The National Women’s Soccer League and Nike have signed a historic, long-term agreement that extends a partnership that began with the league’s formation nearly a decade ago.
“Since the beginning, Nike and the NWSL together have driven significant growth of this great game for all, in the U.S. and around the world, and we couldn’t be more excited to extend this foundational partnership well into our second decade of play,” said Marla Messing, NWSL interim CEO. “With this agreement, Nike is showing the world again what it means to support athletes, helping to grow the opportunities available for them to compete, and supporting the NWSL and its athletes in its effort to remain the premier destination for the world’s most elite players.”
The most substantial agreement in NWSL history, the partnership extension represents Nike’s significant committment to the sport, the NWSL and its players and clubs. Specific focus will be placed on elevating performance through research in footwear and apparel innovation, and growing engagement by highlighting athletes both on and off the field.
“Nike continues to champion long-term change in women’s sports,” said Becca Kerr, Nike VP and GM of North America Women’s. “Our ongoing partnership with NWSL and our continued investments in soccer through partnership and grassroots efforts are catalyzing action and progress to help drive that change.”
The NWSL has signed four new national partners in 2021 and currently counts eight of the most successful and innovative global brands among its sponsors. Nike’s renewal is an important milestone for the NWSL, and as it looks toward its 10th anniversary season, signals the league’s continued strength in the business of professional sports.
Huddle, the next generation iGaming technology provider, has signed terms to become an ongoing technology partner with the Sporting Group, one of the world’s leading betting and gaming operators, as it expands its B2B offerings in North America.
The partnership will see the disruptive AI and data-driven business work on a series of projects to further automate and drive more efficiencies and revenues across some of the Sporting Group’s main betting products and markets, with an emphasis on the US and Canada.
Huddle and its growing team of software engineering experts will focus on several of the Sporting Group’s US sports products and services as the operator expands its global reach into regulated and newly regulated states and provinces in 2022 and beyond.
Huddle represents one of the most forward-thinking and progressive companies in the rapidly changing betting and gaming industry, building advanced, proprietary technology solutions designed to unlock the true potential of data and create a wide range of automated products for iGaming operators.
Launched in late 2020, Huddle raised $3 million in venture capital seed funding. The business is building a series of automated products leveraging a microservices model – developing and deploying components, the first of which are trading, odds feeds and risk technology.
Huddle’s software is powered by proprietary algorithms and based on reactive architecture to help operators to reduce their operational cost across multiple jurisdictions, manage and optimise risk and thereby increase the profitability of their operations.
Sporting Group, part of Groupe FDJ, is one of the world’s leading names in sports betting technology and trading, with two principal divisions – a B2C operation, the pre-eminent sports spread betting company, and a rapidly growing B2B operation which supplies real-time pricing and sports trading capabilities to sportsbooks around the globe.
Francesco Borgosano, CEO and Co-founder, Huddle, said: “This is our first major technology partnership, with many to come in the weeks and months ahead. We’re thrilled to be working with such an incredible brand that has led the way in the betting industry for so many years and continues to grow and expand under Andy’s leadership.
“North America is a huge focus for the sector, with more states and provinces coming online every month. We have some of the brightest minds in advanced AI and data-driven technology combined with many years’ experience within some of the biggest betting brands and suppliers. Together, we are developing intelligence-based automated products that we believe will unlock the true potential for both brands and providers and we can’t wait to get under way with the Sporting Group.”
Andy Wright, CEO, Sporting Group, said: “The Huddle team are some of the sharpest and most progressive brains in betting technology and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with them as we continue to expand our sophisticated Trading and Risk Management services into the global sports betting market.
“I’m confident they will add significant value to us, as Sporting Solutions continues to move into new territories focussing on new products and innovation. I look forward to seeing some great things happen next year.”
Genius Sports Limited today announced a new agreement with FanDuel Group to provide a range of official NFL data, content, media products and trading services.
In April 2021, FanDuel was selected as one of the NFL’s official sports betting partners. In the same period, Genius Sports became the league’s exclusive live streaming partner and distributor of real-time official play-by-play statistics, providing sportsbook partners including FanDuel with access to the NFL’s proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) data, and official sports betting data feed.
FanDuel, America’s #1 sportsbook and the largest mobile betting operator in the U.S., will implement Genius Sports’ NFL offering. Genius Sports represents the NFL’s legalized sports betting advertising inventory across the league’s owned and operated digital platforms. These assets alongside the NFL’s official data feeds, will create value for FanDuel across the full player lifecycle from player acquisition to pre-match and in-game betting, through to long-term customer retention.
