eSkootr Championship Appoints Silvia Bellot As Director Of Sport And Race Director

The eSkootr Championship™ (eSC) is delighted to announce the appointment of Silvia Bellot as its Director of Sport and Race Director. The first and only female F1 Steward and FIA Race Director, Bellot has amassed a wealth of experience in a variety of motorsport disciplines, including F2 and F3 as Race Director and over a decade as F1, WTCC, WRC, FE, F2 and F3 Chair and International Steward. 

Bellot, from Barcelona in Spain, is also a passionate advocate for social and educational programmes that further the full participation of women in all aspects of motorsport, particularly through her role as an ambassador for the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

In her role at eSC, Bellot will draw on her expert acumen in the drafting and application of sporting and technical regulations, race control management, and track safety and sporting procedures. She will ensure eSC is well-regulated and oversee the safe, fair and efficient operation of race events to the very highest standards of global sport.

Bellot will also play an important role in achieving the Championship’s wider vision around sport, accessibility and mobility, with a particular focus on supporting grassroots development programmes.


Hrag Sarkissian, eSkootr Championship™ Co-founder and CEO, said: 

“Our vision for eSC is a world-class race series that engages and excites our fans and is respected on sport’s global stage. This relies on attracting the very best people to join eSC, so we are delighted to welcome Silvia to the team. 

“As our Director of Sport and Race Director, Silvia’s expertise and experience will be crucial as we implement the regulations to ensure we provide exciting on-track racing whilst maintaining the highest levels of safety and fairness for our riders.”

Silvia Bellot commented:

“The opportunity to help create a totally new sport and shape a racing series that has the desire to use its platform for a wider purpose is what really attracted me to eSC. 

“The Championship’s mission is to deliver a sport at the highest level, with sustainability and accessibility at its core. Its values are those that are important to me in my sporting roles and my commitment to furthering the participation of women in motorsport. The co-founders have assembled an impressive team of experienced professionals to deliver against this vision and I am delighted to be working with them.

“I look forward to using my experience, predominantly from single-seater racing, to develop an exciting race competition which champions eSC’s off-track mission to create racing for all and to help accelerate greener transport alternatives in cities around the world.”

Premier Padel Announces Sky As Broadcast Partner In Six Countries And Three More Broadcast Partners Covering +60 New Territories Globally

Premier Padel, the official new global padel tour – governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) – today announced another landmark broadcasting deal, with Sky named as the Official tour’s broadcast partner in Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Sky has penned an initial one year agreement covering the 2022 Premier Padel season, and will begin its Premier Padel coverage with the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 which gets underway on 28 March at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.

The news comes just days after ESPN agreed a major four year deal to showcase Premier Padel in almost 50 countries across LATAM, covering South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. These agreements will elevate the sport to a global audience like never before. Further broadcast agreements are set to be announced in the coming days, as the excitement around the spectacular new official tour grows.

Since its launch a month ago, FIP, PPA and QSI have made a flurry of major announcements connected to the new Official tour, including confirming at least ten (10) new tournaments will be held this year – including four Majors. Registrations for the first Official tournament, the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022, has already seen records broken, with 123 pairs registered including players from 19 different countries. The prize money for each Major – which is also a record – has been disclosed as €525,000 for each tournament, while significant new ranking points for the new tour have also been announced.

Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation (FIP), said:

“Week after week we are bringing on board the most incredible new partners, while also breaking records and elevating the sport and its players at completely new levels. We have said from the start that we want to take padel truly global and we want fans to join us on this journey, so having Sky as our trusted broadcast partner is exceptional news. Sky are renowned as the gold standard-bearer in global media, and that’s exactly the standard of partner this new tour is based on. There is so much more to come, and I can’t wait for the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 that will kick-start this new global era for our sport next week.”

The Board of Directors of the Professional Padel Association (PPA) said:

“This landmark deal with Sky is another sign of professional padel players finally getting the global exposure and platform that they – and the sport of padel – deserve. These major TV deals will shine a light on our sport, and ensure our players are inspiring existing and new fans, in established and new markets, every day. Through greater exposure, our players will also inspire the next generation of padel enthusiasts, which is how our sport will truly grow.”

The organisation has also announced three further broadcasting deals, with the Viaplay streaming platform named as the Official tour’s broadcast partner in x10 European markets; Charlton TV as broadcast partner in Israel; and SuperSport to broadcast the tour in x54 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa*.

