“The FFT is delighted to renew this agreement with OPPO, a loyal partner with whom we share a desire for innovation. This collaboration with an international brand reinforces our strategy to increase Roland-Garros’s influence worldwide,” announced Gilles Moretton, President of the FFT. This collaboration between the Parisian Grand Slam and OPPO is centred around innovation and technology. Roland-Garros and OPPO share the same values and aim to constantly reinvent themselves in order to offer an optimal user experience. OPPO recently launched a new brand proposition, “Inspiration Ahead”, which affirms this ambition and ties in with the Roland-Garros tournament’s new signature, “Move the lines, with style”.
“Inspiration Ahead means showing confidence and poise when we are moving forward. It encourages us to remain resolved and graceful as brave the storm and break the stagnation. Participating sports events is fantastic for OPPO to convey the mutually inspirational spirit and communicate OPPO’s technology innovation experience with our global users,” announced William Liu, OPPO’s President of Global Marketing. OPPO as the 4th consecutive year premium partner hopes to bring tennis inspiration with its unique imaging technology to witness, capture and participate in these precious spirits on the court. Also, inspiring tennis fans to always be confident and become better ones while facing obstacles and adversities.
Within the framework of the 2022 tournament (from 16th May to 5th June), OPPO, who benefit from extensive visibility on the stadium’s show courts, will roll out the “RG x OPPO Photo Gallery”, a digital exhibition of photos taken exclusively with OPPO‘s newest flagship device:Find X5 Pro, thus unlocking its immense potential of unique imaging capabilities. These photos will also be displayed during the Roland-Garros tournament, in order to allow the spectators in the stadium to admire them.
This year once again, OPPO will collaborate with the “Shot of the Day”, a video of every day’s best shot or rally, which will be posted on the tournament’s various digital platforms.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Foot Locker Europe today announced a multiyear partnership expansion that will see the NBA and Foot Locker Europe refurbish basketball courts and host youth basketball clinics and fan events across Europe. As part of the partnership and Foot Locker’s ongoing basketball community program “#RaiseTheGame,” the NBA and Foot Locker will refurbish and maintain two outdoor basketball courts in Paris and Rotterdam this summer.
Foot Locker will also serve as the presenting partner of NBA 3X, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament open to male and female players ages 16-18 scheduled to take place in Barcelona and London this summer. Dates, locations, and registration information for NBA 3X will be announced in the coming months.
Since launching the #RaiseTheGame campaign in September 2020, Foot Locker and the NBA have refurbished outdoor basketball courts in Barcelona (Poblenou), London (Clapham Common), Milan (Via Lazio) and Paris (Jemmapes) in an effort to empower local communities and bring people together through the game of basketball. As part of the partnership, the NBA has hosted clinics for local community groups at each venue and will continue to do so in the years to come.
“As part of our commitment to inspire and empower youth, basketball continues to be a key pillar for our brand for what it represents: community, inclusivity, hope and empowerment,” said Susie Kuhn, President of Foot Locker EMEA. “We’re therefore thrilled to be able to continue our long-standing partnership with the NBA, working alongside them to launch the next steps in our #RaiseTheGame program. Our aim is to help promote inclusivity and bring the youth community throughout Europe together socially, and so we look forward to the new court refurbishments in Paris and Rotterdam, as well as the tournaments taking place in Barcelona and London later this year.”
“Foot Locker Europe is a valued long-term partner for the NBA in the region, and we look forward to expanding our partnership that now marks 12 years of collaboration,” said Nick Cowell, NBA Europe and Middle East Senior Director, Global Partnerships. “Foot Locker shares our commitment to growing the game and using basketball to bring fans together around sports, fashion, and lifestyle.”
Vindicia’s Chief Revenue Officer Jack Bullock explores the deeper meaning behind Amazon opting to go back on its initiative to start physical shops and head back to the solely online model.
When Amazon started opening brick-and-mortar stores, many in the industry were shocked. After all, Amazon was THE online superstore; it had spawned a whole new generation of online shoppers. Yet, in 2015, Amazon did an about-turn and opened its first physical bookstore. This was followed by other ventures in physical retail, including homewares and toys, as well as pop-up stores and the Amazon Go cashless convenience store.
