PGA TOUR And PointsBet Extend Official Betting Operator Relationship

The PGA TOUR and PointsBet, a premier global online gaming operator, announced a three-year extension of their multi-year content and marketing relationship designating PointsBet an Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR. 

As part of the expanded relationship, PointsBet’s live betting odds integrations will be featured on PGA TOUR linear and streaming broadcasts on GOLF Channel and Peacock with plans to include on the NBC broadcast in the future. PointsBet is the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports.

Several PointsBet integrations, including odds for the lowest score by group, total leaderboard odds, and hole-by-hole odds, were highlighted during GOLF Channel’s recent broadcast of the Fortinet Championship and will continue to be featured during GOLF Channel’s coverage of the 2021-22 FedExCup Regular Season.

The agreement also positions PointsBet as the “Official Free-to-Play” provider of the PGA TOUR. The soon-to-be-released free-to-play game, developed by Low6, exclusively presented by PointsBet in the U.S., is designed to enhance fan engagement with live in-play games with weekly prizes. Fans will be able to enter the game at nearly any point during a tournament week with the points system directly tied to live odds featuring games such as outright winner, top-10 and top-30. The free-to-play game features a guaranteed weekly cash prize of up to $5,000. More information and images will be provided prior to the game’s release in January 2022.

“We’re excited to continue working with PointsBet to create innovative sports betting and free-to-play products for PGA TOUR fans,” said Norb Gambuzza, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Media and Gaming. “PointsBet’s golf products continue to experience tremendous growth, and its support of our free-to-play game with Low6 will provide our fans the option to experience exciting in-play games in a free-to-play environment.”

As part of the agreement, PointsBet will continue to have access to the PGA TOUR’s library of archival and b-roll footage for use within pre-tournament and post-game betting content preview shows, betting-specific videos, and distribution of highlights to PointsBet users.

“Expanding our relationship with the PGA TOUR is a key step in providing fans and viewers with the odds integrations and content that PointsBet users have been asking for,” said Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA CEO. “Together, with our partners at NBC Sports, we are at the intersection of golf broadcast and odds integration, an exciting time for bettors and viewers.”

As an Official Sports Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR, PointsBet also gains rights to advertise within TOUR broadcasts, OTT, and TOUR media platforms, as well as the use of PGA TOUR content and other IP to promote betting on PGA TOUR events.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the TOUR instituted a robust integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports and later that year announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators around the world. The TOUR is a platinum member of the National Council on Problem Gambling and is aligned with the American Gaming Association (AGA) as a Have A Game Plan®. Bet Responsibly public service campaign partner to educate golf fans on responsible sports betting.

Saracens Announce Sale Of Controlling Stake To New Ownership Group

SARACENS IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT A CONSORTIUM OF INVESTORS HAS AGREED TERMS TO ACQUIRE A MAJORITY CONTROLLING STAKE AND THAT THE CLUB’S SHAREHOLDERS WILL INVEST SIGNIFICANT NEW FUNDS BY MEANS OF A CAPITAL RAISE.

The consortium comprises Dominic Silvester, Chief Executive Office of Enstar Group, a global insurance group; Neil Golding, the club’s chairman and a partner at Freshfields; Paul O’Shea, a director at Enstar; Francois Pienaar, a World Cup winning Captain and former Saracens player; Nick Leslau, Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings; and Marco V. Masotti, a partner at Paul Weiss and an owner of South Africa’s Sharks rugby team.

The capital raise results in a total investment of GBP 32 million of new funds into the club. Aside from maintaining the club’s position at the top of the men’s game, the new funds will be used for a variety of other purposes, including completing the redevelopment of the West Stand; further investment in women’s sport; and the establishment of a high performance training centre.

The consortium will form a new non-executive board to enhance the existing board. It will continue to be chaired by Neil Golding with Lucy Wray remaining as chief executive.

Neil Golding said: “We move on from the recent challenges with hard lessons learned and with robust new governance procedures in place. We wish to thank the incredible fans and sponsors of Saracens for their continued support and we cannot wait to welcome the Saracens family back to the StoneX in the near future for our return to the Premiership. Dominic, Nick and Francois all have a long association with the club and we are delighted that they are committed to its future.”

Nigel Wray said: “I have given my heart and soul to the club for more than two decades, having chaired Saracens since the first days of professionalism. Sadly, I’m not getting any younger and I have always wanted to make sure that Saracens is in very safe hands for many future generations. To show our continued enthusiasm for the future of Saracens I will be retaining a significant minority shareholding albeit a passive one.”

