ICC Partners With FanCraze To Unveil New NFTs In Crictos

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and FanCraze today unveiled Crictos, the official and exclusive digital collectibles range that captures some of the greatest and most memorable moments in international cricket.   

Fans will be able to collect and trade their own slice of cricket history with Crictos which leverages cutting-edge blockchain technology to enable fans to own the best plays from ICC events. Fans are invited to pre-register on www.fancraze.com/icc for a chance to be a part of the first cohort that will own some of the most talked about shots, catches, and wickets in cricket history. 

Finn Bradshaw, ICC Head of Digital said: “We are delighted to unveil Crictos today and are excited for our first pack drop later this month. Just as physical memorabilia has been a centerpiece of fandom for decades, we hope Crictos will become a digital record of fans’ love of the game. There is something for every fan with a range of rarities of Crictos with an entry pack costing $9. 

Our first Crictos pack drop will be available later this month for pre-registered fans before a full launch later this year. It’s a unique opportunity to own and be part of historic moments in cricket and Crictos is the only way to collect match-defining plays from the ICC events archive.” 

The initial Crictos release will feature video clips from two of the most memorable ICC men’s events in recent history, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. A fan can buy a pack which will include several Crictos, or they can purchase individual Crictos on FanCraze’s peer-to-peer marketplace.

Anshum Bhambri, CEO of FanCraze added: “Crictos builds off the key features of physical trading cards by adding digital elements like video highlights, 3D animations, a wider array of player statistics, and meta-data that make the Crictos usable across a wide array of applications. Cricket fans today are digitally native and building new fan engagement and social experiences is what excites us at FanCraze.”

NBA Launchpad Selects Five Companies To Develop Future Of Basketball-Related Technology

The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced it has selected five companies for the inaugural NBA Launchpad program, the league’s latest initiative to source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies that impact the future of the game.

NBA Launchpad was introduced in June 2021 with a global search to identify cutting-edge solutions that directly addressed the following priority areas identified for the inaugural season of the program: Ankle Injury Innovation, Elite Youth Player Performance, Referee Training and Development and Youth Health and Wellness. NBA Launchpad received hundreds of submissions from a diverse applicant pool across 25 countries, ranging from early-stage startups to large research institutions.

To conduct a holistic review process, the NBA partnered with Pitchtape, an online pitch platform, and enlisted subject matter experts from the League Office and teams to evaluate each submission. The inaugural class of the NBA Launchpad program includes:

  • BetterGuards (Berlin, Germany): Adaptive ankle protection system that provides advanced freedom of motion for athletes while actively preventing injuries.
  • Breathwrk (Los Angeles, California): Health and performance app that provides science-backed breathing exercises, helping athletes wake up, calm down, increase stamina and fall asleep.
  • Nextiles (Brooklyn, New York): Materials science company that quantifies human movement by merging sewing technologies with flexible electronics.
  • Rezzil (Manchester, United Kingdom): VR-based solution for cognitive training, rehabilitation and game analysis.
  • Uplift Labs (Palo Alto, California): AI-powered technology that delivers real-time movement tracking and 3D analysis to enhance health and performance.

“We are thrilled to introduce our NBA Launchpad program with such a diverse group of innovative products and solutions,” said Evan Wasch, Executive Vice President, Basketball Strategy & Analytics. “Each company brings something unique to the table that will improve the game of basketball.”

Over the next six months, NBA Launchpad portfolio companies will work alongside league and team advisors on R&D projects. Companies will also receive unique access to NBA events and exposure to the NBA’s ecosystem of partners and investors.

Wasserman Acquires The Montag Group

Wasserman has acquired The Montag Group, announced today by Executive Vice President and COO, Talent Representation Jason Ranne. The Montag Group operates at the epicenter of sports and media by offering premier services across talent representation, consulting, communications and content creation. 