Even as e-commerce steadily rose in the past decade, there was still a palpable feeling that the physical in-store experience was something special and irreplaceable. Since time immemorial, people have engaged in face-to-face commerce, in markets and stores all over the world. But then came COVID and people turned to online shopping on a global scale like never before.
“40% of US adults say they enjoy shopping in-store less than before the pandemic.”
By May 2020, over 6 in 10 American adults had reported buying something online for the first time. As the world now enters the post-pandemic phase, in-store shopping is rising again, but e-commerce is still gaining solid ground. By 2023, online sales are predicted to account for 27% of all retail consumer purchases – an unheard-of figure.
Yet, COVID has changed us: 40% of US adultssay they enjoy shopping in-store less than before the pandemic, and a further 15% say their enthusiasm for in-store shopping has “waned.”
It’s on these shifting sands that Amazon seemingly failed its experiment with brick-and-mortar stores.
Hassle free, but human
Amazon was the first to understand that consumer behavior had changed when it launched its online bookstore. Then, in response to consumer demand for in-store experiences, it launched into physical retail. Now, as it shuts 68 of its stores and retreats back to the digital realm, Amazon can see that consumers want more.
“They want a hassle-free, convenient experience, with the products and services they need at their fingertips, smoothly and seamlessly.”
They don’t just want to click and buy online, yet they don’t want just the regular experience of going into a store either. They want both – and more.
They want a hassle-free, convenient experience, with the products and services they need at their fingertips, smoothly and seamlessly. But they also want the personal connection, a feeling that issues will be taken care of without their intervention, and that the shopping experience will anticipate their needs, connect them to the products they love, and overcome any obstacles without undue burden on their shoulders, or email inbox, or credit card.
What keeps customers connected
Whether it’s Netflix, or dog food, or vitamins, every consumer has their favorite products and services that they need and/or want on a regular and ongoing basis. Some are necessities, some are “luxuries,” some fall into both these categories.
“No matter what the product, it is upon the company to make sure that its customers are given the opportunity to consume those products.”
But no matter what the product, it is upon the company to make sure that its customers are given the opportunity to consume those products – without friction – and to help them to continue to consume them, day after day, month after month. That’s the key to retention, and as Amazon has shown us, you don’t need a physical store to do it. What you need is subscriptions.
Beyond brick and mortar, beyond the e-store
Subscriptions take today’s consumers outside of the shopping experiences that they are used to and connect them to amazing brand experiences in a seamless and satisfying way. With the help of Vindicia’s subscription tech-stack that covers the full journey, from acquisition to retention to churn prevention, businesses can capture customers where they are, and connect them via their credit cards with products and services they love, and keep them connected indefinitely. That’s the way to enhance the customer’s lifetime value, and boost revenue.
Yes, consumers have changed, and business must change with them. Amazon’s latest move is proof of that.
Jack brings 25 years of sales and sales management experience to Vindicia. Prior to joining Vindicia, he was senior vice president of digital commerce sales for Pitney Bowes, where his responsibilities included overall management of the global sales organization. Jack has extensive experience in enterprise software, including senior management positions with Infor and Vitria. Jack began his career at Oracle and has also held sales and sales management positions at Forte Software. Jack holds a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Colorado and a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State University.
Animoca Brands, the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, today announced it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the issued capital of Eden Games S.A.S. from Engine Gaming & Media (NASDAQ: GAME; TSX-V: GAME). Eden Games is a highly respected and successful racing game studio with products ranging from pure racing to open-world and management racing games.
Eden Games was founded in 1998 and is based in France. The company has strong experience in developing award-winning racing games across the mobile, console and PC platforms, including Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, F1® Mobile Racing, and the franchises Gear.Club, Test Drive, and V-Rally. Eden Games has over 13 million game boxes sold and over 60 millions app downloads worldwide.
In March, at Apple Inc.’s Peek Performance event, Apple announced Eden Games’ latest expansion of the Gear.Club franchise, Gear.Club Stradale, as the “next big release” coming exclusively to Apple Arcade (see Engine Games & Media’s announcement).
Gear.Club is a hyper-realistic racing simulator and served as the primary racing game for the open qualifiers of World’s Fastest Gamer, a first-of-its-kind competition that transits motorsport gamers into real-world champions. World’s Fastest Gamer has over 400 million TV and video on demand viewers with over 100 broadcasters in more than 50 countries plus additional distribution on ESPN, EURO Sport, and Amazon.
