The Include Summit, The UK’s No.1 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Summit for Sport, will be taking place in Birmingham in one month’s time.
The Include Summit is the UK’s largest conference focussed on equality, diversity and inclusion in sport. The Include Summit is a chance to hear from leading voices across the sector, to attend expert workshops, and to connect with others who are passionate about driving change.
When: Tuesday 8th – Wednesday 9th March 2022 Where: Unique Venues Birmingham, Centenary Square, Birmingham City Centre, B1 2EP
Cazoo, Europe’s leading online car retailer, which makes buying a used car as simple and seamless as ordering any other product online, is delighted to announce today that it has signed a multi-year agreement to become the main partner and new shirt sponsor of Spanish football club, Real Sociedad, from the start of next season.
Cazoo, which currently sponsors both Everton and Aston Villa in the Premier League, will see its branding on the front of the Real Sociedad shirt, throughout the Reale Arena, on all official club merchandise, across the club’s website and on all media backdrops featured on televised football coverage.
The partnership with Real Sociedad, currently in 7th place in LaLiga, will take effect from 1st July 2022 and will form part of an extensive marketing campaign by Cazoo when it launches in Spain in the first half of 2022 as it continues to rollout across Europe, following its recent launches in both France and Germany and its acquisition of Barcelona-based Swipcar.
Cazoo owns and reconditions its cars to the highest standard before offering them for delivery in just a few days and has thousands of cars available at any time. With customers able to purchase a car entirely online and have it delivered directly to their door, Cazoo has been referred to as the ‘Amazon of the used car market’.
Cazoo was founded in 2018 by renowned British entrepreneur Alex Chesterman and has already sold over 50,000 cars in the UK since its launch as consumers have embraced the selection, value, transparency and convenience of buying used cars fully online. Cazoo has grown its team to over 3,800 across the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Cazoo has been one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe over the past two years, pioneering the shift to online car buying, and recently listed on the NYSE in August, raising over $800m to build out its brand and infrastructure as it looks to continue to transform the car buying and selling experience across the UK and Europe.
Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Cazoo said:
“We are very excited to be partnering with Real Sociedad. Just like us, they are a very ambitious club driven by results and have a passionate following and fan base across Spain and we are looking forward to engaging with the fans and local community and delivering the best car buying experience in Spain in 2022.”
Jokin Aperribay, Real Sociedad Club President said:
“We are looking forward to partnering with Cazoo next season. They have ambitious and exciting plans to continue growing in our market. We are pleased to be able to help Cazoo be close to our fans and make them aware of their innovative formula that is making them so successful”.
Eclat’s new sports channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2 will now remotely produce and distribute language-customised commentary with Tata Communications Media Ecosystem.
Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, and Eclat Media Group, a premier broadcaster of global sports content, today announce the expansion of Eclat’s sports content broadcasting to viewers across Asian countries, including Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. This new agreement powers Eclat Media Group’s newly launched channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2 to broadcast 4000+ hours of content annually.
Tata Communications Media Ecosystem, coupled with Video Connect and Satellite Uplink services, will allow commentators of SPOTV and SPOTV2 to overlay commentary in their local language, which is added to the viewers’ video feeds for relevant regions. Fans across Asia will now be able to watch their favourite global sports in their preferred language commentary, thereby expanding the reach of content to millions of new potential viewers.
Lee Choong Khay (CK), CEO of SPOTV, said:
“It is our pleasure to have Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, as our valuable network partner. As we expand the distribution of our content pan-region, we aim to focus on growing localised and relevant content for the individual markets. With this exciting partnership, SPOTV and SPOTV2 can achieve seamless localisation and delivery of our premium sports contents to fans across Asia.”
Dhaval Ponda, Global Head of Media & Entertainment Services, Tata Communications, said:
“Sports viewership has dramatically shifted over the years with technology playing a key role in evolving the at-home viewing experience.” He adds, “By joining forces with Eclat Media Group, we aim to give sports fans across Asia an enhanced experience to enjoy their favourite global and local sports – be it motorsports, tennis, baseball or volleyball. Our world class media infrastructure coupled with Eclat’s ambition to be the pioneer in providing language-customised sports content to fans in each country is driving the transformation of sports consumption pan- Asia.”