He added: “I am thrilled to hand over control to the consortium which comprises people who I know well and who understand the culture we’ve been able to create over more than 20 years both on and off the field, particularly within the community through the Saracens Foundation and the Saracens Multi-Academy Trust. I am looking forward to becoming just a fan again and supporting the club I love whilst focusing more of my time on the pioneering work of our amazing Foundation and supporting the build out of the Saracens school programme.”

Dominic Silvester said: “The consortium members are making a long-term commitment to Saracens, with the new funds used to maintain the club’s position at the top of the game for the future. We also have an exciting longer-term vision to make the club a global market leader both on and off the field and we are well placed to deliver on this with our wide-ranging international experience.

We want to also personally thank Nigel for all he has done for modern rugby and player welfare, more than perhaps any other single person. It is our privilege to take Saracens onto a new chapter and we intend to be every bit as ambitious and pioneering as Nigel has been.

Finally, the consortium will maintain the club’s deep commitment to diversity, community, and sustainability.

We are delighted that Lucy will remain as CEO and board member and that Maggie Alphonsi, former Saracens and England women’s rugby player, has also agreed to join the board.

We are also delighted that Michael Yormark, President of Roc Nation Sports International, has been appointed as a special adviser to the club.

Furthermore, we will continue to maximise Saracens’ socio-economic impact, caring for our people and community, as well as maintain the stadium’s sector leading environmental standards.”

The transaction is subject to closing conditions including regulatory approval.

ImagineAR (IPNFF) Releases New Mobile APP SDK Including Global AR Scavenger Hunts, Rewards & Clues

ImagineAR Cloud 1.3, ‘Metaverse’ Newly Released with Enhanced Self-Publishing Dashboard & Analytics

Imagine AR Inc. (IP:CSE) (IPNFF:OTCQB) (“ImagineAR” or “Company”) an Augmented Reality Company that enables businesses, sports teams and organizations to create instant global AR mobile phone campaigns without a technical background, has released both the new ImagineAR SDK 1.4 and ImagineAR Cloud 1.3.  These two new major company product platforms include significant enhancements and improvements to deliver optimal fan and consumer experiential engagements around the world.

The ImagineAR SDK Version 1.4 can integrate natively with both IOS and Android mobile apps.  The newly released AR Scavenger Hunt Feature includes player progress bars during hunts, improved player reward functions, and new unique Clue Cards for each client Scavenger Hunt game.  Sports teams and businesses can create as many of their own Scavenger Hunts globally with prizes and rewards unique to each geographic region.

The ImagineAR Cloud Version 1.3 (“metaverse”) has enhanced self-publishing CMS (content management system) functions and real-time analytics that manage and measure global as well as localized AR campaigns.  Non-technical users can create instant campaigns without any technical knowledge or background with an improved easier user-interface.  This new Cloud Version fully supports GDPR compliance for European countries too.

“This seventh granted US patent, in addition to our existing portfolio of six published patents, truly demonstrates the advanced technology and market leadership of ImagineAR in the North American Mobile Device Augmented Reality marketplace,” says Alen Paul Silverrstieen, ImagineAR CEO.

Stefan-Eric Wildemann Appointed New Head Of Football At Eurovision Sport

Eurovision Sport is delighted to announce the appointment of Stefan-Eric Wildemann, a German national, as its new Head of Football.

Stefan-Eric joins from Deltatre, the Turin-based leading sports and entertainment technology provider, where he served as Senior Director of Business Development based at Deltatre’s Video Experiences Unit in Eysins, Switzerland.

The appointment is the latest in a series of moves by Eurovision Sport as it seeks to build on recent important sports rights acquisitions and to deliver on its future strategy for ensuring that top sporting events can continue to be seen free-to-air across Europe and beyond, including digitally.

Reporting to Adrian Fikentscher Eurovision Sport’s recently-appointed Director of Acquisitions, Stefan-Eric will take charge of the exploitation and development of a portfolio of football rights that presently includes, in particular, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 in England (postponed from 2021).

Before joining Deltatre, Stefan-Eric was for three years Head of Sales & Distribution at FIFA, with responsibility for global placement of FIFA’s media rights and the management of the FIFA TV Sales & Distribution Department, having previously served in a variety of roles at football’s world governing body.

With a Bachelor in International Business with Distinction from Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands, Stefan-Eric began his career at Ernst & Young in Germany, before taking a FIFA International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport cum Laude.

Stefan-Eric speaks four languages fluently: German, English, Spanish and Italian.

