FIFA To Launch Tender Process For Media Rights To FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ In Selected Territories In Asia

FIFA has announced that it will launch an invitation to tender (ITT) on 28 April 2022 for the sale of media rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ in selected territories across Asia.

Interested parties will be invited to make an offer in one or more of the following territories: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Korea Republic, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Further information about the rights being offered, the bid process and the submission of bids will be provided in the ITT.

Media companies or organisations wishing to participate in the ITT can submit a request by email to FWWC23-asia-media-rights@fifa.org.

Since its inception in 1991, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ has grown exponentially, becoming the most-watched women’s single-sport event globally. The most recent edition – the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ – attracted a record audience of over 1.1 billion viewers, smashing domestic viewing figures in many territories.

The 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand and will take place in nine Host Cities across ten stadiums from 20 July to 20 August 2023. Following the amazing success of the 2019 event, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be the first edition of the tournament to feature 32 teams, including more Asian teams than ever before.

China PR, Japan, Korea Republic, the Philippines and Vietnam have all already qualified for the final tournament; Thailand and Chinese Taipei still have a chance to qualify in the play-off tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 early next year.

The tender process will allow FIFA to select the media companies that are best placed to achieve FIFA’s overall objectives to deliver high quality, comprehensive coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ to help accelerate the growth and development of women’s football.

Bid submissions to FIFA must be received by 10:00 CEST on Tuesday, 7 June 2022.

Through the sale of media rights for its football tournaments, FIFA generates income which is essential to support and develop the game around the world, for instance through the FIFA Forward and FIFA Women’s Development Programme.

La-Z-Boy Kicks Off UK And Ireland Partnership With NFL

La-Z-Boy has become the official furniture partner of the NFL London Games.

The USA’s National Football League will stage three of its 2022 season games in the capital during October.

World renowned sofa brand La-Z-Boy has penned a three-year deal which will see it provide ‘The best seats in the house’ for the two London games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and become the key sponsor of the Jason & Osi Podcast in which the two former NFL players and BBC pundits chat about the game.

La-Z-Boy branding will be visible around the stadia at all three London Games and on the NFL UK website.

Managing director of La-Z-Boy UK, Mark Draper, described the partnership as an ideal link-up.

“NFL fans are very dedicated to their sport and that means watching the games in comfort is a big deal. We’ll not only be offering the chance to win game tickets, but providing the ‘best seats in the house’ so fans can enjoy a game in world-renowned La-Z-Boy comfort.

“La-Z-Boy chairs and sofas are all about celebrating time with friends and family as well as relaxing to enjoy me-time – both of which fit perfectly with the NFL fanbase. We’re very excited to work closely with the NFL in the UK and Ireland and get to know NFL supporters even better.”

NFL’s European commercial director, Michelle Webb, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome La-Z-Boy UK as our Official Furniture Partner of the NFL London Games. The brand and activation work perfectly and we’re excited to see what the next three years bring for both brands.”

The partnership will launch at the January Furniture Show, the UK’s largest furniture trade event, which takes place at its rescheduled date in April at the NEC, Birmingham.

Further details of the activations and competitions will be announced throughout the year.

Brand marketing director for La-Z-Boy International, Natasha Wright, added: “As La-Z-Boy approaches its 100-year anniversary in 2027, we are looking to make strategic partnerships to ensure we reach this milestone in the best possible position. 

“The NFL deal will elevate our brand in the UK and Ireland by reaching a consumer group which is in keeping with our strategic vision.”

Inter Miami CF Announce Acronis As Official Cybersecurity Partner Supported By iPower Technologies

Inter Miami CF and Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, announced an Official Cybersecurity Partnership which will be supported by iPower Technologies. Through this partnership, Inter Miami will have access to leading technology that will help keep data safe and CyberFit.

Sports teams around the world choose Acronis Cyber Protect, an innovative Machine Intelligence (MI) enhanced solution that integrates data protection with cybersecurity, prevents cyberattacks, and helps teams avoid downtime. Acronis combines automation and integration, ensuring the prevention, detection, response, recovery, and analysis needed to safeguard all workloads while streamlining protection efforts. Acronis cyber protection provides the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) services required to protect the modern sport.

“Our data is a valuable asset for our organization and safely storing information pertaining to our club is important to our business,” said Inter Miami CF Chief Business Officer, Xavier Asensi. “As leaders in the space, we are excited to welcome Acronis to our family of partners.”

