Real Madrid CF And Legends Announce Global Omnichannel Retail Progam

Real Madrid CF today announced an expansive omnichannel retail program, inclusive of an all-new official online store, the relaunch of three official stores in Madrid, and a new Flagship Megastore at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid has partnered with Legends, a premium experiences company with global expertise across merchandising, sales, partnerships, planning, technology, and hospitality, to manage all merchandise operations.

This new partnership between Legends and Real Madrid will further develop relationships with fans and deliver a seamless and integrated experience that truly represents the Real Madrid brand across all online and retail physical touchpoints. It will also play an important role in the commercial growth and brand development strategy of the club, where Legends and Real Madrid share the same vision for delivering a modern omnichannel experience.

As part of the Club’s international growth strategy, the new official online store will include premium and exclusive Real Madrid merchandise for fans of all ages. The e-commerce platform will be available in eight different languages and features innovative design elements, an exceptional user experience, and will serve fans around the world. The new official online store is innovative, leveraging modern technology and infrastructure to allow Real Madrid to integrate e-commerce experiences directly into any of its digital channels.

The official online store is a key pillar in Real Madrid’s digital strategy that puts the fan experience squarely at the center of the business. A true omnichannel experience is a fundamental part of the strategy, and the partnership with Legends takes a major step toward the vision of a comprehensive shopping experience, online and in stores, for all Socios, Madridistas, and fans around the world to find their favorite official products. The comprehensive retail program will promote relevant offers in a seamless purchase experience, whenever and where ever fans go to engage with the team.

The Real Madrid Flagship Megastore will open its doors as part of the ongoing state-of-the-art transformation of the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, and will be a revolutionary shopping experience for Socios, Madridistas, local, and international fans visiting the stadium. Later this year, Real Madrid will open an interim Megastore at the stadium, which boasts two floors on the south side of the stadium. With exclusive product assortments, customization stations, and a new range of leisurewear and team products, accessories, and the widest selection of Real Madrid technical product, the Megastore will provide a one-of-a-kind experience for fans. Further details about the interim Real Madrid Megastore will be released in the coming weeks.

FIBA Announces Four-Year TCL Global Partnership Renewal

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and electronics company TCL have signed a new global partnership agreement for a further four years until 2023.

The deal was brokered by FIBA Marketing, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Infront, a Wanda Sports company. It follows a successful first cycle which saw TCL celebrate broad exposure at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 hosted across eight cities last year in China.

Julien Ternisien, Infront Senior Vice President Summer Sports said: “TCL formed a key part of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in terms of exposure but also fan engagement. This new and expanded agreement illustrates that there is high value to be found when brands associate themselves with FIBA and its properties and I have every confidence TCL will once again be an integral cog in the basketball family.”

As outlined in today’s press release from FIBA the agreement grants TCL exclusivity in the categories of home appliances including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners and is expanded to provide key commercial rights across all FIBA competitions. This includes the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, FIBA Continental Cups for both Men and Women, FIBA Youth World Cups, the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 and FIBA’s pinnacle event the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023.

Specific rights for these events include having premium brand visibility on the court and being the presenter of the player of the game (“TCL Player of the Game”), while TCL has also been granted the exclusive Presenting Sponsorship rights for the Asian Qualifiers for the Asia Cup 2021 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

PTI Digital Appoints Ben Wells As Chief Commercial Officer

PTI Digital have appointed Ben Wells as the Chief Commercial Officer.

Wells, a well-respected and long-standing voice in the realm of innovation in the sports commercial model, joins the business after a period of growth. Formerly of Chelsea FC and Bath Rugby, Ben will lead a newly formed Commercial Services team that aim to best prepare clubs, venues and rightsholders to capitalise on the growth opportunities that the digital age has to offer.

Commenting on his appointment, Ben said: “I am delighted to be joining PTI, who have proven themselves to be an exciting, innovative and fast-paced business over the last three years.

We are living in the digital age, yet most commercial models in sport are still in ‘analogue’ mode, not realising their full commercial potential due to limitations in the traditional matchday revenue model. In taking our Commercial Services offering to market, PTI can provide an integrated commercial, data, digital and technology service suite to clients that not only delivers upon digital transformation objectives, but also provides direct commercial benefit.”

