Kin Partners Hires Head Of Blockchain Strategy To Drive Crypto Strategies For Brands, Talent And Property Clients

Leading independent sport and entertainment management agency, KIN Partners, has appointed Rory Woolston to a newly created role as Head of Blockchain Strategy.

The new position – believed to be the first dedicated blockchain and cryptocurrency role amongst sport management agencies globally – will see Woolston identify and deliver commercial opportunities for brands, talent and sports properties within the fast-growing blockchain ecosystem.

Woolston joins KIN from CAA where he worked with a range of sports properties, such as Formula One, Red Bull Racing and Manchester City, and helped define and manage the commercial portfolios of talent clients that included Harry Kane, James Rodriguez, Raphael Varane and Nico Rosberg.

Rory played a pivotal role in brokering the recently announced deal between Crypto.com and Formula One, to deliver a first-of-its-kind sponsorship and NFT (non-fungible token) partner agreement.

Commenting on the Woolston’s appointment, KIN Partners’ SVP – Commercial, Danny Paiser, said: “We are delighted to have secured Rory’s services and add his significant experience of working with global brands and athletes to our business. The blockchain and cryptocurrency space has grown rapidly in recent times and offers huge opportunities for future-focused brands, properties and talent. Rory’s expertise in this sector enables us to help new and existing clients navigate this exciting landscape and deliver impactful and innovative partnership opportunities.”

Discussing his new role at KIN, Woolston said: “The creation of this position proves KIN’s focus on leading the market and exceeding the needs of brands, properties and talent clients in the sport and entertainment industries. That level of ambition is why I’m delighted to be joining the team.

“In the last 12 months we’ve seen cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology thrive and increasingly turn to sports sponsorship to generate brand awareness and mainstream appeal. At the same time, leagues, clubs and athletes have benefited from the surge in blockchain-based digital collectibles, fan tokens and crypto assets as the pandemic accelerated this new consumer trend. There has never been a better time to develop a crypto plan and portfolio and I look forward to working with new and existing clients to build tailored commercial strategies within this cutting-edge environment.”

Since its inception in 2013, KIN Partners has evolved into a full-service agency operating at the forefront of the sports and entertainment industries with a multi-disciplinary team servicing sports properties, talent and brands across commercial, digital strategy, production, PR and brand development pillars.

Working with some of the most iconic athletes of recent times – including David Beckham, Usain Bolt and Neymar Jr, – and recognisable sports brands and properties, such as Real Madrid C.F., and Chelsea FC, KIN has developed a track record of delivering significant commercial endorsements for its clients, harnessing the intellectual property of talent and pioneering innovative partnerships in the industry.  

Finnish Figure Skating Association Launch New App With Choicely

“Another mobile application Powered by Choicely, the no-code mobile application builder, reaches instantly the top of the charts in App Store”

On October 6th the Finnish Figure Skating Association they launched a new SkatingFinland mobile app. The app was developed in order to serve the event held at Finlandia Trophy Espoo – International Figure Skating Competition that takes place 7-10.10.2021 in Espoo Metro Areena.

The app immediately hit the top charts in App Store, reaching the #1 in Sports category within the first 24 hours.

Outi Wuorenheimo, Figure Skating Association said:

“We wanted to offer people a channel where you can find all we offer: news, events, official information and of course all the social media channels. This has everything the figure skating fan needs!” says Outi Wuorenheimo, General Secretary of Finnish Figure Skating Association.”

Kaius Meskanen, CEO of Choicely said:

“We’re very excited to partner with the Finnish Figure Skating Association. Together we’re able to create a mobile application , for Android and iPhone, that delivers extensive amount of information to the Finnish figure skating community.

“We created and launched the app together with SkatingFinland team in 3 weeks, a worthy achievement. The efficiency and coordination of the SkatingFinland team is remarkable, as they were preparing a major event – Finlandia Trophy Espoo simultaneously. Very cool!”

SkatingFinland app

SkatingFinland app offers a highly mobile optimized, information rich service for the figure skating community. The users can explore in real time SkatingFinland news, skaters profiles, schedules, results, event calendar & much more. The content is presented “in experience sections” like SkatingFinland section that introduces a news portal and the Finnish Figure Skating Association section with the official information about the association. Also an “Event” section highlighting the main events promoting Skating sport around Finland, currently featuring the Finlandia Trophy Espoo event.