“Inter Miami will be an exciting addition to our roster, which aligns them with other world class sports teams who entrust their cyber protection to Acronis,” said Acronis Vice President and General Manager, Americas, Pat Hurley. “We’re proud of our ability here at Acronis to provide organizations with the latest and greatest in technology to combat cyber threats, and this partnership with Inter Miami expands our reach and exposure.” 

iPower Technologies offers end-to-end network solutions that span from the desktop to the datacenter. Leveraging decades of experience across multiple industries, iPower has the proven record to enable digital transformation. Their unique understanding of the “always-on” business allows cutting-edge stability and efficiency, powered by an expert team that can help anytime, anywhere. iPower takes businesses to the next level with customized cloud solutions, keeping data safe, secure, and accessible. 

“We are extremely excited to support and protect Inter Miami with Acronis,” said Jarrett Pavao, President of iPower Technologies. We have been fortunate enough to work with the club since its inception and we are thrilled at how Inter Miami continues to innovate on both the field and in the datacenter. We are proud to be able to support their technical initiatives through the Acronis CyberFit partnership.”

Through this partnership, Inter Miami will access innovative cyber protection solutions to safeguard data, applications, and systems to optimize data management and defend cyberattacks.

FanDuel Expands Its Partnership To Become An Official Sports Betting Partner Of The New York Yankees

FanDuel Group, the premier sports gaming destination in the United States, announced today a multi-year partnership renewal to become An Official Sports Betting Partner of the New York Yankees. The expanded partnership ensures that America’s #1 Sportsbook remains aligned with the world’s most iconic sports franchise.

Under the terms of the agreement, FanDuel will be permitted use of New York Yankees’ marks. Additionally, FanDuel will have premium VIP hospitality accommodations at Yankee Stadium along with integrated FanDuel signage in right-field and rotational signage behind home plate during television broadcasts.

“There is no more globally recognized sports brand than the New York Yankees, and as a New York-based company we’re delighted to remain partners with our hometown team,” said Mike Raffensperger, CMO of FanDuel Group. “One of our company values is to be absurdly fan-focused and there is no fanbase more passionate about their team than Yankees fans which makes this a natural fit.”

“We are very excited to be continuing our relationship with FanDuel—our Partner since 2020,” said Michael J. Tusiani, New York Yankees Senior Vice President, Partnerships. “We hope that FanDuel’s Yankee Stadium presence and customer engagement will continue to strengthen its brand as a sports betting operator within the tri-state area.”

W Series Announces New Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership With Sky Sports

W Series will include ten races across eight Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends in 2022, and Sky Sports will broadcast live coverage of every qualifying and race session. The three-year partnership – through to the end of W Series’ fifth on-track season in 2024 – represents W Series’ largest media investment to date and will include distribution of W Series content across Sky’s channels, including linear, digital, and social.

The deal also increases the footprint of W Series coverage across Sky’s global platforms. As well as the UK, W Series will begin a new partnership with Sky Italia this season, adding to the series’ existing agreement with Sky Deutschland.

Sky is committed to the marketing and promotion of W Series coverage through its network of channels, as well as joint initiatives to promote women in motorsport. W Series will sit alongside Sky’s premium sports portfolio, including elite women’s sport such as the FA Women’s Super League.

Channel 4 will broadcast live and free-to-air coverage of the fourth race of the 2022 W Series season, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, UK, and show highlights of the other nine races from season three. The W Series broadcast talent team for the 2022 season – which begins with a double-header in Miami, USA, on 6-8 May – will be announced in due course.

Catherine Bond Muir (Chief Executive Officer, W Series) said:

“I’m delighted to announce our landmark broadcast partnership with Sky Sports, which is another significant step in W Series’ continued rapid expansion. Throughout our conversations with Sky, I’ve been impressed by their commitment to women’s sport and plans to amplify coverage of W Series across their vast portfolio of distribution channels, which will add real weight to our offering across broadcast, digital, and social platforms.

“This partnership enables W Series to continue to expand its viewership within the UK. Alongside Sky, Channel 4 will continue its free-to-air coverage of the entire W Series season with highlights of every race, and will also broadcast live our home race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July. With this broad broadcast offering, we have the perfect mix of coverage across our UK audience.

“W Series is an increasingly international series – more than half of the races during the 2022 season will take place outside Europe, including our first-ever race in Asia in support of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Our broadcast partnership with Sky Sports reflects this, giving us great breadth of coverage across Sky’s global platforms and we’re excited to showcase incredibly exciting racing through fantastic content, direct to our fans.”

Jonathan Licht (Managing Director, Sky Sports) said:

“In addition to Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, Sky Sports are delighted to be growing our motorsport portfolio with this recently established elite women’s series. It feels like Sky Sports is a natural home for W Series, given we have such a dedicated motorsport audience and a dedicated motorsport genre channel.

“We pride ourselves in being a good partner to sport and it’s been a privilege to work alongside Catherine and her team to come up with a broadcast offering that works for everyone. It is clearly a very exciting time to be a part of this journey.

“At Sky Sports we are committed to making sport more inclusive and I can now proudly say that, with the addition of W Series, every genre channel at Sky Sports now has both men’s and women’s sports coverage.