Alongside NFL content exclusive to Genius Sports, FanDuel will also have access to Genius Sports’ official data-powered in-play content and live trading solutions across multiple sports and thousands of live events. Genius Sports has exclusive official data partnerships with NASCAR, the English Premier League, LigaMX, Argentinian and Colombian soccer and hundreds of other leagues and federations worldwide.
“We are delighted to partner with FanDuel to help them create the most compelling and contextual sports betting experience possible,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “With official data at its heart, this partnership enables FanDuel to better engage and monetize its customer base at every step of their journey. We couldn’t be more proud to be expanding our relationship with a clear giant of US sports betting in a way that entirely validates our long-held strategic vision.”
“We are always looking for ways to improve our product and the data opportunities gained via this agreement help FanDuel achieve that objective,” said Niall Connell, General Manager of FanDuel Group. “The new suite of offerings including official NFL data will enable us to better serve our customers and enhance America’s #1 Sportsbook.”
BMW, the PGA TOUR and the Western Golf Association announced today a five-year extension for BMW to remain the title sponsor of the TOUR’s second FedExCup Playoffs event through 2027. Also announced today was the return of the BMW Championship to the Chicago area in 2023 at Olympia Fields Country Club, which also hosted the event in 2020 with Jon Rahm outdueling Dustin Johnson in a sudden-death playoff.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks to BMW for their continued support of the PGA TOUR and the Western Golf Association through 2027,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The BMW Championship played an incredibly impactful role in launching the FedExCup in 2007 and BMW’s commitment to presenting a best-in-class event each year continues to elevate the FedExCup Playoffs. We are also very appreciative of BMW’s dedication to fulfilling the mission of the Evans Scholars Foundation, having impacted thousands of lives over the last 15 years.”
BMW joined the PGA TOUR family in 2007 as title sponsor of the BMW Championship at the inception of the FedExCup. Since that time, the BMW Championship has won the PGA TOUR’s Tournament of the Year award four times (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014). The 2022 event will take place August 15-21, at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware.
“For the past 15 years, we have worked with our partners at the PGA TOUR and the Western Golf Association to host the top 70 players in the world at what has become one of the best, and most exciting events on the golf calendar,” said Sebastian Mackensen, president and CEO, BMW of North America. “The BMW Championship is not only a great way to showcase our brand and engage customers, but also a wonderful opportunity to raise money for the Evans Scholars Foundation and help so many young students to follow their dreams.”
Each year, proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides full tuition and housing scholarships for hard-working young caddies. Over the past 15 years, the BMW Championship has raised more than $40 million on behalf of the Evans Scholars Foundation and has helped send more than 3,000 students to college. This academic year, a record 1,070 caddies are attending 21 major colleges and universities on Evans Scholarships.
“Since 2007, BMW has been our valued partner and a steadfast supporter of both our championships and the Evans Scholars Foundation,” said John Kaczkowski, WGA president and CEO. “As title sponsor, BMW has fully embraced our mission, helping us transform the Evans Scholars Foundation into a truly national program. We’re excited and grateful for the opportunity to continue working together to change the lives of youth caddies nationwide.”
The more than 100,000 guests who attend the BMW Championship each year have the opportunity to engage with the brand in numerous ways including vehicle displays and other interactive experiences. BMW owners also enjoy the benefits of complimentary, preferred parking, and have access to an exclusive hospitality pavilion where they are invited to relax and enjoy premium concessions, and unparalleled golf viewing.
By extending its role as the title sponsor of the BMW Championship, BMW also strengthens its worldwide commitment to the sport of golf. In addition to the BMW Championship, the automaker has had a longstanding partnership with the Ryder Cup, through the European team, dating back to 2006. BMW also remains the title sponsor for two prestigious DP World Tour events: the BMW PGA Championship in England; and the BMW International Open, contested each June in Germany, which has been a staple on the Tour for three decades. Additionally, the BMW Ladies Championship in Busan, South Korea, recently made its debut on the LPGA Tour. Since 2002, BMW has sponsored the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina.
Formerly known as the Western Open, the BMW Championship is the longest-standing non-major championship on the PGA TOUR, dating back to 1899. The event boasts one of golf’s strongest lists of past champions, including all seven players with 50 or more career wins on the PGA TOUR: Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and Billy Casper. Recent winners include World No. 1 Rahm, as well as FedExCup champions Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Cantlay.
The Orlando Magic is announcing a new partnership with the free rewards app, Drop. To celebrate, Magic fans can get $15 worth of Drop Points when they register using the invite code: “magicfriday” and link a debit or credit card before Friday, November 26, 2021. The Magic are the first sports team to partner with Drop.