Eclat Media Group has recently launched two new channels – SPOTV and SPOTV2 – across multiple Southeast Asia and select East Asia territories such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Mongolia, and the Philippines. The channels broadcast content such as tennis Grand Slam tournaments Wimbledon and US Open, motorsport championships MotoGP and WorldSBK, World Table Tennis and Badminton World Federation events, as well as popular Asian sports including the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League, Korean Basketball League (KBL), V-League (volleyball) and V.League (Japan) competition.
Tata Communications Media & Entertainment Services offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for global media value chain workflow including contribution, processing and distribution. With an infrastructure spanning the world that allows end-to-end content delivery at scale, the company enables over 9,000 live events, 700 TV channels and 60,000 hours of live content, reaching over 2 billion sports fans globally. To learn further about Tata Communications Media & Entertainment Services, please visit – https://www.tatacommunications.com/media-entertainment/.
Lega Serie A’s Arabic-language YouTube channel is becoming more and more attractive. Starting from matchday 24, all ten Serie A matches will be broadcast, only in the MENA region, until the end of the season. Of these, nine will be commented from IBC in Lissone and one directly from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).
One match for each matchday will also see the creation of a pre- and post-match studio directly at the stadium and in Arabic: the first major event will be the Derby di Milano Inter- AC Milan on Saturday 5 February at 6 pm. This will be followed by Napoli-Inter on Saturday 12 February at 6 pm and Juventus-Torino on Friday 18 February at 8.45 pm.
The pre and post-match coverage of the Milan derby will be conducted by Ghazy M M Elamry, with former Inter and AC Milan player Francesco Coco. For the occasion, the big match Inter- AC Milan will not only be broadcast in Arabic but also in English.
Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo said: “Given the steady growth of Lega Serie A’s YouTube channel, which is the number one football league channel in the world in terms of subscribers, we have decided, in agreement with the clubs, to further exploit its potential in the MENA region, which has always had many fans of our league.
“Thanks to the technical possibilities offered by the new IBC in Lissone we will offer spectators the full Serie A spectacle and a great pre and post match event for a big match in every round of the championship, starting with the Derby of Milan. We are confident that this major production effort will bring further international value to our brand and allow us to increase our fan base in a very important area”.
The UEFA Executive Committee has today appointed TEAM Marketing as its global sales partner to market the commercial rights for its men’s club competitions, including the flagship UEFA Champions League, for the 2024-27 cycle. Relevent Sports Group has also been appointed to sell the media rights specifically in the United States for the same period.
The new format of UEFA club competitions post-2024 carries significant commercial opportunities and this was reflected in the quality of the bids received during a comprehensive tender process conducted together with the European Club Association (ECA) over the last few months.
TEAM Marketing will provide creative and sales support in the global marketing and sale of the commercial rights, including media, sponsorship and licensing rights, together with the provision of account management and associated services for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, UEFA Super Cup and, the UEFA Youth League for the 2024-27 cycle.
Relevent Sports Group will be solely responsible for the sale of the media rights of these competitions in the United States.
These deals will guarantee increased revenues for participating clubs and bigger solidarity payments for those teams who have not qualified to take part in European club competitions, as well as providing UEFA with significant funding to invest in the development of the sport at all levels across the continent.
Commenting on the agreement, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “We are pleased to have seen such high-level interest from renowned parties and are delighted that the agreements reached with TEAM Marketing and Relevent Sports Group will allow further distribution of revenues to clubs across Europe at such a crucial time when financial stability is needed.
“Both companies delivered a compelling vision for European club football and we are convinced that the world’s best club football competition – the UEFA Champions League – and our other men’s club competitions will continue to go from strength to strength. I would also like to thank the European Club Association for the great cooperation during this highly intense bid process.”
McLaren Racing and Official Partner Castore, the premium British sportswear brand, today announced the launch of the 2022 team replica apparel range, featuring replica versions of the all-new official McLaren Formula 1 team apparel.
The range will be added to throughout the 2022 season, with the release of various performance, fanwear and limited-edition collections designed and produced by Castore.
Accompanied by a launch film featuring McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, the range marks the beginning of What It Takes, a 2022 Formula 1 season-long campaign showcasing the synergies between two brands who pride themselves on challenging convention in the pursuit of improvement.
The range features hero products including driver fanwear t-shirts with the team logo and respective LN4 and DR3 tags, and a fanwear hoody with brushed interior for warmth. The McLaren Racing x Castore replica range will mirror the kit worn by Lando and Daniel throughout the 2022 Formula 1 season.
The McLaren Racing x Castore range will be available to purchase from Friday 11 February on a new end-to-end ecommerce platform provided by Castore at mclarenstore.com.