The first in the world dedicated figure skating mobile app, powered by the easiest no-code mobile app studio of Choicely, made in Finland.

Choicely.com is offering templates for multiple segments at competitive prices for the sports and entertainment sectors. For more information click to book an appointment with Sales.

FIBA Launch Global Partnership With J9

FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and Philippines-based J9 have announced a new partnership until 2024 in which the Global Partner will present the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Trophy Tour as well as boost awareness of the sport on its extensive platforms.

The brand J9.com has become FIBA’s 10th Global Partner and will take the FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy to cities around the globe, delivering an exciting World Cup experience to fans and showcasing its greatest prize as part of basketball celebrations and FIBA’s flagship competition.

As another part of the agreement, J9.com will receive key commercial rights across FIBA competitions, including the FIBA Continental Cups for both men and women, the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022, and FIBA’s pinnacle event, the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

J9, as FIBA’s Official Global Betting Partner, sees globalization as an important focus and it provides a world-class gaming experience to its global users. The company will use FIBA’s platform to launch and boost awareness of its brand J9.com across all FIBA events globally and connect with millions of basketball fans around the world. In addition, J9 will utilize FIBA’s top-level domain .basketball to promote basketball related corporate social responsibility activities on its portal J9.basketball.

Frank Leenders, FIBA Media & Marketing Services Director General, said: “We are excited to have J9 joining the FIBA family as our most recent Global Partner. This partnership will certainly boost FIBA’s goal of advancing the promotion of basketball worldwide while at the same time bring fans closer to the game through new and improved experiences, including the Trophy Tour and other activities supported by our new Global Partner J9.”

Managing Director of J9.com, James Chen, expressed his confidence in the partnership with FIBA by saying: “It is a great honor for us to become a Global Partner of FIBA and to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of basketball globally. With our innovative and digital ways, we are sure that we will be able to help FIBA deliver the charm and joy of basketball to more fans across the world.”

This agreement was brokered by FIBA Marketing, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Infront.

International Cricket Council Selects Sportradar As Data And Streaming Rights Partner

Partnership to help create untapped opportunities for the ICC to engage with its diverse and large fan base across the globe

The International Cricket Council today announced a global partnership with Sportradar, making them the Official Data Distribution and Official Betting Live Streaming Partner of the ICC. Sportradar is a leading global provider of sports betting and sports entertainment products and services, and the number one provider of business-to-business solutions to the global sports betting industry based on revenue.

Spanning 275 top-tier matches, the partnership covers eight of the ICC’s leading men’s and women’s tournaments, starting in October with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup hosted by India in the UAE and Oman, through to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023, also hosted by India.

Cricket has an estimated two-and-a-half billion fans worldwide. The partnership will create more opportunities for the ICC to engage with this fan base through Sportradar’s network of 1,000 media and sports-betting clients across 80 countries.

Finn Bradshaw, Head of Digital at ICC said: “Innovative use of sports data is one of the key pillars of our digital strategy. This partnership with Sportradar will help us grow our global cricket fanbase and deepen our engagement with it.”

David Lampitt, Managing Director, Sports Content and Partnerships at Sportradar said: “Cricket is among the most popular sports globally, and we see huge potential to grow its fan base still further, helping fans interact with the game on an even deeper level.

“Our partnership with the ICC is an exciting step towards engaging those new fans and, with the full breadth of our unique technology powering it, we will deliver enhanced cricket content globally – across a range of platforms.”  

Backed by the technology and specialist cricket capabilities of InteractSport (part of Sportradar), Sportradar will deploy its Cricket Live Score Plus (CLS+) data-capture tool, enabling fielding positions and actions to be plotted for the very first time. The CLS+ solution will provide deep, rich, live ball-by-ball match data to media platforms via bespoke feeds and dedicated channels, at super-low latency.

Sportradar will integrate the official ICC data into its established Premium Cricket Service (PCS), creating an enhanced provision for sportsbook operators, while the new data will also be used to power the ICC’s digital platforms, including icc-cricket.com and the official ICC mobile app.

