NASCAR Promotes From Within For Chief Operating Officer And Senior VP Of Racing Development And Strategy

Two of NASCAR’s biggest proponents for innovation have been awarded new roles within the sanctioning body.

Steve O’Donnell has been promoted to chief operating officer, and Ben Kennedy has been named senior vice president of racing development and strategy. NASCAR announced the internal movement — effective immediately — Thursday in a news release.

“It’s just another opportunity to continue to push some initiatives with all the great teammates we have,” O’Donnell told NASCAR.com. “Both Ben and I really, really enjoy working with all the different stakeholders, and those projects, particularly around the schedule, allow you to work with the broadcast partners, the race teams to the race tracks. It makes it fun because you’re able to kind of touch all different aspects of the business.”

O’Donnell, whose previous title was executive vice president and chief racing development officer, will continue to oversee NASCAR’s competition and racing operations. His oversight will now also include track operations and strategic development.

Kennedy, meanwhile, is moving from the strategy and innovation sector (previously senior vice president there) to the competition department. He will, however, maintain oversight of schedule development.

“Going into the strategy and innovation side, there’s been a great opportunity to learn so many different facets of the business and areas that are quite frankly outside of my comfort zone,” Kennedy said. “But I think competition … it feels like it’s part of my DNA. … I’m excited to dive back into it. I have a lot of passion for this area.”

Kennedy was a race-car driver himself, competing full time at the touring and national levels from 2011-17. He’s also an active team owner, forming Ben Kennedy Racing in 2010. And he has worked in multiple corporate areas of the sport since he stepped out from behind the wheel. His first job within NASCAR was general manager of the Camping World Truck Series.

Kennedy is a crisp 30 years old.

“It’s just been really eye-opening — in terms of his work ethic — how quickly he’s been able to come up to speed,” O’Donnell said. “He went from someone, when we were first working on the Truck Series, who would not maybe say as much in a meeting to now he’s leading meetings, leading initiatives and really, really comfortable in his role. And for me, I’m just really happy to see him continue to grow.”

O’Donnell and Kennedy already have a successful history of working together. The two played an instrumental part in the NASCAR Cup Series’ schedule advancement in recent years. They were able to keep the sport running during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with unprecedented doubleheaders and midweek shows. They introduced various new venues in 2021, such as Circuit of The America’s stock-car debut, Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and Road America’s return after 65 years. And they pushed the envelope even further in 2022 with the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum, which required NASCAR to build a race track on top of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s football field.

“I don’t think it’s, say, change for change’s sake,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s change to be able to challenge ourselves. See if there are different ways that we could do things or ways that we can improve things, but do it measured and calculated, too. … Some of those ideas are probably a little more bold than they were two or three years ago, but I think those are for the right reasons, so we’ve got a lot of cool ideas in the pipeline.”

That’s just all in reference to where and when NASCAR races. As for the what, don’t forget the brand-new Next Gen car took to the track competitively for the first time this year, too. It replaced the model that had been running since 2013.

The 2023 schedule has not been revealed and the Next Gen car is built to stick around for a while, but promises to keep down this path of progress that has been made.

“I’ve been in NASCAR a long time,” O’Donnell said, “and I’ve never seen this much momentum and really positive story lines around the sport — both from the competition side and really what we’ve got going on for the fans and the activities happening at the track.

British Government Sanctions Roman Abramovich, Blocking Sale Of Chelsea FC

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the British government due to his close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This is affecting the potential sale of Chelsea Football Club, with added restrictions established to ensure the running of the football club continues.

According the government: “The owner of Chelsea FC sees his assets frozen, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban and transport sanctions imposed.

“Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea Football Club and the potential knock on effects of this, the Government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea.

“This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.”

Chelsea have since issued a response to the announcement acknowledging the sanctions. The club states:

“By virtue of his 100 per cent ownership of Chelsea FC plc and affiliated entities, Chelsea FC would normally be subject to the same sanctions regime as Mr Abramovich. However, the UK Government has issued a general licence that permits Chelsea FC to continue certain activities.

“We will fulfil our men’s and women’s team fixtures today against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, and intend to engage in discussions with the UK Government regarding the scope of the licence. This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible. We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities.

“The Club will update further when it is appropriate to do so.”

Charlotte Kenny Appointed Managing Director Of BLAST Premier

Esports tournament organiser and media network BLAST has appointed Charlotte Kenny as Manager Director for BLAST Premier. She joins after seven years working in the world of football with Arsenal FC, Club Affairs and LTT Sports. 