Adrian Fikentscher, Director of Acquisitions, welcomed the appointment, saying: “Football is key for public service media and for EBU and its Members. With his background, his great knowledge of the relevant markets, as well as his excellent management skills, Stefan-Eric will help us to ensure that top football events can continue to be seen free-to-air across Europe and beyond, including digitally.”

Stefan-Eric Wildemann said: “I feel privileged to join Eurovision Sport in such an exciting role that will help the organisation to further build on its strong football rights portfolio and support the EBU Members in the acquisition and exploitation of the biggest football properties for public service media.”

Stefan-Eric’s appointment follows the promotion of Pascal Fratellia from Head of Football Rights to Commercial Director in July.

Eredivisie Appoints Two Circles To Drive D2C Growth

The Eredivisie, Dutch football’s top-tier domestic league, has announced a long-term partnership with Two Circles to develop direct relationships with its fanbase.

Using its strategic consultancy, marketing services and digital product development expertise, Two Circles will help the Eredivisie launch new digital content and communications platforms that will grow a direct and highly-engaged audience.

Two Circles will also deliver data-driven insight around fan behaviours and attitudes to help clubs direct their own commercial and fan engagement strategies, and new measurable and targeted digital sponsorship activations for brand partners.

The partnership was launched internally at the end of September at FC Utrecht’s Stadium Galgenwaard at an event attended by representatives of all 18 Eredivisie teams.

Saoed Habieb, Eredivisie Database Manager, said: “Our new data strategy is one of the pillars of our league’s new overall marketing strategy. We are very proud of the initiatives we’ve developed, with Two Circles, for the short and long term. We believe that the project will create added value to the propositions of the Eredivisie, our clubs and our partners.”

Niels Rudolphus, Lead Consultant at Two Circles, added: “As connectivity continues to grow globally and the channels sports properties use to reach their audiences are rewired, direct relationships with fans have become a valuable currency. The Eredivisie has huge potential to grow stronger engagement with fans, increase its understanding of Dutch football’s fanbase, and deliver greater value for clubs across a range of business lines.”

Sports marketing and data technology company Two Circles is the three-time Sport Industry Agency of the Year and celebrated its 10th anniversary this month. The company uses data to grow direct relationships between sports and fans, driving business growth for the world’s leading sports rights-owners including the NFL, Premier League, UEFA, F1 and Wimbledon.

How The UK’s Gambling Review And A Potential Sponsorship Ban Will Affect Sport In The UK

Ray James, iSportConnect’s Chief Relationship Officer, looks at whether gambling’s time in the UK market is finally up, the financial hole it may leave behind and what could take its place.

As we come out of lockdown I’ve been keeping an eye on betting category sectors, we all know that gambling sponsors, particularly in the UK, have provided a huge amount of revenue for many football clubs, as well as other sports.

But an issue has risen as there appears to be the likelihood of an imminent announcement from the UK government’s gambling review that has been ongoing, which looks set to ban all forms of gambling advertising around sport.

How will clubs react to fill the financial shortfall that could be triggered by this decision, which could potentially lead to no betting sponsors being showcased on shirts, LED signage at the edge of the pitch or around the stadiums.

“My view is that the betting sponsorship market had always over-valued sponsorships of clubs.”

This agenda was set by the Spanish movement to ban betting sponsors from the start of the 2021/22 season, which was put into force after a new law implemented by the league which led to six teams starting the season without a shirt sponsor.

Rick Parry, Chairman of the EFL, has suggested that gambling contributes to over 40 million pounds in revenue for EFL clubs each season.

So what happens next?

My view is that the betting sponsorship market had always over-valued sponsorships of clubs, thanks in large part to the Asian bookmakers who wanted to associate themselves with the Premier League and other areas of English football.

“Without these sponsors taking up these potential deals, this will provide an opportunity and an opening for more non-betting brands to get involved in sponsorship, brands who had previously felt it was too expensive to do so.”

Without these sponsors taking up these potential deals, this will provide an opportunity and an opening for more non-betting brands to get involved in sponsorship, brands who had previously felt it was too expensive to do so.

Everton and Aston Villa through their partnerships with Cazoo are a shining example of no taking the ‘betting dollar’ and instead working with a brand that has a more authentic fit with their fanbase.

There will still be an opportunity for betting brands to utilise the broadcasts of Premier League via virtual advertising that can continue to bring in additional revenue for both sides.

I have already mentioned Spain but Italy are another major player who are starting to restrict sponsorship of this nature and there will likely be more in time.