“This acquisition adds world-class executives, agents, and services to support Wasserman’s clients across all stages of their careers,” said Ranne. “The Montag Group will provide industry-best media representation to the many current and retired athletes, coaches, front office executives, broadcasters, and influencers that we represent.” 

As part of the acquisition, the agency will continue to operate as The Montag Group, with Sandy Montag, Maury Gostfrand, and their staff joining Wasserman. IF Management, headed by Steve Herz, will concurrently enter into a strategic partnership with Wasserman and The Montag Group that will see the companies work closely together.

“The Montag Group is the preeminent media agency in the industry, with extensive experience and influence across all aspects of the business,” said Wasserman Chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman. “Sandy, Maury, and the entire Montag Group are the perfect complement to leverage our existing sports, music, brands, and properties business units to the mutual benefit of our respective clients.”  

“Maury and I have long-respected Casey and Wasserman for how they approach the business and represent their clients,” said Montag. “This deal will allow us to maintain the excellence and service our clients have come to expect from The Montag Group, while also tapping into Wasserman’s resources, network, and influence across the industry to further benefit those whom we represent.  In addition, we look forward to capitalizing on the synergies between The Montag Group and Wasserman’s industry-leading consulting business.” 

Montag, Gostfrand and their staff will continue to be based in White Plains, New York and New York City.

New York Times Announces Agreement To Acquire The Athletic

The New York Times Company has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Athletic, the global digital subscription-based sports media business that provides national and local coverage of more than 200 clubs and teams in the U.S. and around the world, for an all cash purchase price of $550 million, subject to customary closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company, said, “Acquiring The Athletic puts us in a position to be a global leader in sports journalism and offer English speakers around the world another reason to turn to the Times Company to meet their daily news and life needs. The Times already provides distinctive sports coverage for a general interest audience as part of our core report. As a stand-alone product, The Athletic will enable us to offer much more — extensive coverage for fans who seek a deep connection to and understanding of their favorite teams, leagues and players. With one of the largest dedicated teams of reporters covering sports globally and a commitment to everyday reporting, The Athletic is a great complement to The Times.”

The Times has been rapidly growing its consumer subscription business, doubling to over 8 million paid subscriptions across digital and print products in the last three years.

Ms. Levien added, “Strategically, we believe this acquisition will accelerate our ability to scale and deepen subscriber relationships. We are now in pursuit of a goal meaningfully larger than 10 million subscriptions and believe The Athletic will enable us to expand our addressable market of potential subscribers. Alongside our core news report, New York Times Cooking, New York Times Games, Wirecutter and Audm, we’ll have a more robust offering to engage the millions of subscribers we already have and convert many more new ones among our 100 million-plus registered users. Ultimately, The Athletic helps further our vision of making The New York Times the essential subscription for every person seeking to understand and engage with the world.”

The Athletic is currently expected to be immediately accretive to The New York Times Company’s revenue growth rate. The Times Company expects the acquisition will be dilutive to The New York Times Company’s operating profit for approximately three years, as it scales subscriptions and builds an advertising business, and accretive thereafter.

The Athletic was founded in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, with the goal of providing smarter sports coverage for devoted fans through a subscription model. As of December 2021, the site had grown to 1.2 million subscribers.

Prior to founding The Athletic, Mr. Mather and Mr. Hansmann worked together at Strava, the fitness tracking app. They will stay on after the acquisition, Mr. Mather as The Athletic’s general manager and co-president and Mr. Hansmann as its chief operating officer and co-president. The Athletic will be a subsidiary of The Times Company and continue to operate separately. Mr. Mather and Mr. Hansmann will report to Times Company executive David Perpich. Mr. Perpich will be stepping into a new role as publisher of The Athletic. He has a long track record at The Times in helping scale subscription businesses, having played key leadership roles in the initial core product paywall, the creation and scaling of the Cooking and Games products, and the growth of Wirecutter once acquired by The New York Times Company.