Kenny joins BLAST with a proven track record in growing revenue streams, building cross-functional teams, doubling down on fan engagement and instilling a culture of high performance. Previous roles saw her work for global football club Arsenal FC in 2014 as their Head of Fan Services before being promoted to Director of Business Development in 2018. 

She joins BLAST from Switzerland-based company Club Affairs after working as a Strategic Advisor Senior Commercial Consultant, where she consulted professional football businesses on commercial strategy and operations. Kenny will retain her role as a Non-Executive Board Member at LTT Sports. 

Kenny’s remit in the new role will entail her spearheading the growth and delivery of BLAST Premier as the company looks to maintain and enhance its industry-leading production, tournament operations, approach to fan engagement and commercial portfolio. 

Robbie Douek, CEO for BLAST, said: “Charlotte is a brilliant addition to an already hugely talented team delivering BLAST Premier. Since its launch in early 2020, BLAST Premier has enjoyed tremendous growth and gone on to become one of the world’s leading Counter-Strike and esports events. We are entering an exciting period and targeting accelerated growth over the next two years – we believe Charlotte is the perfect person to lead these efforts in this newly created role.”  

Charlotte Kenny, Manager Director for BLAST Premier, said: “I am excited and truly honoured to take on this new role and lead the incredibly talented team at BLAST Premier. I have been following the phenomenal growth of BLAST over the last couple of years; they have established something really special and unique in the esports market. This is an important and exciting time for BLAST and esports generally. I look forward to playing my part in their future success.”

Over the last 18 months BLAST Premier, the company’s leading light and global Counter-Strike tournament circuit, has renewed and secured a range of long-term commercial partnerships with Coinbase, Betway and EPOS among others.   

Last November saw BLAST Premier’s long-awaited return to physical events with a record 25,000 fans attending the Fall Final in Copenhagen’s iconic Royal Arena over three days.

BLAST Premier is the world’s leading Counter-Strike tournament series, hosting the best players and teams, offering opportunities to regions across the globe and crowning the world champions of CS:GO. Up to 32 of the world’s 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.

STN Video Announces Multi-Year Partnership Extension With The NHL For U.S. Digital Video Distribution

STN Video today announced a multi-year extension of its video content distribution partnership with the National Hockey League® (NHL) for US publishers. With the renewal, STN Video continues to represent the NHL and every other major sports league as their exclusive online video distribution platform for local and national publishers.

STN’s industry-leading online video platform (OVP) allows publishers unfettered access to premium videos, along with game-changing monetization. Publishing partners will continue to access NHL® game highlights, interviews, top plays and other video content hockey fans love to consume during the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

New this NHL season is the Daily Game Roundup – a daily video that features the biggest storylines and highlights from all NHL games in action that day. Exciting additional content for publishers may also include off-ice video content from NHL.com including trades, signings, playoff previews, the NHL Draft, Free Agency and other news and studio analysis. This new video content is available for local and national STN publishers to use in their editorial.

“STN Video’s reach of over 1900 publishers enables the NHL to reach both current and new hockey fans wherever they consume their sports and hockey news,” said Stephen McArdle, NHL Senior Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Strategic Planning. “We’re looking forward to working with STN to continue growing the viewership of the NHL together.”

“The expansive reach of the NHL combined with the competitive nature of the league make NHL content a must watch,” said Matthew Watson, STN Video’s CEO. “We’re dedicated to working closely with the NHL throughout this partnership to grow the engagement of NHL highlights and other video content with millions of incremental fans.”

HyperJar Become Official Finance Education Partner Of British Gymnastics

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with HyperJar who become the Official Finance Education Partner to British Gymnastics.

HyperJar currently have over a quarter of a million customers for their free money management account. It allows adults, children and even groups to organise money in virtual jars, which helps customers plan, save and spend better. They won ‘Money Management App of the Year’ and ‘Most Disruptive Payment Technology of the Year’ at the recent Payment Awards, and even featured as ‘App of the Day’ on Apple App Store just last week. They have also just been announced as finalists for Best Personal Finance Tech at the UK Fintech awards.

Nick Horswell, British Gymnastics Head of Commercial, said: “We’re delighted to welcome HyperJar. They are growing rapidly at the moment with a fantastic product offering that is making a real difference to lots of families and children.

“Both organisations believe that financial literacy and learning to be independent are invaluable skills. We will be running campaigns together to educate and give confidence to children on the value of being savvy with their money.

“We’re grateful for their support and look forward to working together on this unique partnership.”