“We look forward to sharing the excitement of this upcoming season with our viewers.”

McLaren Racing Partner With Sanofi

McLaren Racing today announced a multi-year partnership with innovative global healthcare company Sanofi. 

The partnership will see McLaren Racing collaborate with Sanofi’s Industrial Affairs team towards achieving excellence in manufacturing operations, enabling Sanofi to meet patients’ needs around the world through more effective use of its global network and support the supply of its broad portfolio.

With a unique data-driven approach through its bespoke Accelerator programme that focuses F1 ingenuity on industrial challenges, McLaren Racing will bring its digital and analytical expertise and skills to help Sanofi teams focus on major items impacting performance, and better anticipate and resolve them. Analysis of losses, modelling and simulation of production line scheduling, and specifically product change-overs, will be key areas to maximise performance in Sanofi manufacturing sites. Through McLaren Accelerator, performance-driven data can be translated into the culture and thinking of partners through collaborative projects and leave a lasting legacy. 

McLaren has successful experience in maximising performance of assets in a competitive high-pressure environment to bring speed and acceleration to change. This was evident during the covid-19 pandemic when, through a joint effort across McLaren Group as part of a UK industry consortium, ventilator production was accelerated from 20 per week to 400 a day, by using data to support decision intelligence, and building the foundations for operational excellence.

Beyond the technical leadership from F1, the collaboration will bring a specific focus on the people dimension of high performance. The partnership will bring a racing mindset, emulating the competitive, fast-paced environment of F1 to help accelerate improvements, learnings and sharing of best practices individually and collectively across sites, fostering a “one Sanofi spirit.” This unique opportunity will marry the best of the two companies with the speed, agility, teamwork, and constant improvement required to succeed in motorsport, as well as in healthcare discoveries.

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Sanofi. It is an important opportunity for two global brands who share values to work together to maximise performance through our bespoke Accelerator programme.  We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Sanofi to make a positive impact not only in manufacturing but to help Sanofi improve patients’ lives.”

Paul Hudson, CEO, Sanofi, said:

“We are thrilled to partner with McLaren and learn from their winning spirit and culture of going over and above. I see a lot of commonalities in our shared values to stretch, with courage and determination, so we can maximize performance and operational excellence. We want to run our lines with the speed, precision and efficiency of an F1 racing team.”  

BLAST Premier’s Host City Process Underway For 2023 Season

Esports tournament organiser BLAST Premier has kickstarted its host city selection process for the 2023 season, following last week’s announcement on the Spring Final returning to Lisbon’s Altice Arena in June. 

Running from April-August 2022, BLAST will begin working with interested parties to find suitable host city locations and partners to deliver a number of event opportunities across their global tournament circuit in 2023. 

As part of the process, BLAST will host engaging workshops on the benefits of hosting an esports event, create opportunities for behind-the-scenes experiences at BLAST Premier live events (including the Spring Final in Lisbon) and offer opportunities to meet the BLAST team in-person.

Last week, BLAST announced plans for a return to Lisbon nearly four years after their first event in the Portuguese capital. The tournament organiser has visited a number of other iconic locations in recent years, from London to Copenhagen, Miami to Sao Paulo and Istanbul to Madrid – with the main aim of uniting fans through their shared love of esports and CS:GO. 

Charlotte Kenny, Managing Director of BLAST Premier, said, “BLAST Premier has a rich history of hosting memorable events in iconic locations around the world. With a global audience and passionate fanbase, our previous events have seen many host cities benefit from a positive impact in many ways. We want to build on this success and are seeking enthusiastic host cities to work with us to bring our incredible tournament and experiences to life. We can’t wait to work with applicants to understand more about their cities and find the perfect places for our amazing arena events next year.” 

BLAST Premier is a global Counter-Strike tournament series, where the best teams and brightest stars fight it out for glory and a multi-million dollar prize pool, while offering opportunities to regions across the globe and crowning the world champions of CS:GO. Up to 32 of the best teams take part in the seven BLAST Premier events across the year with a combined prize pool of $2,475,000 on the line. 

BLAST has partnered with The Sports Consultancy (TSC) to manage the independent bidding process. Widely recognised as leaders in host city procurement and major event bidding, TSC is inviting cities to formally express their interest.

BioSteel Becomes Official Partner Of The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

North American sports drink brand BioSteel is entering into a three-year partnership for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship through to the end of 2024. For the first time, BioSteel will be an Official Partner at the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland and the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships Division 1 A & B in Slovenia and Poland this year. 

“We are delighted about the partnership and the opportunity to be represented at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships until 2024,” says Antonios Karagiannakis, Head of International Sales at BioSteel. “The best players in the world are meeting there and the dynamic and fast-paced sport demands only the best when it comes to beverages during and after the game. BioSteel offers Clean. Healthy. Hydration. and this partnership demonstrates the value of a clean daily hydration routine.” 