Additionally, Sportradar’s Integrity Services will provide the ICC with bet monitoring and reporting for all 275 matches through its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS). UFDS uses advanced technology to scan the worldwide betting market and has a global team of integrity experts providing analysis on irregular betting patterns, with any suspicious matches subsequently reported to partners. 

Ashes Expected To Go Ahead Following Progress In Talks, England Squad Announced

The ECB has said that there have been talks with Cricket Australia that have provided a lot of progression and the two sides are now going forward with the full expectation of this winter’s Ashes in Australia going ahead.

“Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men’s Ashes Tour,” said the ECB.

“To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, the ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.

“We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days.”

The ECB have also named their squad for the series over the weekend, as confirmation draws closer and closer.

Marion Rousse Appointed Director Of The Tour De France Femmes Avec Zwift

The world of women’s cycling is eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the itinerary of the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on 14 October at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The eight stages scheduled from 24 to 31 July 2022 will be announced by Marion Rousse, who has been appointed director of the event by Amaury Sport Organisation. The 2012 French cycling champion, who retired from professional competition in 2015, became a consultant for France Télévisions, and since 2019 has also taken part in race organisation as the deputy director of the Tour de la Provence.

Marion Rousse, Director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:

“When I was a little girl, I watched the Tour de France on television with admiration, and when I started my career, I suspected that I would never have the opportunity to race in it. So, of course, I was very proud to be asked to take charge of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, especially because we want to do our utmost to make it a dream for little girls to participate. Women’s cycling has come a long way in recent years, partly thanks to A.S.O., but it still lacked a reference stage race with real media coverage. Now that I have accepted this mission, I intend to invest myself so that it becomes a ritual among the public… and for a long time because this is not about launching a race for two or three editions.”

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France:

“If the event is to become the premier race for women’s cycling, it was obvious to call on the best ambassador of this sport, known and appreciated by the general public as well as the experts. And her immediate enthusiasm to join us confirms the momentum behind the creation of the event.”

ELEVEN Reshuffles Leadership Team, New COO Joins

Marc Watson has returned to the role of ELEVEN Group CEO and will oversee the strategic direction of the Group. Marc co-founded ELEVEN with Andrea Radrizzani in 2015 and was CEO from 2015 to January 2020. For the past 18 months Marc has combined his responsibilities as ELEVEN Executive Chairman with leading Aser Ventures’ new streaming platform LIVENow. With LIVENow now firmly established, Marc will focus his energies on the ELEVEN Group.

Andrea Radrizzani, the Chairman and Founder of ELEVEN’s parent company Aser Ventures, is to assume a more direct leadership role with ELEVEN as Executive Chairman. His vast experience, network and energy will help drive the Group forward.

Leading media executive Alessandro Tucci has joined ELEVEN as Chief Operating Officer, with a focus on managing and developing ELEVEN’s international business. Alessandro brings with him a host of management, business development and media-tech expertise. He has held a series of leadership roles within the 21st Century Fox Group across Europe and Africa and joins ELEVEN from the next-generation global streaming company MainStreaming, where he was COO.

Anouk Mertens, who has been ELEVEN’s COO since November 2018, will take on overall leadership for the Group’s content strategy as ELEVEN’s Chief Content Officer. Anouk will be responsible for integrating ELEVEN’s content capabilities with Team Whistle Studios and NEO Studios to create one global studio services division for the Group. Anouk will continue to combine her Group role with the position of CEO of NEO Studios.

ELEVEN Group Chief Rights Acquisitions Officer and MD for Belgium and Luxembourg Guillaume Collard will grow his role too. He will oversee ELEVEN’s expansions into new markets, develop new distribution deals across the network and continue to strengthen ELEVEN’s rights portfolio across the Group. Guillaume also joins the Group’s Board of Directors.