The partnership will include several surprises for fans throughout the season, including in-game parachute “drops” of fun rewards; VIP fan experiences; a STUFF the Magic Mascot birthday party on Feb. 25 and many more rewarding surprises. To take advantage, fans are encouraged to download the free Drop app to stay in the know of all of this and more.
“The Orlando Magic are thrilled to work with Drop and proud to be their first sports partnership, helping them engage and welcome fans into their innovative rewards shopping experience,” said Magic Vice President of Global Partnerships, J.T. McWalters. “We look forward to surprising fans as the season goes along with special rewards and experiences. We encourage fans to get the Drop app now so they can maximize this great opportunity before Black Friday.”
Drop allows users to collect points for shopping at their favorite brands; users can then redeem points for gift cards. The popular app is used by millions of Americans and has become increasingly popular among Floridians. Drop uses intelligent programming to offer a highly personalized rewards experience based on what each user likes and where they already shop, eliminating the hurdles of scanning receipts, entering promo codes, or signing up for multiple loyalty programs.
“At Drop, we are constantly looking to provide our users with personalized and exciting reward experiences” said Derrick Fung, CEO of Drop. “We are thrilled to partner with the Orlando Magic to extend that personalized reward experience to Orlando Magic fans and make this season the most rewarding one yet!”
World Table Tennis (WTT) today announced the first-ever officially licensed table tennis Non-Fungible Token (NFT) to go on sale to celebrate the opening of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston, Texas.
This is the first time America is hosting the World Table Tennis Championships. Entitled ‘First Ball!’, the exclusive NFT is a digital artwork celebrating both this historical moment and table tennis.
The video clip showcases a table tennis ball ornated with the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals logo and the USA flag’s colours in the background.
This unique table tennis NFT is up for auction on OpenSea, the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and NFTs. Bidding will be open for the duration of the World Championships, until 23:59 (CST, UTC−06:00) on Monday 29 November.
The reserve price has been set to WETH 0.2021, in honour of the 2021 World Championships. WETH (Wrapped ETH) is used to buy and sell with auctions on OpenSea. It is worth exactly the same amount as ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, a decentralized and open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality.
From 23-29 November, the world’s best players will face each other with a revamped and expanded straight knockout format. Fans should be on the lookout not only for the incredible table tennis actions but also for the exclusive NFTs which will be announced by WTT throughout the competition.
This year’s championships are of even greater significance for the Table Tennis community when the 2020 event in Busan, Korea, was cancelled due to COVID-19.
As the commercial and events arm of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), WTT aims to transform how the sport is played and absorbed throughout the world while providing the fans of the sport with cutting-edge technology and new experiences which will build further the interest and awareness of table tennis. Ever since its launch, WTT has been leading the table tennis digital transformation and opening up new revenue streams for table tennis.
The launch of officially licensed table tennis NFTs is another milestone in the journey to make the sport one of the most recognised and followed in the world. WTT is planning to launch its own marketplace in 2022 where fans and collectors will be able to buy, sell and trade table tennis NFTs.
Next week, the world’s best players will face each other at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. Follow all the actions online on World Table Tennis website.
Enlio Becomes Official Flooring Supplier of 2021 World Table Tennis Championships and WTT Cup Finals
World Table Tennis (WTT), the commercial arm of the ITTF Group, is delighted to announce Enlio as the official flooring supplier of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals and 2021 WTT Cup Finals.
Hebei Enlio Sports Goods Co., LTD, a supplier of a wide range of flooring including interlocking court mats and surfaces for general use in sports halls, has a long-standing relationship with the table tennis family.
An ITTF sponsor since 2013, Enlio has supported several world-class events such as the World Table Tennis Championships and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
The 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals will be kicking off in Houston on Tuesday 23 November. The star-studded field will compete for the coveted World Champion trophies on a custom blue floor specially created to complement the event visual identity.
Then, Enlio will provide black flooring to the inaugural WTT Cup Finals. The 2021 WTT Cup Finals is the new season-ending event of the WTT Series. The prestigious new event will see some of the world’s best men’s and women’s singles players battle it out to be crowned season-ending champions.
Li Yu, Enlio Chairman, said: “ITTF and WTT events showcase the highest level of table tennis and stringent requirements for its equipment, and we value the trust that has been placed in Enlio in delivering and exceeding these requirements. We are proud to be able to provide top-quality flooring specially customised to enhance the look and feel of these events, and we are excited for the millions of table tennis fans worldwide to watch the world’s best players compete on them.”