Mathew Megens, HyperJar CEO, said: “We’re so excited to be involved with British Gymnastics. They’re a very progressive organisation, who are not only supporting and promoting the sport, but also broader life skills for young gymnasts. We’re delighted to be part of that.”

Italian Football Federation Announces Long-Term Partnership With Adidas

The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio is proud to announce a long-term partnership with adidas. Starting from January 2023, the Italian National Teams (men, women, youth, futsal, beach soccer and e-sports) will wear adidas products.

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina had the following to say: “The announcement of our partnership with adidas is a great source of pride for the FIGC. This collaboration represents a vital step in terms of the growth of our commercial appeal, while it will also strengthen the development process of our brand both in Italy and abroad. The passion and enthusiasm that we have observed from adidas are matched in equal measure by the FIGC in its work to develop all of the National Teams and Italian football at every level.”

Kasper Rørsted, the CEO of adidas, also commented: “We’re incredibly proud to announce this long-term partnership with the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. We’re thrilled that one of the most successful international football teams is becoming part of our portfolio of international federations, joining other big hitters such as the DFB (Germany), RFEF (Spain), AFA (Argentina) and the RBFA (Belgium). We look forward to achieving great things together.”

National Women’s Soccer League Names Jessica Berman Next Commissioner

The National Women’s Soccer League announced today that Jessica Berman has been named the league’s next commissioner. Berman will oversee all operations of the league with a focus on supporting players on and off the pitch, working with NWSL clubs to continue to build on the positive momentum of the league’s growing audience, and collaborating with NWSL partners to create the most engaging and entertaining fan experience.

The search committee of the NWSL board of governors included Angela Hucles (ACFC), Mike Golub (POR) Chris Long (KCC), Sophie Sauvage (RGN) and Mark Wilf (ORL). The Players’ Commissioner Search Committee was comprised of Crystal Dunn, Kaylie Collins, Jane Campbell, Bri Visalli, Nicole Barnhart, Emily Menges, Tori Huster, and Executive Director Meghann Burke. The board was assisted by James and Company, one of the world’s premier executive search firms.

“We’re thrilled to have Jessica serve as the next commissioner of the NWSL as we embark on our 10th season of play,” said Sauvage.  “This process was incredibly collaborative throughout and we want to thank the players for their involvement. Jessica’s extensive professional background, her commitment to elevating diverse voices in the sports industry, and her vision for the future of our league, made her the right fit for this incredibly important position.”

“I’m honored to be the next commissioner of the NWSL and grateful to the owners for their confidence in me,” said Berman. “Working on behalf of, and in partnership with, our players is my number one priority. Having been involved in professional sports for many years, I know how critically important a genuine partnership with players is for us all to be successful and continue to grow. The successful conclusion of the league’s first-ever CBA with our players is the perfect foundation from which to build that partnership, and I am grateful for Marla Messing’s leadership in getting that done.”

Berman is set to begin her four-year term as commissioner on April 20, 2022.  To ensure a smooth transition, Messing will continue her role as interim CEO until May 31, 2022.

Messing joined the league in October 2021. During her five-month tenure, she is credited with negotiating and launching a joint investigation with the NWSLPA, resolving the Washington Spirit ownership situation, and overseeing the sale of the club for a record $35 million, completing the league’s first-ever collective bargaining agreement, and restoring confidence in the long-term prospects of the league among its myriad constituencies.

“I want to thank Marla for the incredible work she did on behalf of our league and the players we collectively serve,” said Wilf. “To have joined the league at that moment in time, and accomplished all that she did, is a testament to Marla’s professionalism and character. We would not be where we are today, positioned for a second decade of growth, without Marla’s involvement and we’re grateful that she’s agreed to remain involved going forward.”

NWSLPA Executive Director Meghann Burke said, “A strong commissioner is vital to the future growth of NWSL. In this process, the Players’ Commissioner Search Committee focused on finding a candidate who understood that the strength and success of players and our union is integral to the success of NWSL. The Players Association would like to thank the board of governors for agreeing to include players in the selection process and for giving thoughtful consideration to our feedback. We support the selection of Commissioner Berman and look forward to working alongside her to achieve the common goal of building an NWSL that sets the global standard for women’s professional soccer.”

A seasoned sports executive, Berman joins the NWSL after two and a half years serving as deputy commissioner and executive vice president of business affairs at the National Lacrosse League. During her time with the NLL, Berman’s responsibilities included overseeing team services, operations, marketing and communications, broadcast and content, community engagement, human resources, and league governance.  