Charlton TV’s two year agreement will see them cover the 2022 and 2023 seasons, with Viaplay streaming the 2022 campaign across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands.

Both broadcasters will begin their Premier Padel coverage with the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 – which gets underway on 28 March at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.

Additionally, SuperSport will broadcast the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 across Sub-Saharan Africa; meaning over 100 territories will be broadcasting the inaugural Premier Padel tournament across the globe – with more deals to be announced shortly.

The news comes just days after leading global sports broadcasters ESPN and SKY came on board, with ESPN signing a major four year deal to showcase Premier Padel in almost 50 countries across LATAM, covering South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean; and SKY’s deal covering European markets including Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These agreements will elevate the sport to a global audience like never before.

Further ways to watch Premier Padel around the world will be announced in the coming days, as the excitement around the spectacular new official tour grows.

QatarEnergy Announced As Official FIFA Partner For The FIFA World Cup 2022

QatarEnergy has been announced as a FIFA Partner, today 27 March 2022, joining the line-up of companies supporting the building excitement for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. QatarEnergy is one of the largest providers of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the world and is the second Qatar-based company to become a FIFA Partner.

On the occasion of the announcement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, “QatarEnergy is joining FIFA in this important FIFA World Cup year, and we are delighted to welcome them, as they share our excitement and enthusiasm for this first FIFA World Cup organised in the Arab world. This year’s tournament will expand football’s reach and shine a light on the region, bringing different cultures from across the globe together in Qatar to enjoy the best football in the world in stunning state-of-the-art venues.”

Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Mr Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “QatarEnergy is pleased to partner with FIFA again, this time in support of the iconic FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar and the Middle East for the first time ever. This partnership is a reflection of our continued support of various sports activities, and of football in particular as the central attraction of the sporting world. We look forward to a very successful competition and to being part of the effort to welcome the world to Qatar.”

QatarEnergy is an integrated energy company, responsible for the development of cleaner energy resources as part of the energy transition in Qatar and beyond, and is the world leader in the production of LNG.

All global partnership positions for the FIFA World Cup 2022™ have now been allocated, with more announcements to be made in due course. Meanwhile only one Regional Supporter package remains available in the Middle East and Africa market, leaving a final opportunity for a company based in Qatar or the wider Gulf region to be associated with the FIFA World Cup 2022™.

The FIFA World Cup™ will be held from 21 November until 18 December 2022 across eight state-of-the-art stadiums. For tickets or more information, visit FIFA.com.

IFSC Capitalises On Soaring Popularity Of Climbing To Agree Three-Year Deal With Discovery

Sport Climbing will be brought to millions of people across Europe after the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and Discovery Sports announced a new three-year partnership to broadcast all IFSC World Cup and World Championship events on discovery+, Eurosport App and Eurosport’s linear channels.

In the lead up to Olympic Games Paris 2024, Discovery’s year-round approach to storytelling will further boost the popularity of Sport Climbing, telling the stories of the athletes and raising their profiles as the faces of the sport, taking it to new audiences across the continent. In addition, the appeal of climbing to broader audiences beyond sport makes it a natural fit for discovery+ with the streaming platform’s wide-ranging offering appealing to viewers of lifestyle and entertainment content.

IFSC President Marco Scolaris said:

“More than anything, our agreement with Discovery will raise the profile of our sport and our athletes, which should result in greater sponsorship opportunities for all climbers around the world,” said Scolaris.

“We are confident that partnering with Discovery will help solidify our position as one of the fastest-growing Olympic sports and, thanks to the greater exposure, will lead more and more people to become interested in not only watching Climbing, but also trying it out.”

Trojan Paillot, VP Sports Rights Acquisition and Syndication at Discovery Sports, said:

“Sport Climbing proved incredibly popular with audiences watching across our platforms during the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, proving attractive to new and different audiences than some of those who already enjoy watching the sport and demonstrating its potential for engagement and growth.

“We are delighted to be able to showcase the best of the sport for the next three years on discovery+ and Eurosport’s channels and platforms. Discovery has built an enviable reputation for helping to grow sports and events and taking them to wider audiences and we look forward to taking this sport to more people across Europe in the lead-up to Paris 2024.”