It is therefore ironic that as we are seeing the greater restrictions on gambling coming into force within the UK and other countries around Europe, the burgeoning market within the US is exploding and growing at a tremendous rate.

“It will be very interesting to see how long it is until greater regulations also impact that market.”

The rate of growth within the US will likely show no signs of slowing down within the next few years, but once gambling has been legalised across every state in America, which seems increasingly likely by the day, it will be very interesting to see how long it is until greater regulations also impact that market.

Just last week the NHL’s allowance of jersey sponsors from the 2022/23 season was kicked off by the Washington Capitals announcing a deal with Caesars Entertainment to host their sportsbook logo.

But for now, sponsorship is always evolving and we have seen sectors come and go over time. There has been financial services, telecoms and automotive all enter and then slowly fade over time, gambling may be forced to but there will be others who step up to the plate.

There has been a large drive in cryptocurrency sponsorships in some markets, will fintech and blockchain plug the financial hole left behind by gambling? Only time will tell…

LIVENow Partners With ELEVEN Sports To Exclusively Offer €4.99 PPV Pass For LaLiga & Serie A Matches In Belgium

Premium streaming platform LIVENow have partnered with ELEVEN Belgium to offer sports fans in Belgium a new way to access the best live action from LaLiga and Serie A. 

In addition to being able to enjoy comprehensive coverage from both leagues through  ELEVEN’s linear and OTT channels, fans will now have the option to secure PPV match passes with LIVENow for their favourite fixtures from €4.99.  

LIVENow and the ELEVEN Group are both members of Andrea Radrizzani’s sports and media investment platform Aser Ventures. The new deal will offer sports fans in Belgium ever more flexibility in how they watch their games. 

Head of Sport, Peter Leible comments, “At LIVENow our goal is to offer flexibility to sports fans in how they buy and consume content. We’re delighted to serve up matches from  Spanish and Italian football on a pay-per-view basis.” 

Schedule: 

League Match Date
LaLiga Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona 3rd October 2021
LaLiga FC Barcelona v Real Madrid 24th October 2021
Serie A Inter Milan v Juventus Turin 24th October 2021

LIVENow’s LaLiga and Serie A coverage builds on the service’s fast-growing portfolio of sports rights. In Singapore, LIVENow were the exclusive home for Euro 2020 this summer and are bringing fans live pay-per-view coverage from the English Premier League in  2021/22. LIVENow also distributed Euro 2020 in the Philippines and streamed the Emirates FA Cup, Italy’s Serie B and Serie C, and Spain’s LaLiga across various international markets last season.

eToro Unveils Partnerships With Eight Italian Serie A Clubs

Multi-asset investment platform eToro has announced the expansion of its partnership portfolio, securing deals with eight clubs in the Italian Serie A for the coming 2021/22 season.

Founded in 2007, eToro is the world’s leading social investment network with over 20 million registered users worldwide. Making a significant investment into Serie A, eToro will be official partners of Bologna, Cagliari, Genoa, Sampdoria, Sassuolo, Spezia, Udinese, Verona and have an LED only deal with Salernitana. 

eToro offers clients throughout the Italian region access to not only a choice of investment instruments – from fractional shares and ETFs, to commodities and cryptoassets – but also a choice of how to invest. eToro users can invest directly themselves, copy another investor, or invest in one of eToro’s smart portfolios. 

Emanuela Manor, Italian Regional Manager at eToro comments: “eToro believes that sponsorships are a powerful tool for connecting with the communities at the very heart of a sport. With more people than ever engaging with the capital markets this year, financial education has never been so important. We will be working with the clubs to make the financial markets more accessible, bringing fans closer to the action and educating them on investing.”

As a partner of these Serie A clubs, eToro will gain global exposure through an extensive range of marketing opportunities including matchday LED boards, media backdrops, tickets and digital rights.

eToro has an extensive global partnership portfolio comprising multiple football clubs across Europe along with other sports including Rugby Australia. As one of Europe’s biggest sponsors, eToro will continue to expand its investment in a range of sporting communities across the world.

FIM And Discovery Sports Events Announce Ten-Year Speedway Vision From 2022

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Discovery Sports Events have today revealed their vision for the future of Speedway over the next decade. Marking the start of Discovery Sports Events’ new role as global promoter for the sport, the organisations have unveiled a new SGP brand identity to run through the Speedway pyramid and details of new event formats to begin in 2022.