“We want to thank Jessica for the exemplary work and the leadership she has provided us during her tenure with the NLL,” Matt Hutchings, COO and EVP at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and chair of the NLL board of governors. “While we are disappointed to see her leave, we know she will always be a friend and supporter of our league and the sport. We look forward to seeing her progress personally and professionally for years to come and wish her the best of luck.” 

Prior to her time with the NLL, Berman spent 13 years with the National Hockey League, first serving as vice president and deputy general counsel for the organization before becoming vice president of community development, culture and growth and executive director of the NHL Foundation. In her role as Deputy General Counsel, she was involved in collective bargaining negotiations, and was a key contributor in creating and executing the NHL’s labor strategy during the 2012 talks. 

Berman’s later roles with the league focused on bolstering the sports experience for NHL and hockey enthusiasts around the globe. This included implementing a positive, inclusive, community-friendly approach across the league and working to increase access to hockey at all levels of the game. In addition, Berman oversaw the design and execution of the NHL’s corporate social responsibility goals and initiatives, an area she is particularly passionate about. 

A graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, Berman also worked as an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in the labor and employment sector where she represented several employers in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, mediations and litigations, and worked on pro bono cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault and military matters. 

Berman completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduating with a degree in Sports Management and Communications. During her time at Michigan, Berman was involved with the men’s hockey and football programs as an assistant in the sports information office. While completing law school, she served as editor-in-chief of the Fordham Sports Law Forum and was an associate editor of the Urban Law Journal. 

Berman has earned several distinctions throughout her sports career. She was named to Sports Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list in 2014. She currently sits on the Sports Lawyers Association Board of Directors, the University of Michigan Sport Management Advisory Board, the Fordham Sports Law Forum Board of Advisors, Sports Innovation Lab Women Executive Network, the Vice Chair of SIGA America Advisory Board and is a founding member of the Pro Sports Assembly, an organization dedicated to promoting diversity & inclusion in the professional sports industry.

Decisions Taken Concerning FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers

Yesterday, the Bureau of the FIFA Organising Committee took key decisions in relation to the European play-off matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, following consultation with UEFA and the participating FIFA member associations.

i)                 Postponement of Scotland v. Ukraine in Path A

On 3 March 2022, the Ukrainian Association of Football wrote to FIFA requesting that its qualification match(es) be rescheduled owing to the impossibility of organising both the travel and training of a team under the current circumstances.    

Following consultation with UEFA and the four participating member associations in Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, it was unanimously agreed in the spirit of solidarity to accept this request. The match between Scotland and Ukraine, initially scheduled for 24 March 2022, will now be postponed to the existing June window, and consequently, the match between the winners of Scotland v. Ukraine and Wales v. Austria will also be postponed to the same window. 

It was further agreed that the match between Wales and Austria will remain as scheduled on 24 March 2022, owing to the need to limit the disruption to the competitive matches already scheduled for the June window in what is an already congested calendar.

Alternative fixtures for affected teams in the March window are being explored by the relevant parties. Similarly, the details of the rescheduled fixtures will be announced in due course and the international match calendar window of June will be adapted as necessary for the teams concerned once these details have been finalised.

ii)                Poland bye to the final in Path B

In addition, subsequent to the decision of 28 February 2022 taken jointly with the UEFA Executive Committee to suspend all Russian teams from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice, the Bureau of the FIFA Organising Committee decided that Poland will receive a bye to the final of Path B due to take place on 29 March 2022, in which they will face the winners of the match between Sweden and the Czech Republic.

International Handball Federation And SPORTFIVE Agree Exclusive Marketing And Media Rights Partnership

The International Handball Federation (IHF) and the global sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE have agreed today to comprehensively extend their existing partnership. SPORTFIVE will be responsible for the marketing of the worldwide media rights as well as the marketing rights for all IHF World Championships until 2031, starting with the 2023 Handball World Championships in Sweden and Poland as the first major event.

SPORTFIVE already serves as the rights holder for the worldwide media rights of the IHF World Championships up to and including 2025. The now signed contract not only extends the audiovisual rights including all IHF Youth, Junior and Beach Handball World Championships up to and including 2031. The sports marketing agency will also become the rights holder for all advertising rights for five Senior IHF Men’s and Women’s World Championships, the 2028 IHF Olympic Qualification Tournaments, the IHF Junior and Youth World Championships and the IHF Beach Handball Competitions (IHF Men’s & Women’s Beach Handball World Championships and the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour) until 2031.