The 2022 IFSC World Cup Series starts with the IFSC Boulder World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland, scheduled from 8 to 10 April in the eastern Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The IFSC will continue its delayed free streaming of events via The Olympic Channel, to be shown 24 hours after the end of each live round within each event.

The full schedule for the 2022 IFSC World Cup Series:
8-10 April – Meiringen (SUI) – Boulder
6-8 May – Seoul (KOR) – Boulder, Speed
20-22 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder
27-29 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder, Speed
10-12 June – Brixen (ITA) – Boulder
22-25 June – Innsbruck (AUT) – Boulder, Lead
30 June-2 July – Villars (SUI) – Lead, Speed
8-10 July – Chamonix (FRA) – Lead, Speed
22-23 July – Briançon (FRA) – Lead
2-3 September – Koper (SLO) – Lead
24-26 September – Jakarta (INA) – Lead, Speed
30 September-2 October – Wujiang (CHN) – Lead, Speed
6-9 October – Chongqing (CHN) – Boulder & Lead
October – TBD location in Japan – Boulder

SailGP And NEAR Unveil Multi-Year, Global League Partnership

SailGP, one of the world’s fastest growing sports properties and NEAR, a leading carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain development platform, today announced a multi-year groundbreaking partnership. As part of the partnership, SailGP will explore the sale of a new team to a DAO launched on the NEAR Protocol – a first-of-its-kind community engagement and activation platform in professional sports. The historic partnership will enable fans and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to engage and access their favorite teams, athletes and events like never before. 

The DAO community members may determine athlete selection, team management, commercialization options, operations and team strategy. Operating under the structure of the current SailGP Teams’ Participation Agreement, the DAO team could join the SailGP starting line-up as early as Season 4 in 2023, subject to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is an organization that is community-owned and whose financial transactions and rules of engagement are stored on a blockchain. While historically companies are managed from the top down, DAOs are communally governed and managed. Decisions are based on the community and determined by proposals and voting to ensure community members have the ability to directly influence the DAO’s direction. 

In addition to the DAO, this new global partnership will enable NEAR to leverage SailGP events worldwide and educate its rapidly growing community of developers, technologists and platform companies on the capabilities of NEAR.

Together NEAR and SailGP will focus on initiatives including: 

  • Integrated Technology and R&D: Across DAOs, ticketing, NFTs, app integration, and gaming, NEAR will leverage the global SailGP technology platform to develop real-world IP and web3 applications across fan engagement, data delivery and management, and league management.
  • Global Web3 Community Development: NEAR is committed to transitioning traditional industries to web3, providing the world’s most advanced, secure and scalable blockchain platform. These initiatives, experiences and activations will take place at global SailGP events for new and existing community members. 

SailGP Founder Larry Ellison said: “We welcome NEAR to the SailGP family and we are looking forward to them participating in the most exciting racing on-water, featuring the world’s best sailors.”
The​​ NEAR and SailGP partnership will provide an opportunity to educate millions of fans on-site and across SailGP platforms globally on the potential of web3. 

Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, the non-for profit entity that oversees development on the NEAR blockchain, said: “Our mission is to enable community-driven innovation to benefit people around the world, and this partnership is a fantastic example of exactly that. We are ushering in a brand-new era of entertainment by combining sports and technology to elevate the fan experience to a level that has never been seen before, and we’re proud to be leading the way alongside a like-minded organization that shares our core values and vision.”

IMG, SailGP’s global agency for sponsorship, media rights and host venue rights, helped facilitate the partnership. IMG is part of Endeavor, a strategic investor in SailGP. 

Mark Shapiro, President of Endeavor, said: “This deal presents an exciting opportunity to change how fans can directly influence and participate in the sports they love. We are proud to have brokered this ground-breaking partnership which is the culmination of what happens when sport, technology and entertainment collide.”

BYJU’S Announced As Official Sponsor Of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

BYJU’S, a world-leading EdTech company, has been announced as an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

Through this partnership, BYJU’S will leverage its rights to the FIFA World Cup 2022™ marks, emblem and assets, and run unique promotions to connect with passionate football fans around the world. It will also create engaging and creative content with educational messages as part of a multifaceted activation plan. “FIFA is dedicated to harnessing the power of football towards the goal of enacting positive societal change. We’re delighted to be partnered with a company like BYJU’S, which is also engaging communities and empowering young people wherever they may be in the world,” said Kay Madati, FIFA’s Chief Commercial Officer.

