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.
“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 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.
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 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.”
“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 (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.”
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.”
Award-Winning Industry Leaders in Sports Gamification Further Strengthens Senior Leadership Team with Appointment of Ben Barker; Barker will focus on developing the company’s revenue streams
Low6, the award-winning leaders in sports gamification, has announced the appointment of Ben Barker as Chief Revenue Officer. Barker, a global sports industry specialist with over 20 years’ experience working worldwide, joins Low6 from his most recent role as Chief Commercial Officer at Monterosa, where he worked with broadcasters, brands and sports rights-holders to activate mobile audiences. Barker starts at Low6 with immediate effect and will be responsible for developing commercial and revenue strategies to drive the expansion of the company in North America, whilst also looking to develop the company’s existing partnerships.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ben to Low6 as Chief Revenue Officer,” commented Jamie Mitchell, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Low6. “Ben has an outstanding resumé as a leader in global sports, with experience in multiple aspects of the industry, including broadcast, working with rights holders and brands, and in digital. Ben will add significant value to our leadership team as we continue to grow, and we look forward to seeing Ben play a major role in our growth plans for 2022 and beyond.”
Ben Barker, Chief Revenue officer, Low 6: “Low6 has made its mark as one of the hottest start-ups in sports gaming under Jamie’s leadership. I am excited to join the team to drive forward the commercial strategy aligning our partners, customers and fans to inspire sports gaming through innovation and creative solutions.”
A graduate of the University of Northumbria with a BA in Marketing / Marketing Management, Barker’s career includes 15 years at WPP Group companies and most recently 6 years with Monterosa Ltd working with IMG Arena, EA Sports, ViacomCBS, the Jockey Club, Formula 1 and Liverpool FC.
Peter Hutton, Head of Sport at Meta, has shared some of his thoughts looking back on 2021 and some notable themes and points to pay attention to.
The middle of the daily battle is no time to judge progress, so a bit of time was a great opportunity to breathe, relax and look back at how the year has panned out and what has worked. I do so with a great deal of pride, not just in the work we’ve done at Meta, but also about how friends across the sports industry bounced back from the challenges of 2020.
Such a turnaround required remarkable creativity, and we were fortunate to have a front row seat to much of it in 2021. In no particular order, here are some of the themes of the year that have stood out to me:
“Easier shopping experiences on Facebook and Instagram are driving important revenue to sports athletes and organisations all over the world. For example, Tom Brady drove a 10x+ increase in sales for his TB12-branded merchandise through Instagram Checkout after his Super Bowl win in February.”
Social media now plays a meaningful role in the sports economy
We’re not just helping sports brands find and grow new audiences on our apps, we’re also helping them raise meaningful revenue at a time when old business practices seem challenged.
For example:
In-stream ads, which are video and image advertisements that play before, during and after select video content on Facebook, have emerged as a meaningful income driver for a wide range of sports organizations. Both UFC and WWE have earned seven figures in dollars in net in-stream ad revenue on Facebook this year, while digital publishers such as Ballislife and FloSports have made six figures.
Branded content on Facebook and Instagram is now an integral part of the sports sponsorship business. It’s a tool that’s relevant for all organizations, but has gained serious traction amongst athletes this year (especially U.S. college athletes due to the new name, image and likeness (NIL) movement).
Easier shopping experiences on Facebook and Instagram are driving important revenue to sports athletes and organisations all over the world. For example, Tom Brady drove a 10x+ increase in sales for his TB12-branded merchandise through Instagram Checkout after his Super Bowl win in February. Other organizations to use our shopping tools this year include Liverpool, WWE, the NBA and the NFL – showing just how versatile the products are.
Paid Online Events (POE) is our version of pay-per-view; it enables rights holders to charge a fee to watch their live broadcasts on Facebook. And it can work for just about any sports content creator. Big name athletes? Yes, Anthony Joshua broadcast his fight with Oleksandr Usyk live on his Facebook Page in the Middle East and North Africa, using POE to sell it in markets where the bout wasn’t available on television. Premier League clubs? Yes, Wolves broadcast six preseason matches live on Facebook and sold more than 3.7K POE tickets, which accounted for 43% as many tickets as it sold to watch matches on its own channel. Leagues? Yes again, as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is broadcasting select games in the U.S. this season on Facebook via the POE tool, enabling it to reach new audiences in America and open up a new revenue stream. What about emerging sports? Yes again, as Giants Live, which hosts and broadcasts strongman events, started simulcasting its live arena shows on Facebook this year and sold more than 17K tickets over the course of its six POE.
Fan Subscriptions on Facebook also continue to be a game-changer for some organisations. For example, FC Rapid, a professional football club in Bucharest, Romania, uses the tool to charge people a recurring monthly fee in exchange for exclusive content and interactive experiences such as weekly player podcasts, live look-ins at training sessions, post-match interviews and live broadcasts of friendly matches. The club also creates off-line experiences for subscribers, such as sending select fans exclusive, customized jerseys. To date, it has sold more than 750 subscriptions and expects to grow that number as it reinvests its subscription revenue into its social media content development.