Eden Games also has long term partnerships with more than 30 established brands in the automotive industry, including BMW, Bugatti, Porsche, Lotus, Pagani, and many others.
Animoca Brands will leverage the expertise and capabilities of Eden Games to work on existing and new titles in the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and to bring to market a series of new blockchain-based racing games. The new games will provide additional utility to the NFT Race Passes and the other assets obtained by swapping assets from Animoca Brands’ F1® Delta Time, which ceased operations in March 2022.
Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “With its quarter of a century of expertise in building high-quality motorsport video games, Eden Games will enhance and accelerate the development of the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and add powerful value to the REVV community and the racing metaverse.”
David Nadal, co-founder and head of studio of Eden Games, said: “We are excited to start the next chapter of Eden Games by joining Animoca Brands. We look forward to producing new experiences that challenge the status quo within the motorsport genre and venture into new frontiers such as Web3 alongside a leader in the space.”
Xero has been named a FIFA Women’s Football Partner under FIFA’s new commercial partnership structure, which takes effect in 2023. The global partnership will cover the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, the 2024 and 2026 editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™.
This is a huge step for both Xero and FIFA Women’s Football as we work together towards our shared ambitions and values – which include helping women succeed and communities prosper.
We firmly believe this is an excellent opportunity to work together to foster more opportunities for women in sport and in communities globally.
The opportunity
We’re seeing growth in participation in the women’s game and this partnership provides a global platform to accelerate our brand growthin new and existing markets.
Football is also the most popular and watched sport on the planet and women’s football is rapidly growing in popularity.
Through this partnership, we’ll help grow the women’s game by supporting two FIFA women’s football development programmes: Capacity Building for Administrators – using Xero’s expertise and technology to support women’s football development – and Coach Education Scholarships, to create easier pathways for women to gain coaching qualifications. We’ll share more on these soon.
Not only does this global partnership give us a platform for brand visibility around the world, it provides a fabulous opportunity to create deeper relationships with small businesses and communities that support the growth of the women’s game.
Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer, said: “We are thrilled to officially welcome Xero on board as a global FIFA Women’s Football Partner under our new commercial partnership structure, which will allow us to maximise support for the women’s game.
“Not only is this a momentous day for women’s football globally, but as a proud New Zealander, I am so excited that FIFA is partnering with a company that was founded in New Zealand. This is a partnership that will accelerate the growing momentum behind women’s football and our ambition to make the game truly global. To have a brand on board that is so passionate about empowering women – and especially one from a co-host of the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 – is wonderful to see.”
Xero, which was founded in New Zealand in 2006, has more than three million subscribers globally, offering small businesses and their advisers access to real-time financial data anytime, anywhere and on any device. Xero offers an ecosystem of over 1,000 third-party apps and 300-plus connections to banks and other financial partners.
Xero’s partnership category will include small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business management software, accounting and bookkeeping (AB) practice management software, and SME and AB software app stores.
The first tournament covered under the partnership will be the expanded FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2023 that will see 32 teams compete across nine cities in Australia and New Zealand.
Empowering women on and off the field
When Xero was founded, small businesses were underserved and didn’t have the same tools and opportunities as larger ones. We see a similar opportunity with the women’s game as we did in 2006 with the small business market. The women’s game has not had the same opportunity nor headstart as its male counterpart but the story is shifting.
The future is looking positive, with FIFA’s recent announcement of the separation of the commercial structure for the women’s game, the game is thriving and growing and Xero is excited about the opportunity to help support that growth. I know many parents out there are seeing at the club level how girls are actively participating and this is really picking up momentum.
But off the field is just as important as on the field. Most clubs are essentially not-for-profit small businesses who are looking to offer the opportunity to women and girls to play football in their communities.
In order for women’s football to thrive, we really believe the financial viability of clubs at all levels is essential to attract, develop and nurture talent.
During this partnership you’ll see us refer to ‘better numbers off the field, better numbers on the field’. Improving the performance and viability of clubs at all levels increases participation and will help to grow womens’ football around the globe.
Aligned on shared values
Xero shares FIFA’s commitment and values-based approach to supporting women’s football communities. We’ll adopt values specific to this partnership of integrity, having a #challenge mindset, taking ownership, and putting people first to guide our decisions around how we’ll work together.