The Commercial Services offering will revolve around three key deliverables:

Commercial audits, assessing your maturity to deliver engagement and revenues in the digital age
Commercial strategy and roadmaps, providing the route to your business goals against your strategic aims
Chief Commercial Officer as-a-Service, providing c-suite consultants who will take ownership of commercial strategy and the performance it achieves on an ongoing basis

Mike Bohndiek, Chief Executive Officer at PTI Digital commented, “We are thrilled to have Ben onboard. Having previously been orientated as data, digital and technology experts who were commercially savvy, in Ben we have closed that gap to provide true, proven expertise for all facets of client discussions.

Over the last 12 months we’ve seen a mass move to drive new digital revenues, accelerated by COVID. Yet, this has often been in a silo or scatter gun fashion. With a holistic skill set at PTI, we aim to ensure that clubs embark on their journey into the digital age with the comfort that it clearly links back to commercial strategy and revenue growth.”

White Paper: How Covid-19 Is A Chance For Media Industry To Transform Their Approach To Customer Experience Management

COVID-19 has ripped through the global economy. As people adjust to the new reality of social distancing and remote working, consumer behavior too, has transformed. And, as a majority of global population self-isolates at home , media consumption levels have gone through the roof. According to a recent report from Global Web Index, 87% of US consumers and 80% of UK consumers revealed that they are consuming more content than ever before. 

Unfortunately though, these high media utilization rates come at a time when new content production— from live sports to sitcoms and movies—has come to a grinding halt. Cast and crew members are now safely ensconced in their homes, often in separate countries. 

But there’s good news too. Progressive incumbents in the media industry have taken creative approaches to cater to viewer demand. For instance, traditional sports are increasingly turning to virtual competitions to keep their fans, sponsors and broadcasters engaged.

Major sports and Esports leagues are making it possible for star athletes like Kevin Durant and Charles Leclerc to participate in live tournaments. This lets supporters watch their favorite athletes live, and fills up empty airtime for broadcasters. Even celebrity talk shows are now playing out of hosts’ living rooms and bedrooms . 

We Need a Plan 

For the media industry, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity: a chance to transform their approach to customer experience management, demand planning and revenue generation. In fact, capitalizing on this moment could lay the groundwork for the post-COVID world. A world that, by most accounts, is going to be dramatically different from the one before the pandemic. According to us, here are the key elements of a well-rounded response plan for media companies: 

01 Enable Workforce Collaboration 

Migrate your workflows to the cloud: In order to meet audience demand, which is largely homebound for now, content creators have to ensure that production environments are virtualized. Here, media orchestration on the cloud can make a real difference. For instance, cloud-based content workflows can allow content creators and stakeholders to virtually manage the video production chain end-to-end. Migrating to the cloud enables remote teams to integrate and automate workflows for file delivery, transcode videos for OTT platforms and perform seamless, web-based, frame-accurate editing in a virtual environment without having to transfer feeds between physical workstations. Within the media industry, Esports is leading the way in leveraging cloud-based, virtualized, live-production workflows to host competitions between players in different locations. 

02 Enhance Your Customer’s Digital Experience 

Make your content easily accessible: Studies say that as page load time increases from 1 second to 3 seconds the probability of bounce increases by 32%. This annoying page load delay or “latency” can be potentially disastrous for content streaming as well. This is where content delivery networks (CDNs) can become a savior for media companies. CDNs serve as globally distributed network of web servers or Points of Presence (PoP) that virtually shorten the physical distance between a user and the origin server, thereby facilitating faster content delivery. Besides improving speed of delivery, CDNs reduce traffic load on the origin server and safeguard it from endpoint security threats. Also, they allow media companies to scale flexibly as the demand spikes and ebbs. 

Customize your archived content using AI-enhanced metadata: In order to satiate growing audience demand in the absence of new content, media companies will have to start leveraging smarter metadata to customize and contextualize historical content. Machine learning powered algorithms can identify and retrieve resources in a vast content library through accurate tags and descriptors. This can help a company save valuable employee time by providing intuitive content recommendations basis viewer preferences and temporal context. 

Boost CX with multilingual content and personalized audio delivery: Netflix has revealed that two of its most popular recent shows – German “Dark” and Spanish “Money Heist”, were received better outside of their home markets.These success stories establish the fact that the world is warming up to non-English/non-native language content. Capitalizing on this trend, an effective video localization strategy with multilingual content can help a media company drive global viewership for regional shows and events. 

While multilingual content can help broadcasters and media companies to cater to a wide segment of the audience through a single content format, personalized audio takes the overall broadcast experience to the next level and helps companies venture into new markets for foreign programming.

Next-gen audio broadcast systems can help content creators develop and deploy multiple audio formats and channels through a single video stream. Consumers can then customize broadcast audio through interactive control of additional audio elements such as alternate dialogue, ambiance, and extra effects. 