“We look forward to supporting the promotion of BYJU’S educational learning opportunities, as well as having them join the global drumbeat of excitement for the FIFA World Cup 2022 through its association with this groundbreaking tournament.”

Byju Raveendran, BYJU’S founder and CEO, said: “We are excited to be sponsoring the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the biggest single-sport event in the world. It is a matter of pride for us to represent India on such a prestigious global stage and champion the integration of education and sport. Sport is a big part of life and brings together people across the world. Just as football inspires billions, we at BYJU’S hope to inspire the love of learning in every child’s life through this partnership.” With 150 million learners around the world, BYJU’S has been a global leader in tech-driven, personalised and engaging educational content and products. Within a decade of its launch, the company has expanded to cater to a large student community globally – from K-12 and competitive exam preparation to early learning and coding to professional upskilling courses – with diverse offerings from Osmo, Tynker, Epic, Great Learning, Aakash, and Toppr.

With corporate headquarters in Bengaluru, India, and offices in 21 countries, BYJU’S products are present in over 120 countries. They aim to instil curiosity in learning, create self-learners and aid in better learning outcomes. BYJU’S is changing the way students learn and teachers teach through the unique blend of digital and physical learning along with cutting-edge innovations in learning experiences.

Driven by its mission to enhance human potential, BYJU’S has already empowered 3.4 million students from underserved communities with digital learning in India and aims to reach 10 million students in its home country by 2025.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022. For more information, visit FIFA.com.

McLaren Racing Announces Extended And Expanded Partnership With Cisco

McLaren Racing today announced a multi-year partnership extension and expansion with Cisco, as an Official Technology Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team from 2022.

Cisco is a leader in enterprise networking, video collaboration and security technology, and will provide McLaren with access to its portfolio of solutions across enterprise networking, Wi-Fi, digital signage, collaboration and more.

Cisco and McLaren will collaborate to explore and pilot new and emerging technologies, including Wi-Fi 6E to enable fast and reliable connectivity both on race day and at the team’s headquarters.

The extension builds on the existing relationship with Webex by Cisco as the McLaren Formula 1 team’s Official Collaboration Partner. McLaren will continue to leverage Webex’s industry-leading suite of cloud-based collaboration tools and emerging technology solutions such as Webex Hologram, overcoming geographical boundaries to bring fans and partners around the world closer to the team.

Webex branding will be carried on the McLaren MCL36 race cars, and on the race suits of McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo from the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Claire Cronin, Chief Marketing Officer, McLaren Racing, said:

“Cisco has been an incredible partner to McLaren Racing, and we are delighted to extend and grow this relationship long-term. Webex technology is embedded throughout our team’s operations, helping us be connected and agile with our people who operate at race pace around the globe.

“As we enter a new chapter of our partnership, we will continue to drive innovation with an expansion of Cisco’s capabilities available to us.”

Carrie Palin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Cisco, said:

“As a marquee team in one of the fastest growing sports in popularity globally, we are proud to expand our relationship with McLaren Racing and bring to bear our full portfolio of technology and talent to help the team achieve even greater success.

“McLaren Racing shares our unceasing commitment to innovation, and we believe that together we can push the boundaries of what’s possible in order to develop the most connected F1 team in history.”

World Archery Extends Broadcast Partnership With Sony Pictures Networks India Through 2023

The deal covers eight territories in Asia.

Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited will retain media rights to broadcast major international archery events on its sports channels as well as stream on its premium OTT platform SonyLIV across the Indian subcontinent until the end of 2023.

The network has extended its deal with World Archery for two seasons.

Sony Pictures Networks India will remain the home of coverage of the 2022 and 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup and 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships, which is expected to act as the primary qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in homes across India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Maldives.

Indian archers had impressive results in last season’s return after the pandemic. Former world number one Deepika Kumari won a career-best two stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, held in Guatemala and Paris, and the Indian team dominated at the World Archery Youth Championships.

India is expected to be one of archery’s most competitive nations once again in 2022.

World Archery President Prof Dr Ugur Erdener said: “Our valuable partnership with Sony Pictures Networks India ensures coverage of our world-class events in some of our fastest-growing markets. India’s archers are consistent medal contenders – and it’s exciting to see the growing domestic support behind them.”