Mr. Mather and Mr. Hansmann said, “We started The Athletic to bring fans closer to the teams, players and leagues they love through deep, immersive journalism and storytelling. Today marks a thrilling milestone for that dream, one realized because of the hard work of every single one of our employees. We are proud to have The Athletic become part of The Times Company’s family of subscription products. When we founded the company, we hoped to become the sports page for every city in the world. We’re excited to continue serving our avid subscribers as we grow and scale with the help of the most important journalistic organization and the leader in digital subscription news.”

Allen & Company LLC acted as financial adviser and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal adviser to The New York Times Company. LionTree Advisors LLC acted as financial adviser and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP acted as legal adviser to The Athletic.

Manchester City Announce Global Partnership With Masdar

Premier League Champions Manchester City today announced a new global partnership with Masdar, which will see the renewable energy and sustainable development company become an Official Partner of the Club.

Masdar, a global leader in renewable energy, clean technologies and sustainable development, is focused on the development of renewable energy projects across the Middle East and North Africa, and wider international markets, with a presence in almost 40 countries worldwide.

As part of the new agreement, Manchester City and Masdar will collaborate on a range of partnership activations, including the launch of a new global campaign, aimed at raising awareness on the importance of climate action and mitigating climate change.

The campaign will coincide with the Masdar hosted, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), the leading platform for accelerating sustainable development, scheduled to take place from 15 – 19 January 2022.

Stephan Cieplik, Senior Vice President of Global Partnership Sales, said: “At Manchester City, we have a commitment to grow sustainably and responsibly, whilst recognising that the Club has the ability to use its voice to encourage the communities we connect with to do more.

Manchester City announce global partnership with Masdar

“In recent years we have made significant progress within this area.  We also know that a sustainable future can only be achieved by working together collaboratively with partners and fans and we’re delighted to welcome Masdar as an Official Partner today to join us on this journey.”

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time, which affects us all. By working together to raise awareness, educate and take action, we can turn this global challenge into an opportunity.

“Manchester City Football Club is one of the biggest names in world football and Masdar is now one of the biggest players in clean energy, by working together across different activities and initiatives, we can play our part in delivering a sustainable future.”

Masdar is set to become a global clean energy powerhouse with the aim of expanding its project portfolio to over 50GW total capacity by 2030.

Manchester United Announce Richard Arnold As New CEO

Manchester United has announced that Richard Arnold, formerly Group Managing Director, will become Chief Executive Officer of the Club, effective from 1st February 2022.

Ed Woodward will step down from his role as Executive Vice-Chairman, also effective from 1st February 2022.

Richard Arnold said: “I am honoured to have the chance to serve this great club and its fans. I am determined to return that honour in any way I can.”

Joel Glazer, Executive Co-Chairman, said: “I would like to thank Ed for his tireless work on behalf of Manchester United during his nine years as Executive Vice-Chairman and 16 years with the club. 

“We are now looking forward to Richard and his leadership team opening a new phase in the club’s evolution, with ambitious plans for investment in Old Trafford, the strengthening of our engagement with fans, and continued drive towards our most important objective – winning on the pitch.”

This past summer saw the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the club and, while performances on the pitch have not lived up to the club’s lofty standards in recent years the club is still a huge marketing force and the re-addition of CR7 will only continue that.

This season has seen the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjær as manager and the appointment of Ralf Rangnick until the end of the current Premier League season, however early performances have been mixed since the German’s arrival and there is reportedly unrest from a number of players.

David Blitzer & Smith Entertainment Group To Purchase Real Salt Lake

Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of Real Salt Lake and the club’s associated properties to David Blitzer and Ryan Smith’s Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced today. Blitzer will serve as Governor for Real Salt Lake with SEG appointed to the alternate Governor role. This transaction includes Rio Tinto Stadium, Zions Bank Training Center, and RSL Academy in Herriman, Utah. 