03 Create a Future-Proof Operational Ecosystem 

Differentiate temporary changes from the ones that will persist: As the economy grapples with the flux in government regulations and consumer trends, it is important to understand what trends are transient, and which ones might last longer. While these factors may differ significantly for each region, two things are quite clear. One, things will take time to return to complete normalcy. In media, this may result in an overhaul in the entire value chain, starting with a leaner production process. Broadcasters and rights-holders must consider remote or at-home production with cloud-based workflows and geographically-separated teams. Secondly, some of the consumer content preferences developed during the lockdown may continue to be relevant even afterwards. For instance, Esports tournaments may achieve mainstream acceptance as an alternative to live sport right now, but it would not be surprising if it became a parallel entertainment entity for the long-term. Planning an infrastructure ramp-up to cater to such growing niches is just as crucial as bringing back the classics. 

The current COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented. But the media industry has endured several disruptions before, and has emerged stronger every time. Over the last decade, factors such as the rapid digitization of content, social media and an increase in on-demand video consumption on mobile devices have compelled the industry to recalibrate and adapt. 

This time around, things are going to be no different. Industry leaders need to keep their ears and eyes open, adapt quickly to changing consumer behavior, watch out for new trends and technologies, and as always, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.

Nigerian Professional Football League Enters Long-Term Commerical Rights Partnership With RedStrike Media

The Nigerian Professional Football League through the League Management Company has entered into a strategic and investment partnership with Redstrike Media Nigeria to create NPFL Media and Marketing Company to commercialise the NPFL. Redstrike has agreed to acquire these rights from the LMC/NPFL and the Clubs for NPFL Marketing.

Under this Agreement, NPFL Marketing will be streaming live matches every week of the season through its own Platform “NPFL.tv”, as well as distributing and broadcasting through other media channels. Redstrike will also be launching opportunities for companies and brands to sponsor the NPFL and to support the growth of the professional game in Nigeria.

Nigerian Football fans will be able to engage and enjoy NPFL.tv’s innovative and ground-breaking Next Gen 360 ̊ Platform. Redstrike will also be working with each NPFL participating Club to build a dedicated club app to integrate with NPFL.tv and also enhance the revenue base of the clubs.

The NPFL is expected to re-start initially without crowds. However, Nigerian Football fans will be able to follow all the action and so much more through NPFL.tv. The NPFL Marketing partnership will also involve the creation of an NPFL Development Fund that will be deployed towards improvement of stadia infrastructure and connectivity, academies and community outreach programmes.

The NPFL is the elite level of the domestic Nigerian Football Leagues and is managed by the LMC. The League consists of 20 professional football clubs from all corners of the Country. The 2020/21 Season is scheduled to kick off in October 2020 and will run through to June 2021 subject to approvals of the Government and the health authorities.

Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the LMC proudly announced: “This is exactly what Nigerian football needs. Our partnership with Redstrike is ground-breaking, enabling the NPFL to follow its ambition of becoming Africa’s Premier Football League and to be recognised as one of the most important leagues globally.

“We are delighted to have the full support of our magnificent participating clubs and the support of the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, and the entire Administrators of Football around the Country. We are delighted to enter into our strategic partnership with Redstrike. Their global football expertise is clear, their commercial credentials impressive and Redstrike’s technical ability to deliver NPFL.tv is extremely exciting. Overall, the investment and technical expertise Redstrike will be bringing into the NPFL will surely guarantee the sustainable progression of the League whilst delivering value to the fans, players, club owners and other stakeholders, as well as world class content for monetization.

“The effect of this ground-breaking development for Nigerian Football is that every Nigerian football fan will be able to follow their team and watch NPFL matches every week. We also expect that the new broadcast arrangements will energise interest in the Nigerian Football Leagues. I am so excited that the NPFL finally has a medium that will enable all fans of Nigerian football to engage directly with the NPFL and immerse themselves in Nigeria’s famous passion for Football.

“We are always appreciative of the immense support of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the National Assembly for policies and legislation towards making sports thrive as a business and the overall enabling environment for the development of the NPFL and indeed, football in Nigeria.”

Bola Adefehinti, Chairman of Redstrike Media Nigeria and G2P Sports stated: “Firstly, as a Nigerian football fan, I am proud that the NPFL/ Redstrike partnership enables us to deliver a ground-breaking Platform that makes the Nigerian Professional Football League accessible to all fans of Nigerian football, irrespective of their location. I am particularly delighted about the positive impact that NPFL.tv will have on grassroots football in Nigeria, raising of the standards of the NPFL, improvements in the stadia/ infrastructure and the potential for “exporting” the NPFL brand across the African continent and beyond.