Sony Pictures Networks India Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business Rajesh Kaul said: “Sony Pictures Networks India is delighted to extend our association with World Archery for another two seasons. Almost 21 million people watched live archery at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which shows there is a loyal audience for this sport in India. Top-ranked Indian archers like Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das, Abhishek Verma and more have helped to foster a steady rise in support from Indian fans.”

Alastair Marks Announced As New Chief Executive Of British Rowing

British Rowing today announces Alastair Marks as its new Chief Executive, a role he has held on an interim basis since November 2021. Alastair starts his permanent position on 1 April.

Alastair, 48, has held leadership positions across sport and business at the RFU, the LTA, McDonald’s and Nielsen Sport and is currently a non-Executive Director of British Gymnastics, where he also served as the interim CEO for a short period in 2021.

Alastair was selected from a field of 26 candidates which was narrowed down to a short list of six. Two panels then interviewed the candidates covering the areas of high performance, governance and sports management, people management and leadership, growing the sport, diversity and inclusion, delivery, change management and culture, and use of technology. A final two candidates were then asked to give a presentation on where they saw British Rowing (the organisation) and British rowing (the sport) five and ten years from now, and what role they saw themselves playing in that.

The interview panels across both the first and second round interviews were made up from a collection comprised of British Rowing Chair Mark Davies, British Rowing Deputy Chair Kate O’Sullivan, British Rowing Chair of Audit and Risk Committee Peter Milhofer, British Rowing Independent Director Karena Vleck, UK Sport CEO Sally Munday, Chair of British Rowing Eastern Region Andrew Blit, and former British Rowing Performance Director Sir David Tanner.

During his time as interim Chief Executive at British Rowing, Alastair has overseen the introduction of the national governing body’s new strategy which looks to grow all aspects of the sport and better engage with the communities served by the organisation across the country.

On his new role, Alastair said, “I am delighted to be continuing in this role with British Rowing on a permanent basis. Having had the opportunity to understand the sport and its potential in the past few months, it is clear there is a significant opportunity to grow rowing in all its forms be it indoors, on the river or the sea at every level. I look forward to continuing to work with everyone across the rowing community to deliver our ambitious new strategy in the years ahead.”

British Rowing Chair Mark Davies said, “We were delighted to have a strong set of applicants from across the world and, in a rigorous process, Alastair topped the list of every member on our diverse panels. I am delighted to be appointing him to this role on a full-time basis and excited about what we can do for the sport and its members in the coming years.”

Finetwork Announced As Title Sponsor For The FIM JuniorGP World Championship

A new era for the FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship begins in 2022, and the Championship will also welcome a new title sponsor: Finetwork. The mobile and broadband company begins a long term partnership with the Championship, which will be officially named the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship from 2022.

Finetwork, headquartered near Alicante, is a mobile and broadband operator revolutionising the sector across Spain – fast on the way to reaching a million individual clients in its mission to offer unbeatable service at unbeatable prices. The company already has a key presence in motorsport thanks to partnerships with both 2021 Moto3™ World Champion Pedro Acosta and double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, and Finetwork’s commitment to motorsport will now reach new heights as title sponsor for the FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship.

Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ begins in May this season as action kicks off at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal. From there the calendar takes in the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, MotorLand Aragon and the emblematic Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto in Spain, as well as returning to Portugal for the rollercoaster of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The newly named JuniorGP™ class also races alongside the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Finetwork will take top billing throughout the incredible eight-round 2022 season and beyond, welcoming in a new era for the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship.

Manuel Hernández, Finetwork CEO: 

“We are very proud to sponsor one of the biggest competitions in World Championship-level motorcycle racing and thereby support young riders and the champions of the future. Just like us, they build their success on hard work, discipline, strength, humility and sportsmanship.”

Oscar Gallardo, FIM JuniorGP™ World Championship Director:

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Finetwork as the title sponsor of the FIM JuniorGP World Championship. JuniorGP is the biggest path on the Road to MotoGP and a vital presence in motorcycle racing, so it’s an honour for us to welcome Finetwork along for the ride as we work towards even more success. I’m confident our shared values will ensure the Championship only continues to go from strength to strength as the Finetwork FIM JuniorGP World Championship.”