ELEVEN’s enhanced leadership team will bring new strategic direction and capabilities to the Group, to capitalise on a period of rapid expansion. Since November 2020, ELEVEN has acquired the global streaming platform MyCujoo and the US based sports media and entertainment company Team Whistle, growing the Group to over 300 staff across 11 offices around the world. The ELEVEN Group houses 1,655 distribution channels and 665 million aggregated social media followers, generating more than 4 billion video views each month. It owns more than 50 original content formats and distributes over 65,000 live hours of sport each year. ELEVEN is now committed to creating a global sports and entertainment powerhouse, with a focus on consolidating and developing its B2B2C business, aggressively building its D2C offering and rapidly growing its B2B services division. 

Marc Watson, ELEVEN Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “ELEVEN has experienced a period of significant growth in recent times. We have the opportunity to continue rapidly developing our business to deliver for fans and partners in new ways and our strengthened leadership team will provide the balance and focus we need to do that.

“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Alessandro to the Group and to congratulate Guillaume and Anouk on their new roles. Anouk has been a fantastic Group COO for the past three years and I look forward to her bringing the same dedication and expertise to her new position.”

Ian Watmore Steps Down As ECB Chair

Ian Watmore is to step down as Chair of the ECB with immediate effect, it has been announced.

He has reached a mutual agreement with the Board to stand down following the end of the domestic season and after helping to steer the game through the challenges of Covid over the past year. The decision follows a successful summer of domestic and international men’s and women’s cricket, the launch of The Hundred and record numbers playing the game recreationally.

Ian Watmore commented: “It is with regret that I step down as Chair of the ECB, but I do so in mindfulness of my own wellbeing and that of the game which I love. I was appointed to the post in a pre-pandemic era, but Covid has meant the role and its demands on time are dramatically different to all our original expectations, which has taken a personal toll on me. Given this, the Board and I feel the ECB will be better served by a new Chair to take it forward post pandemic. Leaving now, at the end of the season, gives the Board time to find a new Chair to support cricket through the challenges of the 2022 season and beyond.

“On a personal level, I also retired last month after five years at the Civil Service Commission and recently became a grandfather. I would now like to retire completely from work and enjoy our great game as a spectator.”

During Ian’s tenure the ECB has seen the delivery of a full cricket season along with the successful return of crowds, increased diversity on the ECB Board, the launch of the Disability Premier League and the creation of the Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) to explore matters relating to race, class, and gender in the sport.

Current Deputy Chair, Barry O’Brien, will step-up as interim Chair, having indicated to the Board that he will not be a candidate for the role.

He commented: “We are grateful to Ian for everything he has contributed during his time at the ECB. He has helped guide the game through an incredibly challenging period, where despite the impact of Covid we were able to stage a busy summer of men’s and women’s domestic and international cricket. He also leaves with the recreational game in a strong position, with record numbers playing the game this summer, which I know will please him enormously as a lover of the grass roots of sport. We wish him the best for the future.

“We will shortly begin a process to appoint a new Chair to lead the ECB, as the organisation continues to deliver on its ambitions to grow the game and create an increasingly inclusive and welcoming sport for all.”

The Routes Taken By Investment Firms Into Football

This week, Mohd Umar looks at the ways investment firms enter football as they try to transform the business models of clubs and leagues.

Football has long been known as a dynamic and fast-paced sport, and now Private Equity and Hedge fund firms have taken a long stride towards transforming the football clubs themselves.

The most popular sport going looks attractive to PE & Hedge Funds due to their stable and predictable cash flow coming from broadcasting revenue, matchday sales and merchandising. It comes forward as an opportunity to buy undervalued businesses with enormous growth potential and improve them by trimming underperforming divisions and reconfiguring operations.

After the pandemic kept the fans away from stadiums, wiped out matchday sales and reduced payouts from broadcasters, leading some of the biggest teams in Europe into enormous debts, investment firms helped some of them to stay afloat.

Inflated wage bills, relegation risks and ardent fanbases don’t agitate the PE & Hedge funds in their pursuits. Recently, RedBird Capital acquired undervalued Toulouse FC looking at its enormous growth potential, but unfortunately the club was relegated and will now require hefty investment to get back into Ligue 1.

Some routes taken by investment firms to establish a foothold in these treacherous waters are:

Acquiring stakes in multiple teams

To ensure profitability, PE & Hedge Funds have diversified their portfolio of rights into varied clubs of different sizes and geographical locations. In 2019, Californian private equity investor Silver Lake acquired a 10% share in City Football Group, which has ten clubs operating around the globe.