“My profound thanks must go to the LMC and the NPFL, under the stewardship of Mr. Shehu Dikko for working seamlessly with Redstrike to put together the commercial terms of the Joint Venture in a very short period of time. My thanks also go to my colleagues at Redstrike Media and G2P Sports for the tireless “behind the scenes” work to get this Agreement across the line.”

Mike Farnan Global CEO of the Redstrike Group of Companies highlighted: “This partnership with the NPFL is 100% in line with Redstrike’s mission of investing in emerging markets and rights with unfulfilled potentials. The Nigeria Professional Football League (the elite League in Nigeria) is exactly that with turbo boosters. I have not been as excited about an opportunity in football since my Manchester United days. It is a fantastic honour to be involved with Nigerian Football and one I and my team will fully commit to. We will deliver commercial success to the NPFL.”

Howard Thomas, Deputy Chairman of Redstrike Media and Redstrike COO proclaimed: “Our negotiations with the NPFL have been very professional and inspirational. I look forward to having the opportunity to meet Chairman Shehu Dikko in person during September. We look forward to supporting his leadership to deliver the NPFL into one of the globe’s great football leagues.

“The appearance of the Covid 19 virus earlier this year, has taken an adverse toll on a facets of life all over the world, with spectator sports as one of its casualties. This will have been felt even more in a country like Nigeria where football is a key point of social interaction. As we collectively pray for God’s intervention in the elimination of this dreaded disease, we hope that the NPFL.tv will mark the beginning of a new chapter for Nigerian Football. Nigeria is a very important and passionate football nation and we know that football is in the blood and the body of every Nigerian.”

Nick Fitzgerald, Technology Director of Redstrike Media Nigeria Group: “I am so excited that the Next Gen 360 ̊Platform first sports launch is in Nigeria. We have so many levels of engagement for Nigerian Football fans. We will be engaging with all ages, boys and girls, granddads and grandmums, players, coaches and supporters. We have some very exciting announcements in the pipeline on content that will be available on NPFL.tv. Our NPFL.tv service will be unlimited and 360 ̊.”

Extreme E Teams Up With ALLCOT Group To Support Net-Zero Carbon Goal

Extreme E, the revolutionary electric off-road racing series, has agreed a partnership with ALLCOT to offset the championship’s carbon footprint in support of its goal to have a net-zero carbon footprint by the end of its first season.



ALLCOT, a world-leader in carbon offsetting and sustainability initiatives, develops innovative impact projects which enable businesses to support local communities to protect the environment by reducing their carbon emissions. These initiatives directly support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which call on governments, businesses and communities to put an end to poverty and protect the planet

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO at Extreme E commented: “Our sustainability strategy is a crucial aspect of Extreme E so we’re delighted to be working with ALLCOT, a world-leader in climate change and sustainable solutions, to develop this strategy and enable us to support some truly transformational projects. 

“Extreme E’s goal is to have a zero-net carbon footprint by the end of its first season, which means removing as many emissions as we produce. We plan to achieve this by following the United Nation’s framework which recommends reducing, measuring, and offsetting carbon emissions. The projects we will support will empower local communities to reduce emissions to help protect the planet, not just now but for the long-term.” 

ALLCOT global community projects include the Brazilian Rosewood Protected Forest Project that safeguards 177,899 hectares of high conservation value rainforest, and a project in Mozambique that will replace 10,000 traditional cookstoves with new energy-efficient versions, reducing charcoal consumption by 50 per cent and in turn reducing gas emissions and usage of fossil fuels. 

Alexis L. Leroy, Founder and CEO of ALLCOT, commented: “We are very excited to partner with Extreme E not simply with offset but with vanguard vision in term of sustainable strategy solutions, shifting from GHG compensations to Global Impacts, which is at the core of Extreme E’s values. Beyond, we see great potential in synergy with Extreme E and its technology partners to bring sustainable innovative solutions to remote communities.” 

Extreme E is consulting with carbon measurement experts Quantis to calculate its corporate footprint and will continue to track and update this figure as its season unfolds.



As well as offsetting, Extreme E focuses on reduction of its footprint through a series of efforts which include;
-Using 100% electric vehicles.