Lindsey Eckhouse, Director of Licensing, ecommerce & esports, McLaren Racing, said:
“We’re delighted to be working with Castore to launch our new fanwear and replica team kit for the 2022 F1 season. Castore have truly embraced McLaren’s appreciation of bold and brave design, creating a range that we believe our fans are going to love.
“The What It Takes campaign marks a perfect union of McLaren’s Fearlessly Forward team ethos with Castore’s Better Never Stops, and we’re excited to move into a new era together pushing the boundaries and striving for innovation.”
Tom Beahon, Co-founder, Castore said:
“With an ethos of ‘Better Never Stops’, Castore was created to push the boundaries of technical sportswear and do what it takes to push athletes and teams forward. This ambition is clearly echoed by our partner McLaren Racing. F1 is the perfect place for Castore to showcase our beliefs and we are thrilled to be taking these bold next steps in automotive alongside a brand and partner that shares our demand for excellence and unwavering commitment to innovation.”
Following an extensive feasibility study, which assessed the potential opportunities in international football, the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have agreed to focus on a bid to host UEFA EURO 2028, the third largest sports event in the world.
In a statement released by the FA, the organisation says:
The feasibility study included an analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments. On balance, the five associations have decided to focus solely on an official bid to host UEFA EURO 2028, and have agreed not to bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Hosting a UEFA EURO offers a similar return on investment, with the European tournament carrying a far lower delivery cost and the potential of the benefits being realised sooner.
It would be an honour and a privilege to collectively host UEFA EURO 2028 and to welcome all of Europe. It would also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the true impact of hosting a world-class football tournament by driving positive change and leaving a lasting legacy across our communities.
We believe the UK and the Republic of Ireland can offer UEFA and European football something special in 2028 – a compact and unique five-way hosting collaboration that will provide a great experience for the teams and the fans. We continue to collaborate with our Government Partners of the UK and Ireland about the next steps.
iSportConnect: This is a very interesting development potentially signalling that the UK’s football associations believe they have a much better chance of securing the 2028 Euros rather than the World Cup of 2030, otherwise it is plausible to assume they would have pursued the latter.
After the Euros last summer where UEFA trialled the multi-country approach with numerous cities around Europe hosting tournament fixtures (to limited success, particularly due to the Covid pandemic) the competition will revert to a sole-nation hosting in 2024 in Germany.
The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and FINA President Husain Al-Musallam today announced an agreement for Hungary’s capital city to hold a FINA World Championships from 18 June – 3 July 2022.
The agreement ensures athletes have a global aquatics championship to target in the summer of 2022. The agreement was reached after approval from the FINA Bureau today.
FINA and key stakeholders of the Fukuoka 2022 Organising Committee jointly agreed last week to move the FINA World Championships from 13-29 May 2022 to 14-30 July 2023 due to the current health impacts of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and the pandemic measures currently in place in Japan.
“As an aquatics community, we are finding solutions around the pandemic and today’s announcement is an important step in this process,” FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said. “We know we need to be imaginative in our approach in navigating through the current health crisis for our athletes. Today’s agreement is a testament to this work. FINA also recognises that the pandemic is evolving differently according to time and place. We are extremely fortunate to have event hosts that share our passion for aquatics and have the willingness, capability and flexibility to organise FINA’s most prestigious event. We are deeply grateful to all our hosts and know that aquatics athletes feel the same way.”
“With four FINA World Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games over the next four years, we are maximising the racing opportunities and earnings potential for established and emerging aquatics athletes alike,” FINA President Al-Musallam added.
A regular stop for FINA Swimming World Cup, FINA Water Polo World League and FINA World Series events, Budapest previously hosted the FINA World Championships in 2017. That event saw 12 world records set in the pool during an event that drew record-breaking numbers of spectators and television viewers.
This FINA World Championships is set to feature five FINA aquatics disciples: swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming and open water swimming. FINA will continue to work towards similar event programming for high dive athletes and masters competitors.
FINA continues to consult athletes and stakeholders on the schedule for the FINA World Championships in Doha, Qatar and more information will follow as soon as possible.
The city of Bilbao, Spain, has been awarded the hosting of the 2022 Basketball Champions League Final 4. The season-ending tournament will be organized from May 6-8, 2022 and signals the first time the arena of a non-participating team is selected as host.