I can’t wait to get behind the Women’s World Cup 2023™ next year which for the first time is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand – right where Xero began its journey.
Together with FIFA, I truly believe we can make a positive change for the future of women’s football, small business and communities around the world. Personally I just love the connections that sport brings to communities – from the players, to the families and fans on the sideline, to small businesses supporting teams and sports grounds – there is something about that sense of belonging in sports that connects communities in such an amazing way.
Cazoo is to become the new main partner and shirt sponsor of SC Freiburg. The multi-year partnership between the Bundesliga club and Europe’s leading online car retailer will start at the beginning of the coming season (2022/23).
As the new main partner and shirt sponsor of SC Freiburg, Cazoo will receive extensive advertising rights at Sport-Club home matches in the Europa-Park stadium, this includes TV boards, media backdrops and online. A key component of the partnership is the shirt sponsorship at all matches of the SC professionals.
In addition to the Bundesliga professionals, Cazoo will appear as shirt sponsor and advertising partner at all matches of the second team (U23) of SC Freiburg in the 3rd league and, as co-sponsor of the Freiburg Football School (junior training centre), will also be visible at all matches of the SC junior teams. Cazoo will also be a co-sponsor and sleeve sponsor of SC Freiburg’s Bundesliga women.
Common sustainability topics
In addition, SC Freiburg and Cazoo have agreed to focus on sustainability projects and campaigns as part of the new partnership and to develop these together. This could include campaigns on topics such as electric mobility and/or hybrid drive, but also joint projects in the environment or exercise area.
Cazoo has been active on the German market since December 2021 and is considered a pioneer in the shift to buying used cars entirely online. The company was founded in the UK and intends to use the partnership with SC Freiburg to raise its brand awareness in Germany. Cazoo is also pursuing a similar strategy in other European markets such as the UK, France and Spain and has entered into various partnerships for this purpose.
Alex Chesterman OBE, Founder & CEO of Cazoo, said:
“SC Freiburg has taken a big step forward in recent years, both in terms of sport and infrastructure with its new Europa-Park stadium. The club has a passionate fan base and, like us, is ambitious and results driven and at the same time its modesty and social commitment is why it is considered one of the most likeable clubs in German football for years. We look forward to engaging with the fans and local community in the coming years, and making Cazoo a household name in Germany and delivering the best car buying and selling experience in this important market.”
Oliver Leki, Chief Financial, Operations and Marketing Officer of SC Freiburg, said:
“We are delighted to have Cazoo on our side as our new main and jersey sponsor from next season. The partnership with the Sport-Club should help Cazoo as a dynamic digital company to achieve its communication goals in Germany. For SC Freiburg, the deal is also a confirmation of the club’s positive development in recent years.”
Marco Sautner, Managing Director of Infront Germany, added:
“We are delighted that with Cazoo as a new main sponsor we have been able to convey an international brand and set another important milestone for the future of SC Freiburg.”
Backed by $200M in funding, Backlight will invest in Wildmoka aiming to drive innovation and customer success in digital video editing and hyper-distribution
Wildmoka, a leading cloud-based platform for video production and hyper-distribution, today announced it has been acquired by Backlight, a global media technology holding company backed by a leading growth equity firm, PSG. Earlier today, Backlight announced the acquisition of Wildmoka and four other visionary media technology companies, all serving media, entertainment and video-forward customers with cloud-based solutions that help improve every step of the media content lifecycle.
“Digital coverage across OTT and social media has become the strategic battlefield for broadcasters and rights owners as they seek to conquer audience attention. Wildmoka’s Digital Media Factory is helping them navigate this ultra-competitive landscape,” said Cristian Livadiotti, CEO of Wildmoka. “We believe joining Backlight will allow us to accelerate the pace of our innovation, and address even more opportunities to deliver powerful solutions for our customers.”
Co-founded by Mr. Livadiotti and Thomas Menguy, the company’s CTO, Wildmoka is used by top-tier sports and news broadcasters to streamline video editing, multi-versioning and hyper-distribution to all digital destinations. Wildmoka’s Digital Media Factory empowers non-technical-savvy content owners to create an unlimited amount of live streams, highlight reels and near-live clips, at speed and scale. All of this content can be distributed in one-click to multiple digital channels including web, mobile, OTT and social networks.