-Zero emission vehicle charging using Hydrogen Fuel Cells generated by water and solar.
-The series centrepiece, the RMS St. Helena ship, which has undergone extensive refurbishment to lower its emissions in order to transport the championship’s freight and logistics around the world. This is estimated to reduce carbon by two thirds in comparison with air freight.
-Not having spectators at events. (Depending on the type and location of events, fans can represent 20 to 50% of the total footprint of an event once you consider their transport, food and beverage and merchandising).

-Capping the number of members each team has on-site to just seven each – two drivers, one engineer and four mechanics.

-Remote broadcast operations which involves using satellites to enable live editing and overlays to take place in a London studio.

-The use of alternative fuel HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) generators instead of diesel counterparts for all on-site power needs. 

-Virtual, at-home hospitality experiences. 

In addition to reducing, measuring and offsetting its carbon footprint, Extreme E has appointed an independent Scientific Committee, consisting of leading academics from The University of Oxford and The University of Cambridge, tasked with driving the series’ climate education and practice.

Extreme E will go racing in early 2021, visiting five environments around the world, including Arctic, desert, ocean, glacier and Amazon locations, which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues.


Inspiring its global audience to take action now, and leaving a lasting positive impact is a key element of the series, and working with organisations like ALLCOT ensures Extreme E is supporting and investing in the right projects with the biggest impact on the environment and its local communities.



Extreme E will use the mass appeal and following of sport to highlight the effects of climate change around the world, which include deforestation, melting icecaps, desertification, rising sea levels, plastic pollution and more, and will educate its fans with important messages around the reduction of our own carbon impact, including the promotion of electric vehicles and other clean energy mobility solutions for a lower carbon future.

Premier League Announces Termination Of Chinese Broadcast Deal With PPTV

The Premier League has today announced the termination of its Chinese media deal with PPTV.

According to the BBC, PPTV’s deal to broadcast the competition in China was the most expensive of any foreign broadcaster.

PPTV, owned by Suning (who hold the majority stake in Serie A side Inter Milan), have reportedly failed to pay the Premier League a figure of £160million they had been expected to pay in March of this year.

In an abrupt statement, the Premier League posted on Twitter: “The Premier League confirms that it has today terminated its agreements for #PL coverage in China with its licensee in that territory. The #PL will not be commenting further on the matter at this stage.”

The league will now be in a race against time to try and find a new channel willing to take up the media rights in a new deal, with just nine days until the competition resumes, meaning a large chunk of Premier League fans across the country will not be able to view the start of the season.

This could be complicated further by some political tension occurring between the two countries, with the US, one of the UK’s major allies, also suffering from similar consequences.

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Member Insights: Sport And Its Facilities Needs To Ensure Fans Return To Stadiums Soon

With COVID-19 restrictions easing, we are finally getting back to a sense of normality. Restaurants and pubs have opened their doors. Shops and museums have allowed us to grace their halls once again. What’s next on the list? What can get the people of Britain smiling again? The deafening sound of premier league fans in our world-famous stadiums.

In our latest Member Insights piece, Gameplan, the Integrated Workforce Management company explores what it would be like for the fans to return to the stadiums in this Covid-19 era.

With the first matches beginning in empty stadiums, building a strategy around the 2020-2021 season and get fans back into the stands is of paramount importance. We can only listen to fake fans noises for so long before it starts to wear on morale. To get the supporters back into the stadiums without another spike in COVID cases will be no small feat. But what is this going to look like?

Spectators could be able to return to stadiums in England from October, says Prime Minister Boris Johnson. With ongoing speculation over the government’s constantly changing advice, it is predicted that the social distance regulations will be changed from two meters to one-meter plus. This gives us some hope that at least some die-hard fans will be able to enjoy the teams in all their glory. Pilot trials were planned but with current resurgence concerns, they have been cancelled.

“The uncertainty around measures and restrictions, new safety regulations as well as the fans’ response, will affect the workforce required to make live sports safe once again for the public.”

These pilot trials were to be held at;

Two men’s county cricket friendly matches – including Surrey v Middlesex at The Oval on 26-27 July;
The World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre from 31 July;
The Goodwood horse racing festival – known as Glorious Goodwood – on 1 August.

Once again, we can see Germany showing some strong guidance on how to manage the risk. The German Football League (DFL) is already one step ahead and has established a hygiene concept for the partial admission of fans if given the go-ahead by authorities. As regulations and infection rates vary regionally, the DFL asks clubs to adopt concepts in consultation with the local health bodies.

Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Cramer hopes that in addition to the planned 12,000 to 15,000 spectators, some of the approximately 4,000 seats in the hospitality area can be opened up again. According to Cramer, the big challenge is not the seating arrangements in the stadium, but the arrival, access, and departure issue, which will need to be discussed with the city and public transport representatives.

One not so obvious countermeasure are beer stands inside the stadiums – also post match. “We want to avoid queues at the exits after the final whistle. It is certainly no disadvantage if people still have the opportunity to drink a beer in the stadium after the game and review the 90 minutes,” says Hellmann, board member of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Live sport is part of phase four of government reopening and will be based on how well the UK can keep Corona virus cases down. For fans to safely return to spectating live sports, the government has outlined guidelines that must be adhered to:

Fans must agree to a new code of behaviour that includes not attending if they potentially have coronavirus symptoms or have been exposed to a person who has tested positive;
Social distancing must be observed in seating arrangements;
Crowd management plans should be in place, including the controlled entry and exit of fans and one-way systems;
Additional hygiene facilities should be installed inside venues, particularly at entrances and exits;
Screening procedures should be considered at stadium entrances.
With all this in place, it is a sneak peek into our new normal as well as a thin ray of hope for the stadia managers and their workforces.

The uncertainty around measures and restrictions, new safety regulations as well as the fans’ response, will affect the workforce required to make live sports safe once again for the public. A flexible and real-time workforce management system is necessary to help with this process, comply with the new regulations, and be flexible toward any last-minute changes we will see in the future.

This blog was originally published on Gameplan website.

Imola To Stage UCI Road World Championships, Athens Will Host Basketball Champions League Final Eight

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the organisation of the 2020 UCI Road World Championships to Imola. The world-renowned Italian city and its region Emilia-Romagna will host the event from 24 to 27 September.

The awarding of this event follows the cancellation on 12 August of the Aigle-Martigny 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Switzerland, which meant the UCI needed to find a new organiser very quickly.

The competition programme for the UCI Worlds has been adapted in view of the current world health situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic: only the races (road race and time trial) in the Elite categories will be contested this year. Indeed, the majority of the top athletes in the Elite Men and Women categories are already in Europe, as opposed to their younger counterparts (Juniors and Under 23) whose national delegations, in a significant number of cases, will not be able to travel to Italy due to travel restrictions imposed in numerous countries. Limiting the programme to the Elite categories means a large majority of young athletes will not to be unfairly prevented from having the possibility to participate in the competitions.

Although the start and finish of all the events will take place on the Imola automobile racing circuit, the routes proposed by the organising committee stand out due to their extremely challenging character: the men’s road race will be 259.2km with a total of nearly 5000m of climbing, while the length of the women’s race will be 144km with a cumulated 2750m of ascension. The circuit (28.8km) will be the same for the men (9 laps) and women (5 laps) and will include two difficult climbs (3km in total with an average gradient of 10% and sections reaching 14%). These characteristics will offer the riders a profile comparable to that of Aigle-Martigny (Switzerland) which will suit the punchers and climbers and should produce exciting and lively races.

The time trial circuit (to be covered once by both men and women), fairly flat, will measure 32km with 200m altitude difference, suiting the strongest specialists of the race against the clock.

A city situated some 40 kilometres from Bologna, Imola hosted the UCI Road World Championships in 1968, the year that saw victories go to the Italian Vittorio Adorni and the Netherlands’ Keetie van Oosten-Hage. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari has also been the theatre of several Giro d’Italia stage finishes. The organising committee of the Imola 2020 UCI Road World Championships can therefore benefit from extensive experience in the organisation of international events and world-class facilities.

2020 UCI Road World Championships Programme:

–      Thursday 24 September: Women Elite individual time trial

–      Friday 25 September: Men Elite individual time trial

–      Saturday 26 September: Women Elite road race

–      Sunday 27 September: Men Elite road race.

UCI President David Lappartient declared: “I congratulate the Imola organising committee for the excellent quality of its bidding file which it succeeded in producing in a short lapse of time. I would also like to thank the three other candidates Peccioli (Italy), Alba Adriatica (Italy) and the Haute-Saône (France) who also sent solid files to the UCI. It was not an easy choice, but it goes to show that even in this difficult period that we are going through, the UCI World Championships are still very attractive for cities and their regions.

“Although the award of the 2020 UCI Road World Championships to Imola is excellent news, my thoughts also go to the Aigle-Martigny organising committee whom I sincerely thank for its commitment and the quality of our collaboration over the last two years.