Long-term Vision for Speedway and New SGP Brand Identity

By bringing international Speedway together under one global promoter for the first time, the new vision will build a stronger and more connected international pyramid for the sport – from the grassroots all the way to the pinnacle of Speedway. From 2022, all categories will be unified under the new SGP brand unveiled today including the SGP (FIM Speedway Grand Prix), SGP2 (FIM Speedway U21 World Championship), SGP3 (FIM Speedway U16 World Championship) and a new international entry-level SGP4. The sport’s marquee annual events will complement the series and continue as the reformatted SON (FIM Speedway of Nations) and SWC (FIM Speedway World Cup), returning to the calendar for the first time since 2017.

The move is part of five key priorities under the new vision for Speedway including improving the year-round narrative of the sport with the riders at the heart, raising their profiles internationally; extend the distribution of the sport on both TV and digital platforms; enhance both the at-event and on-screen experience to deepen engagement with fans; widen the global Speedway footprint through new venues, more events and an extended season; and support juniors by connecting the next generation of champions to the sport.

New SGP Event Format and 2022 Calendar Reveal 

From 2022, the extended SGP season will include 12 rounds over 2 continents, and will feature 15 permanent riders and 1 local ‘wildcard’ entry per venue. In a significant change to enhance the sport’s narrative and boost the fan experience, the action will be contained in one action-packed day. A format of 20 heats, 2 semi-finals and 1 final will take place during Saturday evening, with practice and qualifying moving from Friday to Saturday afternoon.

The new integrated Speedway calendar from 2022 will see the sport develop a sustained and consistent narrative through the season, as well as each category being able to gain maximise awareness. With the season running from April to November bringing even more thrilling action to fans every year, three SGP2 events will be held (May, July and October), one SGP3 event (August) and a week’s bonanza (July) as fans can enjoy the SON and SWC on a rotation basis, as the summer gets in full flow.

Following a joint presentation ahead of the 2021 Ewinner Torun FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland, the FIM President Jorge Viegas said: “After 20 years with BSI, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their professionalism, cooperation and friendship.

“Looking forward, I would like to welcome the new FIM Speedway Grand Prix promoter Discovery Sports Events. This is a long-term believe in a new promoter that presented us a long-term vision to develop this spectacular discipline over the next decade. Speedway has a huge potential to grow not only in terms of attracting a new generation of riders, but particularly in terms of reaching new territories outside of Europe.

“I wish all the best to all the stakeholders who will be part of this new journey and can confirm that the FIM will continue to work hand in hand with the new promoter.”

Head of Discovery Sports Events, François Ribeiro said: “After 20 months of preparations, we are excited to start our promoter journey as part of Discovery Sports Events’ new long-term partnership with FIM. Speedway has great foundations, a super fan base and we see significant growth potential. We won’t change anything to the nature of the sport. Speedway will celebrate its 100-year anniversary in 2023, but it is incredibly modern in its format: compact, spectacular, 100% in-stadium, Saturday evening primetime, something quite unique in motorsport to engage with fans. 

“For the first time in its history, Speedway at all levels will have a single international promoter, from grassroots-level up to pro-level. As Dorna and FIM have done remarkably well to build Moto 2 and Moto 3 as the MotoGP feeder, we will bring SGP2 and SGP3 junior championships to the SGP platform to train the best young riders and build a ladder for them up to professional level. 

“Discovery Sports Events will benefit from the truly global scale of Discovery Sports to grow Speedway’s global audience across discovery+ which will be become our premium Home of Speedway destination for fans, but also for Eurosport and domestic free-to-air channels owned by Discovery in key Speedway markets such as UK, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany. It is our ambition to grow the sport further and multiply the current SGP global viewership by 5 times within the next 3 years.”

New Ambassador for Junior Speedway

During today’s official unveil, FIM and Discovery Sports Events also announced that Speedway legend Tony Rickardsson will become the first SGP Global Ambassador. The 6-time FIM SGP World Champion and most successful Speedway rider in history will add his unrivalled experience and support the develop of the sport. Starting immediately, Rickardsson will advise Discovery Sports Events and support all facets of the sport from SGP to the junior categories of the sport and its young riders. 

SGP Ambassador Tony Rickardsson said: 

“I’m glad to give back something to the sport I love, and support Discovery Sports Events in its new promoter role. My aim is to ease the access of Speedway to young riders and make SGP even more remarkable competition. I will put my experience, my energy and enthusiasm in the new role and look forward to bring Speedway into a new golden era.” 

Driving Innovation in Speedway.