“Reaching digital excellence is a marathon, not a sprint, and so we expect our technology partners to constantly innovate and invest to help us stay ahead of the game. Wildmoka has been a strong partner over the last three years, helping us to hyper-produce and hyper-distribute digital content, in both on-and-off domains (i.e. on OTT and social media),” said Guillaume Postaire, Media Factory Director at France Télévisions. “We’re now excited to see them securing a strategic growth investment that seeks to further strengthen their ability to contribute to our success.”
“We believe what Cristian, Thomas and the Wilmoka team have accomplished in building incredible products used strategically by some of the top global brands in sports and news is remarkable,” said Ben Kaplan, CEO of Backlight. “Integrating AI, intuitive user experiences, scalable cloud production, and distribution workflows to drive growth for their business and their customers made them a great fit for the Backlight strategy.”
Wildmoka is joined by four other fast growing media tech companies that were also acquired by Backlight and received strategic growth investment from PSG. All five companies are operating as business units as part of Backlight.
ftrack is the creator of ftrack Studio, cineSync, and ftrack Review, the Emmy and Academy Award-winning production tracking, interactive media review, and team collaboration platforms for the creative industries. ftrack’s solutions are designed for producers, supervisors, artists, and pipeline developers to collaborate with anyone, anywhere.
Iconik is a cloud-native, SaaS media management solution that is designed for users to share files from any storage, collaborate on video, and enrich media with AI for high searchability—all with great ease and the ability to scale to serve solo creators or large global teams.
Celtx’s all-in-one solution for writing, planning, and managing media production is used by millions worldwide. Celtx provides pre-production planning software, including scriptwriting, storyboarding, shot-planning and budgeting, to in-house production teams, agencies, film schools and universities, game studios, and media & entertainment companies.
Zype provides infrastructure for digital video with a cloud-based platform to manage and distribute enterprise-grade video across the web, mobile, TV, and social media. Offering both developer-friendly tools such as customizable APIs as well as turnkey solutions for OTT apps and linear/FAST channels, Zype’s SaaS solutions enable video creators or distributors to quickly build, launch and manage superior video products at scale.
McLaren Racing and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced the launch of a multi-year partnership as ICE becomes an Official Partner of the McLaren MX Extreme E Team. The partnership takes further shape today in front of the New York Stock Exchange, the iconic American institution, and an ICE exchange.
To launch the partnership that links two brands driven by data and technology, the Number 58 McLaren Extreme E race car will appear outside the NYSE on the morning of Tuesday 12 April. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, McLaren MX Extreme E Driver Tanner Foust, and McLaren Racing Senior Principal Race Engineer Leena Gade will also be participating in a news conference and other activities at the Exchange, including the ringing of the iconic NYSE Closing Bell.
The Extreme E car will sit just feet away from the revered Fearless Girl statue, installed in New York City ahead of International Women’s Day in 2017. Representing the role of women in leadership, the statue mirrors the values of the Extreme E race series which mandates male and female driver line-ups, as well as McLaren’s and ICE’s commitment to accelerating diversity, equality, and inclusion.
ICE’s partnership with the McLaren MX Extreme E team is the next chapter in a growing relationship in which Zak Brown is currently appearing in an ICE advertising campaign, “Make the Connection,” focusing on using data as a competitive advantage.
From the 2022 Extreme E season, ICE’s logo will be represented on the chassis side and roof of the McLaren MX Extreme E car, and on the racing overalls and helmets of Tanner and his team-mate Emma Gilmour, starting with the recent race in Saudi Arabia.
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said:
“Partnering with a leading global name in financial markets like ICE is a fantastic moment for McLaren Racing. Like us, ICE targets authentic brand engagement driven by data and technology, and we look forward to joining them at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate this new partnership.
“ICE aligns with our commitment to sustainability, including DE&I. This makes Extreme E a perfect platform to carry our partnership and raise awareness of the impact of climate change, while promoting a more level playing field for gender equality.”
Jeff Sprecher, Founder, Chair and CEO, ICE, said:
“I’ve been a fan of Zak Brown and McLaren Racing for years, and our team could not be more excited about becoming an Official Partner of the McLaren Extreme E Team.
“ICE and McLaren are both driven by the use of data and technology to create competitive advantage. We look forward to collaborating with McLaren Racing, not only to make an impact in the thrilling all-electric Extreme E championship, but also to join the leadership effort in the development of sustainable technology.”