“The award of the UCI Road World Championships in Italy this year is of great symbolic value for the UCI: in a country that suffered enormously from the Covid-19 pandemic but was able to confront it effectively and with courage, the staging of our leading annual event will, in its own way, be a sign of a return to normal in a region where the health situation is now under control.

“I am convinced that the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola will allow us all, despite the difficult current situation, to witness a great sporting festival. I invite you all to follow this event in Italy, true cycling territory, on one of the most challenging circuits in the history of the UCI Road World Championships. I look forward to watching these races which promise to be magnificent.”

The city of Athens has been awarded the hosting of the 2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight.

Following FIBA’s decision on March 12 to cancel all international competition in order to protect the health and safety of players, coaches, officials and fans, the BCL Board took the unanimous decision on March 30 to resume and conclude the 2019-20 Season with the hosting of a Final Eight, single-game knock-out competition, to be held on September 30 – October 4, 2020.

Six teams have already qualified for the Final Eight (in alphabetical order): AEK (GRE), Casademont Zaragoza (ESP), ERA Nymburk (CZE), Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (ISR), San Pablo Burgos (ESP), and Türk Telekom (TUR). The two outstanding games, JDA Dijon (FRA) vs Nizhny Novgorod (RUS) and Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) vs Filou Oostende (BEL), still pending for the conclusion of the Round of 16, will be played prior to the hosting of the Final Eight, on September 16 (20:30 CET).

Eight teams will participate in the pinnacle event of Basketball Champions League’s fourth season which will be played over the last weekend of September in the Greek capital. The games will be played in the 18,000 seater Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, regular home court of AEK.

The decision concerning the presence of fans in the arena will be taken at a later stage and in accordance to the rules and regulations set by the Greek official authorities.

As part of this host city announcement, the logo of the 2020 Final Eight has also been unveiled:

“We are very excited to have Athens host the Basketball Champions League Final Eight. We are grateful for the commitment of the Greek authorities to help us organize this event in the best and safest way possible for all stakeholders, especially the players of all qualified teams. We have also witnessed the enthusiasm of the host club to organise this historical event,” said Patrick Comninos, CEO of the Basketball Champions League.

“Despite the difficult situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to award this Final Eight, with the participation of eight clubs that have earned their spot throughout a hard-fought season, to an environment that has proven experience in organizing top-level basketball events. This will guarantee a unique week of basketball for fans across Europe,” he added.

Member Insights: How Brands Adapted From Traditional Rights To Activate Across The ‘Final 8’ Tournaments

One of the major questions being faced by the current world of sports is how to keep sponsors involved during a time when there is both a lack of events occurring and also that of fans attending fixtures, something that is crucial for the industry.
Fuse’s Dan Sproul, Account Director, and James English, Partner, take a look at how brands activated across the Final 8 tournaments for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. How did Covid-19 affect some of their clients’ plans and how did brands pivot from traditional rights in this incredibly unique situation?

As some of the world’s largest sporting events, such as UEFA EURO 2020 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were being cancelled throughout March and April, there was plenty of uncertainty around the remainder of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League being completed.

But here we are, almost five months later with Bayern Munich and Sevilla crowned champions, and credit to UEFA for getting these tournaments concluded.

The Final 8 style tournaments unquestionably created logistical challenges for UEFA and the clubs involved – but this was also an interesting challenge for our four UEFA clients (Nissan, PepsiCo, Santander and Enterprise Rent-A-Car). As long-term plans for the culmination of the season needed to be completely reconsidered, it was undoubtedly an opportunity for a condensed fortnight of activation without competing with domestic leagues.

“Whilst football fans await further information on a return of fans to stadiums, partners will continue to invest in digital and online activations. The challenge will be for partners to differentiate – creativity is going to be key.”

At Fuse, we’ve worked closely with our clients to deliver in a short period of time. With just over six weeks between the announcement of the Final 8 tournaments and the tournament kicking off, there had to be quick adaptation to plan and deliver new campaigns and activations.

What social listening told us and how did this affect planning for our clients?

It is no surprise that a lot of our focus went digital. Through our social listening capabilities at Fuse, we identified that social media conversation and content was up 21% from the beginning of March. But we were also able to identify what type of content football fans were craving. The original peak of online social media challenges (e.g. Toilet Roll challenge, Run5, Donate5, Nominate5) was dwindling – fans now wanted to be entertained and informed. Sports personalities and historic footage were also two of the key topics that drove the highest conversation online, with many rights-holders (e.g. The Football Association) and broadcasters reverting to playing classic matches with commentary from those involved in the games.