Buying into the league

Last year, CVC Capital and Advent international made a bid of 1.7bn EUR for 10% stakes in a firm that would handle Serie A’s TV rights, only for it to fall through.

However, recently CVC acquired 11% stakes in LaLiga’s media rights for 2.1bn EUR and allowed three clubs to drop out. CVC plans to take an active role in managing media rights and the clubs will be granted an interest-free loan from the 2.1bn EUR funding.

Acquiring stakes in smaller clubs

With robust scouting and investment into youth academies, small clubs have the opportunity to develop young talents and maximise revenue from transfer fees. But it can turn ugly if the firms decide to misuse the club’s resources.

After the recent takeover of Burnley by ALK Capital, the club is now facing eye-watering debts and reduced cash reserves for their stature. Manager Sean Dyche said Burnley ‘aren’t quite in the same league financially’ – they are now £60m in debt and have £30m+ less cash due to their recent US takeover. 

Clubs in crisis

The clubs have always been in dire need of cash and that’s grown more acute after the pandemic kept crowds away from stadiums. Premier League clubs Arsenal and Tottenham have secured £300m loans at low interests from the Bank of England, but smaller clubs and those in lower leagues have complained about the struggle to secure financing.

As the commercial banks perceive football clubs as high risk, the investment firms have instead been lending their helping hand. Last year, MSD Partners has loaned almost £80m to Premier League team Southampton and funded the £200m takeover of Burnley by ALK Capital. While Inter Milan recently gained £233m from Oaktree Capital for a 31% stake. If majority owner Suning isn’t able to repay its debt in three years, the U.S. fund reportedly gets control of Inter Milan.

The fans have slammed private equity’s reputation as vulture funds that strip assets and sell them off for profit. If the ownership of clubs is fairly regulated the whole football environment will become more stable and PE could bring in expertise along with a sophisticated model and a strategy for commercialising football.

It can play a positive role if it is carried and led with the right motivations in mind.

LDN UTD And Green Man Announce Strategic Partnership

LDN UTD, the purpose driven esports org, today announces a strategic partnership with multi-award-winning global video game retailer, publisher, and distributor, Green Man Gaming. LDN UTD and Green Man Gaming will continue to use gaming and esports to raise awareness of social issues such as inclusion, representation and mentorship including a joint programme at LDN UTD’s forthcoming Centre of Excellence. The partnership will also see the combined communities benefit from a range of unique opportunities from customised digital offerings to bespoke esports tournaments and many more. 

LDN UTD has become synonymous with addressing social issues via physical and online events, and most recently hosted UTD Against Racism with the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, and last month launched a community purpose-driven NFT campaign. With its Centre of Excellence due to open in Camden in London later this month, it will be the first purpose driven esports venue to offer gamers a safe space to play video games, and attend workshops on mental/physical health and fitness, and be offered opportunities to further education or employment prospects.

Green Man Gaming has long been recognised as a global video game retailer, publisher and distributor, and has a long history of being involved in social causes. Most recently pledging to continue the fight against climate crisis through the UN Environmental Programme initiative Playing for the Planet Alliance and supporting developers and students from underrepresented backgrounds through initiatives with Payload Studios and St Mary’s University. The team were  recognised at the St. Mary’s Be Smart/ Employability Confident Awards 2021 for their contribution to the Be SMART Programme in 2021, offering paid internships and mentoring to students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

Oliver Weingarten, Founder/CEO of LDN UTD said, “It always makes sense to partner with organisations that align with values and can enhance our offerings to the community, and with Green Man Gaming, we have the perfect partner to form a long term strategic partnership that encompasses many elements.The partnership with Green Man Gaming will allow us to reach even more people with our messaging, which can only be a positive.”

Ian McGregor, CMO Green Man Gaming: 

“At Green Man Gaming, we believe that games are for everyone and have the power to drive positive change. In LDN UTD we have found a partner that shares our values and drive to use games for good. We’re excited to embark on this partnership that will not only benefit our direct consumers but has the potential to reach and serve the wider games community.”