Ahead of the 2022 season, a wide range of innovations will be unveiled to heighten the experience of fans – both at the venues and watching on-screen – and bring them even closer to the action. Advanced event and television production will see a new setup at races, including:

  • New pit boxes
  • New central stage in the heart of the action
  • TV studios 
  • New SGP Fan Zones
  • Advanced SGP App to follow Speedway wherever you are

A New Long-term Partnership 

In October 2020, FIM agreed a long-term partnership which will see Discovery Sports Events promote FIM Speedway events globally for the next 10 years. The new agreement begins in 2022 and builds on the existing partnership between the organisations for the promotion of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) since 2015. 

In an expanded role following a competitive tender to select a new global promoter, Discovery Sports Events will leverage its long-standing motorsport promotion expertise and the global scale of Discovery to develop the sport and grow Speedway around the world. 

It will oversee the full operational and commercial aspects of the sport including multi-platform rights management and distribution, broadcast production, sponsorship rights strategy and the full suite of marketing, brand and promotional activity. It will also work with local organisers on promotion and maximising ticketing, hospitality and fan engagement. 

Discovery Sports Events was revealed in September 2021 as the new corporate brand to represent Discovery’s global promotion and events management arm, previously known as the industry renowned Eurosport Events. It has a 15-year heritage of growing some of the most popular motorsports series in the world – including the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup and PURE ETCR, the world’s first all-electric touring car championship that will upgrade to the FIA eTouring World Cup from 2022. Launching in 2023, it will also promote the ground-breaking FIA Electric GT Championship, a new long-term platform for manufacturers to showcase their flagship GT cars and innovative technologies. As part of Discovery, the promoter will also have the ability to tap into the scale and depth of the group’s worldwide lifestyle platforms, channels and brands to raise the visibility and awareness of the sport to new audiences globally.

BOXXER Announces Partnerships With Sports Direct And Everlast

BOXXER, the next-generation boxing promotion, today announced a new partnership with Everlast and Sports Direct, who will become official partners of BOXXER and Sky Sports Boxing. 

Everlast and Sports Direct, two companies united by their common goal to inspire and empower the next generation of athletes, are part of Frasers Group, a global powerhouse which owns some of the world’s most iconic brands.

Founded in 1910, Everlast has become synonymous with the sport of boxing and has been the brand of choice for generations of champions. Battle-tested in one of the athletic world’s toughest environments, Everlast products have stood the test of time. The brand produces equipment for every combat sport and is sold across more than 75 countries and 6 continents.

Sports Direct is Europe’s largest sports retailer and serves millions of customers every week. A staple of the British high street for almost 30 years, Sports Direct believes that sport is the great equaliser, and that access to sport – and the best sports kit in the world – should be a right for everyone.

The partnership commences with this Saturday night’s BOXXER event at the iconic SSE Wembley Arena. Headlined by Chris Eubank Jr against Anatoli Muratov, the event airs live and exclusively on Sky Sports.

Viewers will see Everlast and Sports Direct branding featured across all pre-event promotional activity along with prominent ring and arena branding during BOXXER live events. 

Everlast also becomes the preferred glove provider for all BOXXER events and will provide exclusive new glove and apparel collaborations for the BOXXER Series tournament events. 

Commenting on the partnership, BOXXER’s founder and CEO Ben Shalom said: “We’re delighted to announce this new partnership with Everlast and Sports Direct, ahead of our launch event with Sky Sports Boxing. Everlast’s commitment to quality means it’s an optimal fit for our boxers, who need equipment of the highest calibre to compete at elite level.” 

Chris Zoller, VP of Marketing and product Development at Everlast, added: “It has been a huge year for boxing and for Everlast in the UK. We have taken our pledge to British boxing seriously adding over 20 athletes to our Team Everlast roster so far, ranging all skill levels, backgrounds and goals in and with the sport. Supporting Boxxer and Sky Sports is the next step in our commitment to boxing and we are beyond excited for where it will take us, the sport and our athletes.”

Beckie Stanion, Chief Marketing Officer at Sports Direct, said, “At Sports Direct we are driven by our purpose to use the powers of sport to champion the legend in everyone, no matter how skilled you are. Sky Sports and BOXXER’s exciting new chapter covering both elite-level and emerging fighters gives us a platform to inspire boxing communities up and down the UK, and supports our mission to make boxing – and ultimately all sport – accessible to all. 

“Sports Direct is where many start their boxing journey, whether that’s picking up a gumshield or their first pair of gloves, so we are immensely excited to take our support for the sport into a new era.”