Blitzer adds Real Salt Lake as a central piece of an ever-expanding sports and entertainment portfolio, which includes teams in the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, the English Premier League, and the German Bundesliga. His holdings also include leading sports and entertainment assets such as the Prudential Center and several other sports entities worldwide.

SEG, the investment entity led by Ryan Smith, adds Real Salt Lake to a portfolio that also includes the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz and associated team properties. SEG is focused on sports, technology and entertainment investment opportunities impacting Utah, and Real Salt Lake is an integral piece of the community that has tremendous alignment with the Utah Jazz.

“The combination of David Blitzer and Ryan Smith’s SEG form a dream partnership for Real Salt Lake,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “David and Ryan’s teams have become synonymous with how athletics and community intersect, as they have demonstrated leading world-class organizations outside of professional soccer. Both understand the tremendous value that sports teams bring to a community, and they are deeply committed to Utah. This is a proven ownership group that brings resources and experience to elevate every aspect of the RSL organization.”  

Blitzer and SEG become the third ownership group in club history, acquiring teams and related properties from Dell Loy Hansen (2013-21), after the club was founded and owned by Dave Checketts (2004-13). The acquisition by Blitzer and Smith includes Real Salt Lake (MLS), Real Monarchs (MLS NEXT Pro), Rio Tinto Stadium and all related soccer assets in both Sandy and Herriman, including the Zions Bank Training Center and Zions Bank Stadium. Blitzer and Smith also obtain ownership of the RSL Academy and its local and regional youth affiliates.

“My family and I are thrilled to partner with Ryan Smith and his SEG team on the acquisition of Real Salt Lake,” David Blitzer said. “Ryan’s track record with Qualtrics as a technology innovator and leader in the state of Utah made his SEG group the ideal partner. Together, we look forward to leveraging our experiences to take Real Salt Lake to even greater heights.

“Real Salt Lake is a world-class club with an amazing fanbase, strong infrastructure and a longstanding commitment to the Utah community. We will work to build upon the legacy and tradition of Real Salt Lake by investing not only in the team and its facilities, but also in the communities our team serves. We have the opportunity to use Real Salt Lake’s unique platform to drive positive change on the pitch, in the local community and across Utah. We are excited and honored to be a part of what the future holds.” 

“My wife Ashley and I are 100% committed to the State of Utah. As my partners and I looked to expand SEG, it was clear that Real Salt Lake is an amazing asset for Utah, exemplifies the way we want to invest and be involved here, and David Blitzer is the perfect partner,” said Ryan Smith.  “David has world-class soccer experience, is a person of integrity, and has a strong commitment to elevate the organizations and communities he is invested in. There is an incredible soccer community here in Utah from youth and outreach programs to the passionate RSL supporters and fans. We look forward to continuing to work with the region and state to do big things with professional sports.” 

In addition to Blitzer and SEG, Arctos Sports Partners, the first institutional investor focused exclusively on taking minority stakes in professional sports franchises and leagues, joins the Real Salt Lake ownership group as a limited partner. To date, Arctos has made more than 20 investments across the big 5 North American Leagues and European Soccer leagues since its founding in 2019. 

Following the MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas on Jan. 11, Real Salt Lake players report to preseason training Jan. 16 at the Zions Bank Training Center. The club returns to regular season action on Feb. 27 to kick off the 2022 campaign at Houston Dynamo FC. The following weekend, on Saturday, Mar. 5, the Claret-and-Cobalt return to Rio Tinto Stadium to host Seattle Sounders FC for the home opener. In 2021, Real Salt Lake had a 9-4-4 home record, set a new club mark for most consecutive home wins (seven), and advanced to the Western Conference Final.

TikTok Partners With Confederation Of African Football

TikTok and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership that will bring unmissable football content to fans, both on the continent and across the globe.

It marks TikTok’s first major brand partnership in Africa and supports the continent’s most popular sport – football. Through this year-long sponsorship, TikTok will be supporting the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Africa’s biggest sporting event, kicking off in January 2022 in Cameroon. TikTok will also be a part of the action for the the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2022 and the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 in Morocco.

