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.”

Genius Sports Announces Expansion Of Its Agreement With Entain And BetMGM With Official NFL Data And Fan Engagement Solutions

·         Genius Sports to provide BetMGM and Entain brands with full NFL offering including official data feeds, sportsbook content and fan engagement solutions

·         BetMGM is a leading sports betting platform in the U.S. available in 16 markets

·         New agreement expands on Genius Sports’ decade-long official data and trading partnership with Entain

Genius Sports Limited (NYSE:GENI) (“Genius Sports” or “the Company”), the official data, technology and commercial partner powering the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, today announced an expansion of its existing agreement with Entain and BetMGM. 

The new agreement provides Entain, the leading global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment operator, and BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator jointly owned by Entain and MGM Resorts in the US, with a full NFL offering including official data feeds, sportsbook content and fan engagement solutions.

“Our partnership with Entain’s portfolio of leading sports betting brands and BetMGM has been central to Genius’ success for over a decade,” said Mark Locke, CEO at Genius Sports. “I’m thrilled that we are expanding our historic agreement to connect millions of sportsbook customers in the U.S. and worldwide with our premium NFL offering, powered by the highest quality official data.”

Genius Sports will provide BetMGM’s sportsbook customers with a full range of official sportsbook data, content and fan engagement solutions, including a complete suite of NFL-related products.

“As a sports betting operator we rely on data and partnering with Genius Sports gives us access to one of the best in the industry,” said BetMGM’s CEO Adam Greenblatt. “Combined with our unique platform and user interface, BetMGM is primed to offer an even better sports betting experience for our customers.”   

In August 2021, BetMGM was selected as an NFL Approved Sportsbook Operator. Genius Sports will provide BetMGM, and other Entain brands, with access to the NFL’s official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) data, and official sports betting data feed. Combined with exclusive representation of certain legalized sports betting advertising inventory on NFL digital properties, Genius Sports provides sportsbooks with end-to-end value, powering the full user lifecycle from player acquisition to pre-match and in-game betting, through to long-term customer retention.

This new agreement is a major expansion of Genius Sports’ more than decade-long partnership with Entain and its global brands, also including bwin, Coral and Ladbrokes. Genius Sports will continue to provide official data across top tier global sports properties including the English Premier League, Euroleague Basketball, Liga MX, Argentine and Colombian soccer.

Qatar To Join F1 Calendar In 2021, As Country Signs Additional 10-year Deal From 2023

Qatar’s Losail International Circuit will hold its first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix on November 19-21, with the country set to host the 20th event of the 2021 season, as well as signing an additional 10-year deal to host F1 from 2023.

The Qatari circuit is most famous for its association with the world of two-wheeled racing, with Losail having hosted the MotoGP series since 2004. Ooredoo, the international communications company, will be the title sponsor for the event.

The race’s inclusion on the calendar will create a three-part Middle Eastern ending to the 2021 season, with the race in Qatar followed up by the first ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on December 3-5, with the season rounded off by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 10-12.

A statement from F1 said: “There was a strong will from Qatar to be helpful to F1, and in the course of this process, the vision for a longer partnership was discussed and agreed for 10 years.

“The step from the gesture to be helpful to F1 in 2021 to a long term strategy was short and simple and the vision for F1 to be the showcase for Qatar after the FIFA World Cup in 2022 was the driving force behind this long term agreement.

“As part of the longer-term deal, discussions will continue regarding the location for the Grand Prix from 2023 with further details to be provided at a later time.

Speaking of Qatar’s inclusion on the 2021 calendar, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali praised the efforts of the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and the Qatari Authorities in helping to arrange the Grand Prix at short notice, saying: “We are very pleased to welcome Qatar to the Formula 1 calendar this season and for the longer term from 2023.

“The Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation and Authorities have been incredible and have moved at great speed to ensure the race can take place this season at the Losail Circuit, famous to many as the host of MotoGP.

“We have shown that we can continue to adapt and there is huge interest in our sport and the hope from many locations to have a Grand Prix. The huge effort from all the teams, F1 and the FIA has made it possible to deliver a 22-race calendar, something that is very impressive during a challenging year and something we can all be proud of.”

Abdulrahman Al-Mannai, President of Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation, said: “This is a very special day for Qatar Motorsport and our nation’s ambitions as a host of major sporting events.

“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to support Formula 1 by stepping in and hosting a race in our country in such a short time frame, while also securing a ground-breaking long term deal with F1.

“This exciting agreement means that Qatar will be the home of both Formula 1 and MotoGP for the next decade, which are the pinnacle events in global motorsport. We have a proud motorsport history and this is the next chapter for us. Qatar will be a great destination for F1 and we look forward to welcoming all the drivers, teams, media and fans very soon.”

Jean Todt, FIA President, added: “I congratulate Formula 1, the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation and the Qatari authorities, who have worked tirelessly to quickly and efficiently make the inaugural Grand Prix in Qatar happen in these challenging times.

“The Losail International Circuit, which will welcome the race, has been working closely with us to ensure they are full prepared for this momentous occasion. We are very proud of this collective achievement. I thank the QMMF President Abdulrahman Al-Mannai and His Excellency Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports, for their involvement.

“This commitment to F1 for the long term, as well as the organisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and many other international events, is another example of Qatar’s strong passion for sport.”

The International Cricket Council Announces Strategic Partnership With Fintech Infrastruture Leader: Nium

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced today that it has entered a multi-year strategic partnership with Nium, a leading global financial technology (FinTech) infrastructure company. Nium provides banks and businesses with access to a suite of fintech infrastructure services through one API. This partnership includes involvement and integration in three global ICC events through to the end of 2023 such as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, the ICC World Test Championship Final in 2023 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 to be hosted in India.

As an official partner of the ICC, Nium will promote its association across broadcast and digital platforms, as well as execute unique fan and client activations at these ICC events. This partnership will enable Nium to engage the global cricket-loving business fanbase with innovative campaigns that highlight the power of fintech in helping make global money movement faster, safer, and easier. 

Speaking on the association, Anurag Dahiya, Chief Commercial Officer, ICC said: “We are excited to have Nium join us as an official partner, beginning with the highly anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held here in the UAE & Oman. This relationship will allow Nium to use the backdrop of cricket to promote its role as a pioneer in fintech innovation to its clients and prospects, worldwide. We look forward to working with Nium on developing bespoke campaigns that we believe in time will have a positive impact on our game and how we engage with fans.”

Speaking on this strategic partnership, Prajit Nanu, Co-Founder and CEO, Nium said: “We are beyond excited to join forces with the ICC as a unique B2B commercial partner. Cricket’s appeal transcends countries, currencies, and cultures. For years, Nium has been the behind-the-scenes fintech infrastructure powering some of the most recognized brands in the world. This partnership allows us to showcase our fintech innovations on a global stage, and to engage cricket-loving technologists in the development of new programs to advance the global game experience.”