FIFA+ delivers live domestic league games from around the globe, match stats, the greatest archive in international football, premium original content, immersive global storytelling, and much more.
Over 29,000 men’s matches and over 11,000 women’s matches will be streamed on FIFA+ in 2022, totalling over 40,000 matches.
The first slate of FIFA+ Originals will feature Ronaldinho, Dani Alves, Ronaldo Nazário, Romelu Lukaku, Lucy Bronze and Carli Lloyd, among others.
FIFA is excited to announce the launch of FIFA+, a world-class digital platform created to connect football fans across the globe more deeply with the game they love, for free.
Launching today, FIFA+ will provide access to live football matches from every corner of the world, interactive games, news, tournament information, ground-breaking, unrivalled video content delivering truly global storytelling around the men’s and women’s game and much more. FIFA is the first sports federation ever to offer such an extensive streaming and content experience to its fans.
“FIFA+ represents the next step in our vision to make football truly global and inclusive, and it underpins FIFA’s core mission of expanding and developing football globally,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023. It will accelerate the democratisation of football and we are delighted to share it with fans.”
Dave Roberts, Director MA OTT & Digital for FIFA+, will be telling us more about the brand new service at our iSportConnect Broadcast & OTT Masterclass in London on the 10th of May. The event will be taking place at Twickenham Stadium and you can sign up for free now at the link below.
By the end of 2022, FIFA+ will be streaming the equivalent of 40,000 live games per year from 100 Member Associations across all six confederations, including 11,000 women’s matches. FIFA+ offers live coverage from Europe’s topflight leagues to previously unserved competitions from around the world in men’s, women’s and youth football. From launch, 1,400 matches will be live streamed monthly on FIFA+, rising rapidly.
FIFA+ Archive:
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, FIFA+ will be home to every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup™ match ever recorded on camera, totalling more than 2,000 hours of archive content. For the first time ever, this entire archive will be available to fans. Fans will have the ability to watch full-match replays, highlights, goals and magical moments all in one place. The FIFA+ Archive will launch with more than 2,500 videos dating back to the 1950s, with many more to come throughout the year.
Match Centre, News and Gaming:
The Match Centre will allow football fans to immerse themselves in rich football data across 400 men’s competitions and 65 women’s competitions. A daily feed of news from around the world of men’s and women’s football will also complement and offer additional updates. Throughout the year, fans will enjoy interactive games including votes, quizzes, fantasy games and predictors.
FIFA+ Originals:
FIFA+ will also provide unrivalled content delivering global storytelling around the men’s and women’s game. It will feature full-length documentaries, docuseries, talk shows and shorts – localised into 11 languages, telling stories from local grassroots to national teams and footballing heroes past and present from more than 40 countries.
The content on the FIFA+ platform will continue to grow and evolve in 2022, providing fresh, globally relevant as well as localised content across the year.
From launch, FIFA+ will bring the game to life through exclusive, world-class titles including:
Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World – An exclusive, feature-length documentary offering extensive access to and never-seen-before archive of one of the most iconic players to have played the game. The 90-minute film directed by Stuart and Andrew Douglas, produced by Bernie Goldmann and by Simon Horsman and Jeffrey Soros of Los Angeles Media Fund, tells the unique story of the player’s life, charting his rise from the streets of Brazil to becoming one of football’s most loved players. Lionel Messi, Frank Rijkaard and Carles Puyol all feature and reveal what this FIFA Legend means to them.
Captains: Season 1 – A ground-breaking 8-part series from Fulwell 73 (Sunderland ‘Til I Die, All or Nothing: Juventus) following six captains as they lead their countries through qualification for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. The series, which will explore each individual’s leadership traits, features Luka Modrić (Croatia), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Brian Kaltak (Vanuatu), Andre Blake (Jamaica), Hassan Maatouk (Lebanon) and Thiago Silva (Brazil).
Croatia: Defining a Nation – This original feature-length documentary tells the story of how football unites and binds this nation and a group of friends who reached global recognition against the backdrop of the most extreme adversity. They each became legends and painted their country across the world. From acclaimed director Louis Myles (Kaiser: The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football, Liverpool FC: The 30-Year Wait).