But with lockdown restrictions easing across Europe, there was also the opportunity to offer local experiences – acknowledging that social connection was one of the global pandemic’s key challenges, with sport being a means for many people to socially connect.

What did we deliver for our clients?

With the above understanding of the landscape, we took these key principles into our planning for our clients.

Nissan’s brand ambassador Eden Hazard was pivotal for the brands UCL return content, with two engaging pieces: ‘My Favourite Goals’ where Hazard discussed his best UCL goals along with memories watching the competition growing up, and a cross-property content series with Formula E driver Oli Rowland, where Hazard changed his kit & football boots for a professional driving suit. Additionally, in Lisbon where the UEFA Champions League Final 8 was held, we worked with Nissan to arrange an invite only and private drive-in screening event where all 50 vehicles were Nissan 100% electric LEAF’s, complete with the UCL trophy and Portuguese legend Nuno Gomes. Nissan also activated the trophy tour online with a convoy around Lisbon to the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in a Nissan Nismo RC with the help of Nuno Gomes to promote EV and the brand new Nissan Ariya.

Benfica’s Estadio da Luz hosted the 2020 Champions League final in an empty arena with no fans present.

For PepsiCo, we delivered digital rights globally for its three main brands: Pepsi, Gatorade and Lay’s. Gatorade focused on future wonderkids – creating content which puts a spotlight on young UCL stars who will embark on their path to greatness during the 2020/21 season. Pepsi and Lay’s maximised their use of global ambassadors – with Paul Pogba gate-crashing an online Pepsi UCL quiz and additionally producing more trick-shot content with Lionel Messi. Through drive-in events across Europe, Pepsi gave over 7,000 football fans unique viewing experiences for the tournament’s remaining games.

Santander curated two events in Lisbon; with ‘Santander Talks’ and the Santander Media House both featuring appearances of the UCL Trophy. The Talks event brought together industry leaders in Portuguese sport to discuss what the post-Covid sporting landscape and, in particular the UCL, will look like. The Media House repeated a concept from Madrid 2019 with Santander housing global footballing talent such as Deco, Luis Garcia and Cafu (virtually) in a branded environment for their media outreach activities featuring the likes of Marca, ESPN, Turner Sports and Goal.com. Santander activated digitally through content on their Football Santander social channels including the usual promotion of Player of the Week nominee and winner videos (with paid support from UEFA) as well as the ‘Greatest Comeback’ piece and their ‘Champions League is back’ campaign. The latter featured global ambassador, Ronaldo Nazario, highlighting how much football fans had missed the game and how it makes everyone happier that the tournament is back.

With Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a partner of the UEFA Europa League, the Europa Road Trip campaign was put on hold. Instead, leveraging remaining time with ambassadors Robin van Persie and comedian Lloyd Griffith to create ‘We’re Back In The Game’ content, aligning with Enterprise’s global ‘We’re Ready When You Are’ campaign. The content combined humour with some real football insight from van Persie, driving online conversation about some bold predictions and claims, including that Mason Greenwood is better at 18 than Robin van Persie was himself.

“The pandemic has further underscored the need from brands to ensure their sponsorship rights, and the way they are activated, directly address business challenges.”

Through the above activations, we were able to deliver significant global reach to millions of football fans around the world, helping our brands deliver against their key objectives. Working with our partners, we were also able to deliver real-time results to clients as their activations went live such as increased web traffic, positive sentiment and share of voice in the football conversation.

“Fuse’s flexibility and commitment in a short period of time really helped us deliver some great activations which we know not only resonated with European football fans, but also delivered for our brand.” Darren Carter, Creative, Media & Sponsorship Director – Europe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car

With less than two months to go until the group stages of the 20/21 UCL and UEL – what can we learn and what can we expect come October?

Whilst football fans await further information on a return of fans to stadiums, partners will continue to invest in digital and online activations. But with all partners likely to take similar approaches, the challenge will be for partners to differentiate online with both competitors and other partners – creativity is going to be key. Brands, agencies and rights holders will need to work harder than ever to come up with creative solutions to deliver their rights and achieve cut-through.

The 2019/20 season was incredibly unique and we very much anticipate more twists and turns throughout the 20/21 season, with partners and ourselves having to be more nimble and reactive than ever before.

The pandemic has further underscored the need from brands to ensure their sponsorship rights, and the way they are activated, directly address business challenges. As sport continues to recover, rights holders and clients alike will need to further ensure that sponsorship can deliver commercial return for brands.