardless of gender, race, background, or profession.”
“Every player in this league has worked their whole life to play professional soccer and have the means to support themselves and their families,” added Sydney Leroux. “Pay equity goes beyond the average 18 cents less that women are paid for every dollar that a man is paid — it is about people wanting to live the same quality of life, have the same opportunities, and live the same dreams as others doing the same work.”
The NWSL Challenge Cup sponsorship is part of the UKG Close the Gap Initiative, a multimillion-dollar pay equity initiative announced in December 2021, to drive awareness and action to resolve pay disparities among men, women, and underrepresented groups that continue to significantly impact today’s workforce. As part of that commitment, UKG is contributing $0.18 — the current gender wage gap1 — for every single employee paid each year via a UKG payroll solution toward programs and organizations fighting for equal pay. UKG payroll solutions are used to pay over 15 million employees per year, meaning UKG is making a $3 million investment in the critical programs and initiatives that support the fight for pay equity, including:
Philanthropic support of nonprofits — including Grantmakers for Girls of Color, LeanIn.Org, Reboot Representation, and 9to5 — that are focused on bringing greater access to education, career, opportunity, and pay equity to women, women of color, and other underrepresented groups.
The Pay Equity in America Research Study, in conjunction with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, which will examine the existing pay gaps between men and women in the workforce, as well as the progress employers are making nationwide to create more equitable conditions among all genders.
Education and awareness programs to develop educational resources for best practices in HR, compensation planning, recruiting, and hiring that are known to support pay equity. UKG will make these resources publicly available to all.
“At the heart of being a great place to work is providing equal opportunity for all,” said Reaves. “To be truly supportive, employers must recognize a person’s value; compensate them equitably based on their skills, experience, and the work they perform, no matter their gender; and they must also create equal opportunities for advancement for all people in their organizations. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but we believe that, by partnering with the NWSL and calling attention to the persistent issue of pay inequity in this world, we are taking meaningful action to support the livelihoods and aspirations of women and underrepresented groups in the workplace, and to help end the decades-long fight for equity for all.”
Supporting Resources
Learn more about how UKG is making pay equity a priority.
Access UKG pay equity resources and insights.
Learn more about UKG and why our purpose is people.
Follow UKG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
Elevate Sports Ventures negotiated the landmark agreement between UKG and the NWSL and will assist in managing strategy and activation for the cause-driven brand and league partnership.