This unique, comprehensive partnership between the IHF and SPORTFIVE is a real first: The IHF had previously marketed itself in sponsorship or entered into various cooperation agreements with different federations for selective rights.

As a holistic partner, the sports marketing agency will provide the IHF with its vast service portfolio alongside distribution, production and commercialization. Being the rightsholder of the TV and marketing rights to all World Championships, SPORTFIVE can take advantage of the complete value chain and offer partners all services from a single source to make the most out of a sponsorship to make the Handball World Championships the perfect platform for international brands, the global sports marketing agency strives for an even more international marketing orientation with a visible uniform set of equal official partners and will reduce national advertising messages to a minimum.

IHF President Dr. Hassan Moustafa:

“In the many years of our cooperation, we have come to know SPORTFIVE as a trustworthy and excellent partner. We are now looking forward to the next level of our partnership and are convinced that SPORTFIVE, with its huge experience and vast network, will give handball the worldwide attention that this unique sport deserves.”

Robert Müller von Vultejus, Chief Growth Officer at SPORTFIVE:

“We are more than proud that the IHF has entrusted us with this exciting new challenge. We have set ourselves ambitious goals: With our innovative marketing approach, we not only want to lift the world’s most important handball tournaments to a new level, but to make handball one of the most popular sports in the world after football.”

ParalympicsGB Announce Partnerships With Salesforce And Aldi

Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, today announced a new long term marketing partnership with ParalympicsGB to bring fans and athletes closer together than ever before.

The three year agreement will mark a step change in the way ParalympicsGB engages with its audiences. Deepening fan engagement and growing its reach will be at the heart of achieving its strategic objectives of breaking down barriers and challenging perceptions for disabled people.

ParalympicsGB will also use the powerful Salesforce platform to extend the reach of its charitable fundraising to support the delivery of a world class preparation and Games environment for the team.

Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “I cannot wait to see the impact of this agreement which will be transformational for ParalympicsGB in the way we can grow and deepen engagement with our fans and athletes. Following the record-breaking achievements at Tokyo 2020, an effective data strategy is at the heart of our plans to showcase the inspirational power of Paralympic sport as we build toward Paris 2024 and beyond.”

As part of the marketing partnership, Salesforce will engage with fans around the world and use data to create hubs and visualisations to help deepen engagement and broaden the reach of the ParalympicsGB team’s athletes and achievements.

“Equality is a core value at Salesforce, we are committed to working with others to make our world a better, fairer, more open place for everyone,” said Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UK and Ireland. “We are proud to enter this new partnership with ParalympicsGB, a meeting of like minds and an opportunity for us to excite new and existing audiences in Paralympic sport through the dynamism of technology and data visualization. We look forward to bringing fans and athletes together on this team’s incredible journey.”

This announcement builds on Salesforce’s multi-year partnership with Team GB, Team Germany, Team USA and founding partnership of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Aldi Sponsors Paralympics

The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket Aldi is the new official partner of ParalympicsGB, as the team competes at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The sponsorship, agreed with governing body the British Paralympic Association (BPA), will run through to the next Paralympic Summer Games and means that Aldi is now the sponsor for both Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic teams up to Paris 2024.

The partnership builds on Aldi’s existing partnership with TeamGB where they have supported Great Britain’s Olympic team and athletes since 2015.

Aldi has been fuelling Team GB athletes to success since 2015 by providing all athletes with monthly food vouchers, and will extend this program to cover all ParalympicsGB athletes.

In addition, ParalympicsGB athletes will attend the opening of new stores, providing athletes with the opportunity to engage with local communities and raise awareness of ParalympicsGB with shoppers across Great Britain.

Adam Zavalis, Marketing Director at Aldi UK, said:

“We’ve been fuelling Team GB with healthy food since 2015 and I’m thrilled that we now have the opportunity to extend that support to Great Britain’s amazing Paralympic athletes. We’re immensely proud to be supporting the Winter team as they compete in Beijing, just as we will the summer athletes, all the way to Paris in two years’ time.”

Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association said:

“We are very excited about this partnership and the potential to reach communities right across the UK. We know Aldi is focused on championing British success through their support for local farmers and suppliers, and through helping our athletes reach their full potential. We look forward to working with Aldi to bring the stories of ParalympicsGB athletes to many more homes, helping to break down barriers for disabled people and change perceptions.

“With two years to go, we’re immensely excited to work with Aldi on the road to Paris – by not only helping to further support our athletes to be best prepared for the Paralympic Games, but more generally helping people in the UK live an active and healthy lifestyle.”