Stars enable creators to earn money for every star they receive from viewers during their live streams on Facebook. Adriana Meaury, a fitness trainer in Colombia, has built a lucrative business using our apps, with her income from Stars helping her invest in exercise equipment when she pivoted her business from in-person training to digital fitness during the pandemic.
We like to think of our video monetization products as tools that organizations can choose from to match the job they’re trying to do. Hopefully the examples above demonstrate that the toolbox we offer the industry is becoming more useful than ever.
As for other themes…
The Olympics were a defining moment of 2021:
The IOC pulling off the Games in the midst of a global pandemic was no small feat, and while it was disappointing that fans weren’t able to be at most events, I’m proud our technologies played a small role in helping people feel closer to the event. Through Quest 2 headsets, people in Europe and the U.S. were able to watch some of Eurosport and NBC’s live coverage in VR, while product experiences on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp helped amplify fandom and ignite conversation. For me, though, the biggest story was the athletes behaving as publishers, using our apps to take fans behind-the-scenes in Tokyo. Some of the athlete numbers coming out of the Games were staggering. Athletes gained more than 75 million followers and drove more than 410 million interactions on Instagram over the course of the Games. Brazilian skateboarding phenom Rayssa Leal added 5.8 million followers herself (an amazing 667% increase)! Athletes also posted more than 300,000 Stories. Credit to the IOC for being willing to experiment, including a WhatsApp bot to send information on results and events to fans across the world.
“If the Olympics proved anything, it’s that athletes are without a doubt also able to be defined as ‘creators’ who have tremendous influence (and earning potential) on social media.”
Athletes are creators:
If the Olympics proved anything, it’s that athletes are without a doubt also able to be defined as ‘creators’ who have tremendous influence (and earning potential) on social media. For example, Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee gained more than a million followers on Instagram during the Games. She has since capitalized on that following at Auburn University under college sports’ new NIL rules, landing a number of branded content partnerships. This phenomenon is not limited to Olympians, of course; athletes from across the world are using our tools to build their personal brands, drive tune-in to their events, sell their merchandise, raise money for the causes they care about most and advocate for positive social change.
Athletes can’t realize their full potential on social media unless they also feel safe:
Athlete safety and well-being is a big part of what we do behind the scenes and is often the first topic we cover when meeting with athletes. We’ve introduced a number of new tools and policies to help protect athletes from hate speech and abuse this year and remain resolute in our commitment to this incredibly important work as we head into 2022. Notably, our new Instagram feature ‘Hidden Words’ enables athletes to automatically filter DM requests containing offensive words, phrases and emojis, so they never have to see them. This is a small positive step forward, but our work here is never done as we continue to take strides in a long journey to protect athletes from abusive comments.
Looking Ahead to 2022
Peter talking at our Global Forum, Level The Playing Field, held by iSportConnect and the ITF last year.
But what’s an end-of-the-year post without a look ahead at what’s to come in 2022? While we’re still in the early days of charting our sports path for the metaverse, we’re excited about the possibilities. After all, whether you’re watching or playing, sports are at their very best when they’re experienced together. We know that sports fans and athletes can’t always be together in person, so the metaverse can fill the void for those times when we’re separated from the people, teams, stadiums or gyms we love. We’re seeing a bit of this already, especially with VR content experiences such as NBA or One Championship broadcasts, or sports-related VR games and fitness services.
While gaming and fitness have established popular applications in VR, live event innovation is really just getting started as we travel towards an immersive internet experience where you’ll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create and more. The best way to prepare for the metaverse of tomorrow is by experimenting today. Put on a Quest 2 headset and try out Meta’s virtual meeting space, Horizon Workrooms, or play a game of Beat Saber. Use the virtual try-on feature in an Instagram shop or use AR to see how a new car looks on your driveway.
“A fan’s emotional involvement will become increasingly central to content creation. Watch out for increased gamification, digital identities/avatars, and fantasy leagues.”
As for other trends to watch out for, the fan as creator is becoming even more central to the growth of the sports brand. A fan’s emotional involvement will become increasingly central to content creation. Watch out for increased gamification, digital identities/avatars, and fantasy leagues (which are also now growing on Facebook). They all add up to a feeling that you’re present and ‘in the sport,’ not just ‘watching the sport.’
And of course 2022 will bring a number of major sports moments that will showcase these emerging technologies and fan behaviors – not just a World Cup and Winter Olympics, but also a number of high-profile women’s events, highlighted by the Euros in England next summer. We’re especially excited for those moments, as we believe our platforms can help accelerate the much important work of increasing the exposure and fandom around women’s sports.