Matt Pound, WTT Managing Director, said: “We are happy to be continuing our long term relationship with Enlio for the two most important table tennis events at the end of 2021 – the World Championships and WTT Cup Finals. In addition, as the first-ever supplier of black flooring to a WTT event at the 2020 WTT Macao, it is symbolic that Enlio is a part of the Cup Finals to close off the first-ever WTT Series on this world-class flooring. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Enlio.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed Geoff Allardice has been appointed as the organisation’s permanent CEO after more than eight months in the role on an interim basis.
Allardice, a former first-class cricketer, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years having previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.
Greg Barclay, ICC Chair said: “I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
“Geoff has unrivaled knowledge of the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our Members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle.”
Geoff Allardice, ICC CEO added: “It’s a great privilege to be appointed as the CEO of the ICC and I would like to thank Greg and the ICC Board for the opportunity to lead the sport as we enter an exciting new phase of growth.
“My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with Members to deliver long-term success and sustainability. I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve cricket with such a talented team.”
The ICC also launches global growth strategy
The International Cricket Council today unveiled its global growth strategy which places women’s cricket firmly at the heart of its long-term ambitions. The strategy which has been developed in partnership with ICC Members is aimed at strengthening, growing, and protecting the game with the vision of more players, more fans and more nations enjoying cricket.
The strategic pillars of strengthen, grow, and protect will be underpinned by digital transformation of the sport to support Members to connect directly with fans and build capacity.
Strengthen
To strengthen the sport and drive greater engagement from what already exists, the ICC will deliver competitive cricket with context for all Members, invest in and grow women’s cricket, build cricket among Associate Members and deepen fans’ connection through digital transformation, including the ongoing development of ICC.tv, the direct to fan platform and with the development of a mobile game.
Grow
To grow the sport through more people and more places, the ICC will focus on getting more people playing and engaging with cricket through its criiio entry level programme and enhanced education programmes for coaches, officials, and curators. Female participation will be prioritised as will key identified new markets to drive targeted growth, the first of which will be the USA. Olympic inclusion is also considered a central plank of growing cricket globally.
Protect
Protecting the integrity of the sport and inspiring trust among fans is the third pillar of the strategic framework. Providing an environment that is safe for all participants and brings to life the spirit of cricket will be a key area of focus along with the continued commitment to leading the way in delivering a corruption free sport. Additionally, the ICC Cricket 4 Good programme will be developed to harness the power of more than one billion fans to build a better future.
In addition to the framework, six strategic priority projects have been highlighted in the strategy as the sport looks to build and consolidate on recent success.
ICC Chair Greg Barclay said: “This strategy is for the whole sport, and it will enable us to strengthen what we currently have, particularly around the women’s game and ensuring we’re delivering competitive cricket with context for all our Members. It also provides us with the opportunity to look at growing the game and getting more people playing and engaging with cricket through new markets and Olympic inclusion.
“Finally, it identifies the importance of protecting the integrity of our game and inspiring trust among fans and using the power of cricket to build a better future. This framework is something on which the whole sport is aligned and I’m looking forward to working in partnership with our Members to create a successful and sustainable future for cricket.”
ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said: “Our strategy is focused on more players, more fans and more nations enjoying cricket and we believe by working closely with Members we can build on the strength of what we already have but also grow the game in new markets.
“I am particularly excited by the commitment of everyone in the sport to investing in and growing the women’s game. Over the last four years we have invested in ICC women’s events and witnessed 86,174 people in the MCG to watch the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 which is the best illustration yet of our research that tells us that two thirds of cricket’s 1 billion plus fans want to see more women’s cricket
“Digital transformation will play a crucial role in delivering the success of our strategy as we look to attract and engage more fans and build digital platforms that enable our Members to create direct relationships with 300 million fans by 2032.”
DEDICATED PLATFORM TO STREAM FIS WORLD CUP EVENTS FOR WINTER SPORTS FANS IN THE USA
Infront, partner of many national ski sports associations and entrusted with the commercialization of the vast majority of ski World Cup races and all World Ski Championships, has partnered with sports OTT specialists StreamAMG to launch Ski and Snowboard Live, a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) service for the US market.
Audiences in the United States can now access live streams from international events of the FIS Alpine, Snowboard, Freestyle Ski and Cross Country World Cup, all of them with English commentary.
The platform will show 160 live races during the 2021/22 season, starting with this weekend’s Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event in Levi, Finland. The content will be available on an all-inclusive season subscription and pay-per-view package basis. In addition to live events the service will also include on-demand content, highlights, interviews, event replays and other behind-the-scenes footage.
Infront has partnered with StreamAMG’s sports OTT technology to power the live and on-demand delivery and provide a premium experience for Snowsport fans.