The collaboration between TikTok and CAF will allow fans to celebrate the tournaments’ unforgettable moments together. With everything from pre & post match content and highlights, to football-related challenges and even the chance to engage with their favourite African stars, TikTok continues to be home for the spirit and passion of these iconic sporting events.

Creating a virtual stadium #WhereAllFansPlay TikTok will be offering our community new ways to create and engage with African football, through  in-app effects, a special hub for tournaments as well as unique features and filters for the football community to enjoy.

It comes as TikTok cements its position as the perfect platform for football fandom and culture across both men’s and women’s games, with the #football and #Soccer hashtags racking up an incredible 273.1B and 108.6B to-date, respectively.

TikTok’s vertical screen, sound-on format mirrors the action and excitement of a stadium, but also create new perspectives of the beautiful game, from never-before-seen content, to professional athletes giving us a window into their world.

The fast growth of sporting talent, fan communities, creative sports trends and commentary on the platform led to TikTok becoming the first digital entertainment platform to sponsor a major international tournament for UEFA with EURO 2020. As part of the sponsorship, UEFA launched an official TikTok account which attracted over 2 million views in less than 2 weeks. Its success shows how the TikTok community embraced the blend of archive, exclusive behind-the-scenes and live content.

With over 1.6 million followers on TikTok, the official CAF TikTok account has also fast become Africa’s footballing go-to fandom and with tournaments such as AFCON making a return on the continent, we can expect to see continued growth and love for the sport on the platform.

CAF General Secretary, Mr Veron Mosengo-Omba said:

“We are truly delighted to have TikTok come on board as an official sponsor. Football content in Africa is in high demand and together with TikTok we are able to create and encourage the online community to engage in and create the type of content that will take both brands to new markets.

“We look forward to working with TikTok in creating true African football experiences for fans around the world, virtually.

“To us, this is not  just about being a football federation but about continuing to be the single-biggest football entertainment producers in Africa, giving fans everywhere, world-class football experiences throughout the year.”

Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok Content Operations Manager for Africa, said:

“Fans on the African continent have not been able to come together to enjoy the beautiful game of football due to COVID-19 regulations. For us, this is also an opportunity to bring African football fans around the world together again, online, starting with the much anticipated TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.

“As a proudly multicultural continent, Africa is beaming with creativity and talent.  We see a lot of potential to harness and cultivate creative football expression on our platform. We certainly look forward to inspiring fans to celebrate and participate in content unique to TikTok, in the most African way possible, providing great entertainment for the community.”

Harley Johnson, Sports Marketing Lead, EMEA TikTok said:

“2021 was a monumental year for sport on TikTok, from our partnership with UEFA EURO 2020 which cemented TikTok as the home of football fandom, to the way the community got to experience what goes on behind the scenes at the Olympic park.

“Fans, teams, players and sports communities around the world come together on TikTok to share their passion, to be entertained, create their own sporting memories and have fun whilst doing it.

“We are thrilled to kick off 2022 by partnering with CAF as an official sponsor of the women and men’s TotalEnergies African Cup of Nations, as we celebrate the culture of African football and continue to unite a global community of sports fans on TikTok.”

The International Tennis Federation Promotes Kelly Fairweather To Chief Executive Officer

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) today confirmed the promotion of Kelly Fairweather to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 1 January 2022. Fairweather was formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO). His appointment was first announced at the ITF 2021 Annual General Meeting which took place in Madrid on 3-4 December 2021.

A key element of ITF2024 strategy, the driving force behind the ITF’s progress and modernisation since Dave Haggerty was elected president in 2015, has been a focus on good governance. Under Haggerty’s leadership, the ITF Board approved a proposal from the Governance Taskforce to separate the President and CEO roles, historically held by a single person, to ensure an even greater balance of powers and accountability in leadership.