The ability of sports content to drive purchasing decisions and new behaviour choices remains at the heart of the industry’s unique proposition. While so much technological change is happening around us, it’s easy to see the changing economic model as a threat. However, if sports lean into change, grow and retain their communities and build for the long-term, then I remain an optimist for the industry and the unique experiences that sport brings.
Shot-by-shot data and live streaming from every LPGA Tour competition to bolster IMG ARENA’s Golf Event Centre
IMG ARENA, a leading sports betting service and content hub, has secured the official sports betting data and live streaming distribution rights to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, one of the longest-running women’s professional sports associations in the world.
The partnership will mark a step change in the presentation of data-led content from the LPGA Tour. The global tour comprises more than 30 tournaments each year, with flagship events across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including five major championships.
Available from early 2022, a comprehensive range of real-time, shot-by-shot data and markets will be delivered via IMG ARENA’s pioneering Golf Event Centre, as well as live streaming and interactive course visualisations from the Tour. Initial partners will include bet365, BoyleSports and Tipsport.
Max Wright, SVP Commercial, IMG ARENA, said: “We are delighted to partner with the LPGA and boost the Golf Event Centre with another elite sports competition. Bringing women’s golf to the Event Centre has long been an ambition of IMG ARENA. The LPGA Tour features some of the most talented athletes in the world and weekly tournaments of the finest quality, which will deliver a vast and compelling range of data-led sports betting content for operators and their players.”
Brian Carroll, SVP Global Media Distribution, LPGA, said: “IMG ARENA is the undoubted leader in producing golf sports betting content, through its game-changing Event Centre. With the full LPGA Tour covered, this is a significant commercial partnership that helps grow the game with thrilling content reaching new audiences and driving fan engagement around the world.”
Headquartered in London, IMG ARENA works with more than 470 leading sportsbook brands worldwide to deliver live streaming video and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually, as well as for on-demand virtual sports products including the UFC Event Centre. IMG ARENA’s clients include the ATP, UFC, European Tour, PGA Tour, EuroLeague, MLS and the FA.
Fanatics, a leading global digital sports platform, has completed the acquisition of Topps trading cards, the preeminent licensed trading card brand that has serviced collectors, fans, and retailers for more than 70 years. The acquisition of Topps’ sports & entertainment division includes all parts of its iconic worldwide trading cards and collectibles business – both the physical and digital divisions – which sells in more than 100 countries and has physical operations in 10 countries, including the UK, Germany, Brazil, Italy and Japan.
Fanatics Trading Cards was launched in 2021 after the company secured exclusive, long-term trading cards rights from several of the leading professional sports leagues and players associations, including Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).
The addition of Topps, which also has rights with Major League Soccer, Formula 1, UEFA and Bundesliga, significantly accelerates the buildout of the Fanatics Trading Cards business, as the company adds world-class expertise, infrastructure, an iconic brand and a broad range of capabilities from the industry leader. The deal jumpstarts Fanatics Trading Cards’ MLB and MLBPA rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards, which begins immediately versus the original combined start date of 2026.
“With trading cards and collectibles being a significant pillar of our long-term plans to become the leading digital sports platform, we are excited to add a leading trading cards company to build out our business,” said Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. “Their iconic brand, commitment to product excellence and passionate employees worldwide will allow us to immediately serve our league and players’ association partners and our fans.”
To ensure seamless ongoing operations, all of the approximately 350 global Topps sports & entertainment employees will become part of Fanatics Trading Cards. Current Topps Global VP, GM, David Leiner, and VP, GM Topps Digital, Tobin Lent, will continue to run Topps within Fanatics Trading Cards, a separate subsidiary of Fanatics. Both executives will report directly to Doug Mack, Fanatics Inc. Vice Chairman and Fanatics Commerce CEO.
“The strong emotional connection between Topps collectibles and consumers of all ages – built through 70 years of tradition, starting with the Shorin family – will make it a jewel in the Fanatics portfolio,” said Michael Eisner, owner of the Tornante Company. “Michael Rubin is the perfect entrepreneur to lead this company forward. Like any crown jewel, I and my partners at Madison Dearborn will miss our many years of ownership where we grew a highly profitable business through strategic licensing partnerships, global expansion, and digital transformation. We’re proud of what the Topps team has accomplished, and we look forward to seeing what Michael and his team do to continue growing the Topps collectible business while staying true to its iconic history and relevance to consumers.”
The combined vision and distinct strengths of both Fanatics and Topps will improve the collector experience, while maintaining vital parts of the hobby. Fanatics’ data-driven, direct-to-consumer expertise, which includes a database of more than 80 million sports fans globally, will enhance and expand Topps’ existing digital capabilities and grow the market opportunity for all participants. Additionally, Topps’ world-class quality, product development and manufacturing capabilities, along with their commitment to collectors and hobby shops, will ensure products are more readily accessible, positively impacting current and future collectors and partners.