Amikam Kranz, Vice President Media Sales and Operations, Infront said: “We were keen to ensure that snow sport fans in the US were given access to the best possible broadcast and we are delighted to be working with StreamAMG ahead of a thrilling season. This is a unique opportunity for supporters to gain access through a dedicated platform that perfectly serves their expectations in terms of live broadcast and on-demand content.”
Mark Silver, General Manager for North America at StreamAMG added: “We’re delighted to be delivering the FIS World Cup into the US market for Infront. The launch of Ski and Snowboard Live marks a major milestone for StreamAMG as our first Snowsport platform, and we’re excited to be bringing live coverage of some of the most important winter sports events in the world to American audiences.”
The announcement means Optus remains the Premier League’s exclusive Australian partner to almost the end of the decade and sees the award-winning service extend its coverage of the WSL to 2024, well beyond the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 hosted in Australia.
The historic deal is a win for fans of the beautiful game, with the renewal meaning every Premier League match will be available to watch live and exclusive, on demand replay, and via the highly popular Mini Match edits through Optus Sport.
“We are thrilled to be able to significantly extend our exclusive partnership with Premier League and the FA Women’s Super League and continue to bring the best football coverage to more than a million of our passionate and loyal Optus Sport customers,” said Optus CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.
“This is another proof point that we are continuing to deliver unique customer experiences and exceptional value for our Mobile and Home customers, in addition to our industry-leading Living Network, Australia’s fastest 5G, and our newly launched SubHub, a revolutionary subscription aggregation platform,” Ms Bayer Rosmarin continued.
“In the six years since securing the exclusive Premier League rights, Optus Sport has become the undisputed home of premium European football and has introduced new Australian audiences to the game whilst setting the benchmark on live sports streaming,” said Optus’ VP of TV, Content and Product Development, Clive Dickens.
“Optus Sport has more than doubled its subscribers since 2018, engagement is up over 49% year-on-year and we’ve seen nine of our top 10 most watched matches occurring during 2021. This includes the historic EURO 2020 England vs Italy Final, which broke the Australian record for a live sports streaming event, with almost one million households watching the match live, no single streamed Tokyo Olympic event reached this many households.”
Paul Molnar, Chief Media Officer at the Premier League said: “The Premier League is delighted to extend our partnership with Optus for a further six seasons up to 2027/28. Optus has proven to be an outstanding home for the Premier League in Australia and has helped to grow the fan base of the Premier League and its clubs through market-leading content and impressive innovation. We are looking forward to continuing to work with Optus in the years ahead.”
The announcement culminates a week of wins for Optus Sport, which was named the Gold Winner for Best Social Media Strategy at the global SportsPro OTT Awards – beating international brands like the NBA and Real Madrid – also picking up Silver in the Platform of the Year category.
With just one year to go until the UK hosts the final of the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup 2021, premier British woodcare brand Ronseal, has extended its partnership with the Rugby Football League (RFL) by a further 12 months.
The extension sees Ronseal remain the principle partner for Match Officials throughout the game in the UK, meaning that all referees, touch-judges and in-goal judges will continue to feature Ronseal on their shirts during Super League matches.
In addition, Ronseal proudly remains an England Rugby League lead sponsor and will support the teams through to next autumn’s Rugby League World Cup.
The agreement extends the strong partnership between Ronseal and RFL, which since 2018, has encompassed England Men’s, Knights, Women’s, Wheelchair, Academy and Youth squads.
The partnership is focused on ‘pride’, with players and fans having pride in supporting their club and being a part of the rugby league community. To showcase this focus, Ronseal launched its ‘Pride in the Community’ initiative which aims to improve grassroots rugby league facilities and help grow participation of rugby league at all levels. Wigan-based Hindley ARFLC became the first club to receive support to improve their changing rooms and dugouts, with England Rugby League players Oliver Gildart, Stefan Ratchford, Ben Currie and former England captain Jamie Peacock lending a helping hand.
Bobby Bahadoori, RFL Head of Partnerships, said: “2022 will be a huge year for Rugby League and we are delighted to have a trusted brand such as Ronseal providing such great support for us. It’s been a challenging period for all sports, but in Rugby League we are pulling through and building back better – and Ronseal has played a key role in that. We look forward to working with the Ronseal team and having more success over the coming year.”
Jane Ryder, European Marketing Director, Sherwin Williams, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with the RFL who align with our core values of performance, durability, and integrity. The ‘Pride in the Community’ initiative perfectly brings together those values by allowing us to give back to our core fans and their communities. Ronseal is a no-nonsense brand which does exactly what it says on the tin – this lines up perfectly with the no-nonsense sport of rugby league.”