HD Cutz – An original 8-part docuseries with barber to the stars Sheldon Edwards talking food, fashion, music and, sometimes, football. Featuring the likes of Paul Pogba and Antonio Rüdiger, produced by MOTIF Pictures and Fever Media.
Dani Crazy Dream –An all-access 6 x 30-minute documentary series featuring Dani Alves, the most decorated player in history as he tries to make it to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Produced by Alves’s own production company, Maracanã Media.
Golden Boot –An original 4 x 48-minute docuseries interviewing the greatest FIFA World Cup goalscorers, produced by Goalhanger Films (Wayne Rooney: The Man Behind the Goals). Episode 1 sees Gary Lineker sitting down with Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazário to rewatch the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Icons –A 5 x 26-minute docuseries showcasing five of the biggest game-changers of the women’s game: Wendie Renard, Lucy Bronze, Asisat Oshoala, Carli Lloyd and Sam Kerr telling their stories in their own words. Produced by Noah Media Group (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, Finding Jack Charlton).
Academies – The inside story of some of the greatest talent production lines in world football from Shoot the Company. Season 1 tells the story of RSC Anderlecht across 3 x 30-minute episodes.
From launch, FIFA+ will be available across all web and mobile devices, and across a range of connected devices soon. It will be available in five language editions (English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish), with an additional six languages to follow in June of 2022.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has confirmed that the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be hosted by the State of Victoria in Australia.
The announcement follows a successful exclusive dialogue period between the CGF, Commonwealth Games Australia (CGAus) and Victoria, where an exciting proposal to stage the major multi-sport competition across the State was agreed.
The proposal capitalises on the 2026/30 Strategic Roadmap, which provides renewed flexibility to be innovative and creative in delivering the Games.
In what will be a first ever predominantly regional Commonwealth Games, Victoria 2026 will be staged in March 2026 across multiple cities and regional hubs including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland. The Opening Ceremony will take place at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The approach will showcase the best of what the State has to offer and ensure a uniquely Victorian experience for the athletes and spectators.
There will be a phased approach in creating the sports programme for Victoria 2026. An initial 16 sports have been put forward for the Games, with further sports to be added later this year.
The CGF, CGAus and Victoria entered an exclusive dialogue period in February 2022. A CGF and CGAus visit to Victoria took place later that month. This was followed by a Victoria 2026 delegation presenting their 2026 Games Proposal to the CGF Executive Board in Birmingham, England in March 2022. The Proposal has now been approved by the CGF Executive Board, with the Host Contract to be signed in Victoria today.
CGF President Dame Louise Martin said:
“The Commonwealth Games Federation is absolutely delighted to award the 2026 Commonwealth Games to Victoria.
Commonwealth Games Australia and the Victorian Government have set out a bold and innovative vision for hosting our major multi-sport event.
In Victoria, we believe we have found the perfect partner for the next stage of our journey.
This a very special moment for the Commonwealth Sport Family and on behalf of the entire Movement, I would like to congratulate Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria on their successful Games submission. We now look forward to a bright future as we work together to stage a Commonwealth Games like no other.”
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said:
“It’s a great honour to have Victoria chosen as the host venue for the 2026 Commonwealth Games – we can’t wait to welcome the world to all of our state.”
“The Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria is great for jobs, hospitality and our economy.”
Australia has staged the Commonwealth Games on five occasions, with Victoria playing host to the Melbourne 2006 Games; widely considered one of the most successful editions of the event in history. The country has also staged the Games in Sydney in 1938, Perth in 1962, Brisbane in 1982 and most recently Gold Coast in 2018. Victoria has also hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo in 2004.”
Commonwealth Games Australia President Ben Houston said:
“Commonwealth Games Australia is thrilled to welcome the athletes of the Commonwealth back to Australia and we look forward to working with both the CGF and the Victorian Government to bring the Games to life across Victoria in 2026.”
“A home Games will provide immeasurable benefits for our Member sports and will inspire our athletes in what will be a unique and exciting Games”.
The 2026 Games will be the 23rd edition of the major multi-sport competition, which first began in Hamilton, Canada in 1930.
Victoria is a world leading major events and tourism destination. The State has a strong track record for staging high profile sporting competition including The Australian Open tennis grand slam, the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup. Victoria also regularly hosts elite cricket, golf and Australian Rules Football competition.