The four teams that will qualify out of the Quarter-Finals will participate in the pinnacle event of Basketball Champions League’s sixth season, which will be played in a single-game knock-out format over the first week of May in Bilbao, the 10th largest city in Spain. The games are set to take place in the Bilbao Arena (10’000 seating capacity), regular home court of Surne Bilbao Basket.
As part of this host city announcement, the logo of the 2022 Final 4 has also been unveiled:
“We are very excited to have Bilbao host the Basketball Champions League Final 4. We are grateful to the city of Bilbao, the Spanish local and regional authorities, the Spanish Basketball Federation and the ACB for their commitment to help us organize this event in the best and safest way possible for all stakeholders, especially the players and the accompanying members of all qualified teams. We have acknowledged the fervour of the city to organise this historical event and we look forward to working together to deliver a fantastic season-ending tournament,” said Patrick Comninos, CEO of the Basketball Champions League.
“Despite the challenging situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to award this Final 4 to an environment that has proven experience in organizing top-level basketball events. This will guarantee a unique weekend of basketball for fans across Europe,” he added.
The Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, is very pleased with the holding of this event in Bilbao: “Once again, Bilbao proves to be an attractive city for major international sporting events”.
“Bilbao will host this great event of basketball at the Bilbao Arena and I hope that both fans and all those who visit us can enjoy a fantastic event, and also take advantage to know and discover our city, our gastronomy, our shops and our traditions,” he added.
“For the Spanish Basketball Federation, it is a great pleasure and honour to see Bilbao hosting the Final 4 of the BCL, a great competition where Spanish teams usually perform very well,” proclaimed Jorge Garbajosa, President of the Spanish Basketball Federation and FIBA Central Board member. “Organising such a major event is no easy task, but in such a great arena, and with the expertise of the local authorities of Bilbao, with the support of Surne Bilbao Basket club and all relevant stakeholders, the ACB league and the Spanish Basketball Federation, we will do our best to organise the best event possible. The level of the previous editions of the Final 4 or Final 8 will be challenging to match, because they were excellent events, but we will do our very best to help this competition to develop and grow this year as well,” he added.
Antonio Martin, ACB President and Member of the BCL Board declared that “having the BCL Final 4 at Bilbao is a great news for Spanish basketball. Bilbao will be a perfect host, has a great arena and the city is perfectly suited for an event that grows every year”.
The Round of 16 has started on January 25 and will conclude on March 23, 2022.
A Draw will determine the Quarter-Finals, that will be played over the month of April, and Final 4 brackets and will take place on March 25. The event will be livestreamed on championsleague.basketball.
The Semi-Finals will be played in Bilbao on May 6, with the Third-Place Game and Final scheduled for May 8.
The event will be organized in accordance with the FIBA Return to Play Protocol and the relevant regulations applicable by the Spanish authorities. The decision concerning the presence of fans in the arena will be taken at a later stage and in accordance to the rules and regulations set by the Spanish official authorities.
UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation and bet365, have announced an extension of their partnership that names bet365 the exclusive ‘Official Betting Partner’ of UFC in the UK and Ireland, following a successful collaboration in 2021.
As part of the agreement, fans will be treated to top-class MMA content as UFC and bet365 reveal the launch of a new YouTube show entitled ‘One on One,’ hosted by UFC analyst and commentator Laura Sanko. Sanko brings her exceptional MMA insight as she sits down with some of the best MMA fighters in the world. The show will include behind the scenes action as well as fight previews, reviews, and feature-based content.
In addition to this bespoke content, bet365 will also be placed in front of UFC’s fanbase as it features in select UFC digital content distributed across the promotion’s social media platforms. This includes fan favourite series ‘If you don’t know, now you know,’ hosted by UFC President Dana White.
“After such a successful 2021 with bet365, we’re looking forward to expanding our partnership to include the creation of new digital content for our fans this year,” said Nick Smith, Vice President of Global Partnerships at UFC. “This is the continuation of what we believe will be a long relationship with bet365.”
A bet365 spokesperson commented on the partnership: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with UFC in a year that sees the organisation return to the UK with live events. We are looking forward to giving Laura Sanko an additional platform to engage with the UFC fan base and show her technical insight and analysis.”
The agreement also includes visibility for the sports betting organisation on UFC FIGHT PASS, the leading digital subscription service for combat sports, as it becomes the presenting partner of the Cage Warriors playlist on UFC FIGHT PASS. bet365 branding will also have visibility within the world-famous Octagon® at select UFC events.