The partnership includes supplying all players with BioSteel sports hydration drinks and products, water bottles and towels, as well as placing logos in the penalty box. BioSteel sports drinks feature zero sugar, all five essential electrolytes and no artificial flavours or preservatives. BioSteel will also play an important role during the 2022 IIHF World Championship, which will take place in Tampere and Helsinki, Finland, from 13 to 29 May.

“This is the latest in a series of sponsorships for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, and the addition of a new brand like BioSteel again underlines the appeal of the tournament. The company’s three-year commitment makes it clear that it sees a long-term platform in top international ice hockey,” sums up Claude Hollenstein, Head of Ice Hockey at Infront.

Founded by former NHL professional Michael Cammalleri and his business partner John Celenza, BioSteel has achieved a reputation for being the hydration product of choice for athletes and consumers looking for a healthy alternative. The brand is committed to using premium ingredients, maintaining product transparency, and delivering essential nutrients needed to support physical activity. In North America, BioSteel has numerous partnerships with renowned athletes such as NHL superstars Connor McDavid and Tyler Seguin and federations such as USA Hockey. In Germany, BioSteel’s partners include the Eisbären Berlin and the Kölner Haie. 

“By working with the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, we are expanding our cooperations in the field of ice hockey perfectly and bringing the BioSteel brand closer to a sports-loving audience in Europe,” emphasises Tim Mörtl, COO & General Counsel at alpha trading solutions, the sales, marketing, and logistics partner of BioSteel products in Europe.

TVR Sponsors Formula E’s Monaco And London E-Prix

TVR today announced their official sponsorship of the Monaco E-Prix (30 April) and the London E-Prix double-header (30 & 31 July) in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The exciting new collaboration marks a turning point in the strategic direction of the iconic British high performance sports car manufacturer as they accelerate their plans to electrify the brand.

TVR’s Chairman, Les Edgar stated: “Our collaboration with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and on-site activations at the Monaco and London E-Prix not only demonstrate our commitment to revolutionizing the TVR brand, but to EV, and becoming a sustainable, net-zero business. Our plans to bring TVR EV’s to market are well underway, with the first of two models to be released shortly after the release of the newest Griffith and Limited-Edition Griffith EV models in 2024″.

This announcement follows TVR’s recent funding and clean technology partnership with leading lithium innovator Ensorcia. Daniel T. Layton, Chairman, Ensorcia said: “We couldn’t be more excited for our involvement with such renowned organizations like TVR and the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.”

Since its inception seven years ago and quickly becoming the world’s leading all-electric FIA World Championship, Formula E has completed more than 85 races on the streets of some of the most iconic cities in the world including New York City, Monaco, Berlin, Paris, Beijing and Buenos Aires. Featuring a host of the industry’s leading automotive and technology manufacturers, Season 8 is the biggest calendar yet with races in iconic world cities including Diriyah, Mexico City, Rome, Jakarta, Berlin, New York and London before concluding in South Korea in August.

“To see TVR, an iconic manufacturer of performance sports cars, crossover and make this commitment to electric is a significant milestone and aligned to Formula E’s vision of an electric future. TVR is a beloved brand and we look forward to working alongside them in Monaco and London to showcase their plans to electrify”, said Matt Scammell, Chief Commercial Officer, Formula E.

Vegas Golden Knights Name Circa Las Vegas as Official Jersey Entitlement Partner

The Vegas Golden Knights announce a multi-year jersey entitlement partnership with Circa Las Vegas for Golden Knights jerseys worn during the team’s home games played at T-Mobile Arena.

The Vegas Golden Knights have announced a multi-year jersey entitlement partnership with Circa Las Vegas for Golden Knights jerseys worn during the team’s home games played at T-Mobile Arena. The home jersey patch will begin being worn at the start of the 2022-23 NHL season and signify the organization’s first-official jersey entitlement partnership.  

“From the very beginning, I have been an avid supporter of the Vegas Golden Knights. The D was one of the team’s very first sponsors, and today, I couldn’t be happier to share that for the next five years, Circa Sports will be the official sponsor of the team’s home jersey patch,” said Derek Stevens, CEO Circa Sports. “Anyone who’s walked through Circa’s doors knows we’re passionate about sports, and I take great pride in connecting the Circa Sports brand with the first Vegas Born team in the ever-growing sports city of Las Vegas.” 

“We are proud to continue our work with Circa Las Vegas through our first-ever jersey entitlement partnership,” said Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz. “Circa Las Vegas and the Vegas Golden Knights both recognize the tradition within our historic community while also contributing an integral role in the growth of our beloved sports and entertainment industry.”