“We continue to work together to fulfil our mission to deliver a global sport which is sustainable and safe for all, both now and for future generations.” – Dave Haggerty

Kelly Fairweather, an experienced executive, former Sports Director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and CEO of International Hockey Federation (IHF) joined the ITF as COO in January 2017. Fairweather’s main remit from the outset has been to drive growth of the sport through the delivery of the 8 pillars of ITF2024. Fairweather will lead ITF Senior Leadership and its Directors responsible for the 5 key divisions that comprise the ITF organisation, notably, Presidential; Integrity & Legal; Major Events & Sports Strategy; Tours & Pathway; Finance, IT & People. 

“The ITF is undergoing transformation in key areas. We are in a position to explore new avenues for growth and ways of interacting with our sport.” – Kelly Fairweather

ITF President, Dave Haggerty said, “We have made great strides in making the ITF as open and transparent as possible. We have introduced robust good governance procedures in our commitment to Integrity, a key pillar of ITF2024. Kelly leads a very talented team at the ITF. Together with the ITF Board and in collaboration with our regional affiliates and national members, we continue to work together to fulfil our mission to deliver a global sport which is sustainable and safe for all, both now and for future generations. This mission is at the heart of everything we do as an organisation.” 

Kelly Fairweather, ITF CEO added, “The ITF is undergoing transformation in key areas. We are in a position to explore new avenues for growth and ways of interacting with our sport. Our global tennis data informs our strategy for the development of our sport, our business and our fanbase. These are challenging and exciting times, so we need to be bold. We have set ourselves the ambitious goal to report 120 million players on this planet by 2030.” 

Umbro And CAF Enter Into Multi-Year Partnership

Building African Football: Umbro South Africa has entered into a multi-year exclusive partnership agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The comprehensive partnership will see the iconic sports brand become the exclusive technical sponsor for CAF organized tournaments and events. The partnership will commence in January 2022, where Umbro will kit all referees, volunteers, and associated personnel for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021; in addition to supplying the tournament’s official ball.

Named after host country Cameroon’s traditional outfits, the official ‘Toghu’ match ball features vibrantly coloured panels inspired by the finely embroidered designs of the cultural garments. Fans will be able to purchase the official replica ball as part of a limited-edition collectible range created for the tournament, which will be available online through Umbro South Africa, CAF Online and Geronimo Africa.

“This is a proud moment for Umbro in Africa and demonstrates our commitment to the development of football on the continent at all levels, from amateur grassroots to the grandstands of the professional game. The intentions of our team are clear; we are here to work and support African football for the long-term,” said Byron Mulholland, Director at Umbro South Africa.

“For a very long time, we have contributed to the building of African football, and we are excited to continue this work in association with the continent’s organizing body, CAF. We are honoured to have the double diamond featured on Africa’s greatest football stage once again and look forward to replicating this at all CAF events, including the upcoming Pan-Africa Schools Football Championship.”

CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba said: “Umbro has been an intrinsic part of African football for a long period, and we are pleased to finally formalise this relationship and ensure that we take this to another level. This CAF, ably led by President Patrice Motsepe, is building a strong rapport with the commercial world and Umbro’s partnership further demonstrates this. With ‘Toghu’ now an official match ball, we hope that this ball can create many lasting memories after the final whistle of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.” 

In addition to technical sponsorship and the provision of official uniforms for tournament personnel, the partnership will be focused and driven by a strong emphasis on increasing the visibility and commercial aspects of African football. As such, amongst other planned initiatives, CAF and Umbro will introduce a landmark football news aggregation app, powered by Geronimo for teams and their fans across Africa.

“The credible and holistic support of African football underscores every element of this partnership”, added Kirby Stein, Umbro South Africa’s Team Liaison Manager. “Our goal is to continue to support federations and teams across the African continent and together with CAF, we’ve planned some exciting commercial initiatives for our partnered teams to further enable their digital and commercial strategies.”