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The Football Association Announce Vitality As The New Sponsor Of The Women’s FA Cup

The Football Association have announced Vitality as the new sponsor of the Women’s FA Cup.

The new partnership, which will run for three years through to July 2023, will see the world’s best women’s cup competition rebranded and referred to as the Vitality Women’s FA Cup. The relationship officially kicks-off from the start of the quarter finals of the 2019-20 competition, which take place on 26-27 September.

A peak audience of 2.2m watched Manchester City defeat West Ham United in the 2019 Final of the competition, with over 43,000 in attendance at Wembley Stadium.

The announcement reflects Vitality’s continued commitment to women’s sport and to addressing the significant difference that exists in physical activity levels between men and women*.

Working together with us, Vitality will help drive visibility of women’s football and inspire many more girls and women to take up football or other sports and to keep and stay active, in line with its core purpose – to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives.

Kelly Simmons, our director of the women’s professional game, welcomed the news of the new partnership.

“I’m delighted that a recognised brand such as Vitality has signed up to partner with us and sponsor such a prestigious competition as the Women’s FA Cup,” she said.

“We recognise that during a very difficult time for everyone, this is a big commitment that Vitality has made in becoming primary sponsor of the Women’s FA Cup, and I’m really looking forward to working with them as we look to grow the competition.

“This partnership not only highlights the affection that so many have for the Women’s FA Cup, but it also demonstrates the growing interest in the women’s game, which is something I know Vitality is keen to develop alongside us.”

Nick Read, managing director for Vitality, added: “We’re incredibly excited to be announcing this new partnership with the FA today.

“We’ve been involved in both football and supporting women’s sport for many years, and today’s announcement highlights our commitment to the women’s game.

“There’s never been a more important time to be involved in women’s football, and by working with the FA we hope to drive visibility of the women team, showcasing this great sport and encouraging millions more people get active and play football, in line with our core purpose to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives.”

This week, Vitality also announced former England footballer Alex Scott as a new ambassador for the brand and speaking about their sponsorship of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup, she said: “This announcement today is great news for the sport and profile of women’s football.

“I’m pleased to be joining a brand that is shining a light on the game and driving visibility of the women’s game and hopefully inspiring many more women and girls to take up football, or whatever other activity might be right for them.”

Announcement: CEOs Of Birmingham 2022 And Rugby League World Cup 2021 Join Upcoming eMasterclass

iSPORTCONNECT are thrilled to say that we will be joined by the CEOs of two future major events for our next eMasterclass, taking place on Tuesday, September 22nd.

The eMasterclass will be titled ‘The New Reality: Rethinking Event Sponsorship, Logistics And Guest Experiences’ as we look at how different aspects of the industry have been required to adapt in recent months

Joining us will be Ian Reid, CEO of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, alongside Jon Dutton, CEO of next year’s Rugby League World Cup 2021, Panasonic’s Head of Digital Marketing and Innovation they will be joined by ATPI’s Michiel Aulbers, Commercial Head for Global Sports Business & Partnerships.

To sign up, please follow this link – https://event.webinarjam.com/register/88/wy18za72

Bundesliga International, OneFootball And SPORTFIVE Combine For Brazil Broadcast

Digital media company OneFootball, Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, and SPORTFIVE have collectively launched an innovative broadcasting model for all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches in Brazil.

Beginning with the upcoming 2020-21 season, which kicks off on September 18th, all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 games will be broadcast for free in Brazil exclusively by OneFootball – for the next three seasons, up to and including the 2022-23 season. In addition, OneFootball will also broadcast the German Supercup, which this year features FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund, as well as the all-important promotion/relegation matches at the end of each season.

After future-driven discussions on how best to engage the Brazilian audience, OneFootball and SPORTFIVE, as a global sports business agency and comprehensive rights partner of the DFL, have joined forces to create the overall framework for this distribution partnership. SPORTFIVE and OneFootball will jointly oversee the marketing of all advertising inventory.

In addition to this agreement, Bundesliga International retains the option to make one match available to a linear broadcaster in Brazil each matchday.

With this forward-thinking approach, and OneFootball’s significant reach in Brazil, all stakeholders gain access to the immense South-American market of football enthusiasts and accelerate further global expansion and reach of the premium products Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

The partnership reflects OneFootball’s ambition to be the ultimate destination for everything football and provide fans with a complete, flexible and affordable offering. Through its platform and social media channels, OneFootball already reaches more than 70 million fans with the most comprehensive offering of on and off the pitch content, curated for a personalized experience. For fans in Brazil, this will mean access to the latest statistics, breaking news and scores, as well as the ability to watch their favourite players from the Bundesliga, home of the new UEFA Champions League Champions, in action, all in one place.

Lucas von Cranach, CEO and founder of OneFootball, explains: “We continue to democratize football. Bringing freely available matches from one of the biggest leagues in the world to Brazil, where football is the most popular sport, is really exciting for us. By energizing the traditional sports media landscape and bringing the action directly to Brazilian fans, for free and easily available at their fingertips, we’re another step closer to becoming the ultimate football destination for a new generation.”

Robert Klein, CEO of Bundesliga International, said: “The Bundesliga has long been associated with driving innovation in football and this agreement with OneFootball, in collaboration with SPORTFIVE reiterates our commitment to utilizing technology for the good of fans globally. There is a rich history which ties together German and Brazilian football and, through this partnership, we can ensure that Bundesliga remains an important part of the footballing culture. With the OneFootball app, the Bundesliga is freely available and with highly entertaining football, world class players and more goals per match than any other major European league, this partnership is another step we are taking to reach more fans throughout Brazil.”

Nikolaus von Doetinchem, President Media at SPORTFIVE, adds: “Within this ever-changing media landscape and evolving content consumption behaviors, we are proud of this contemporary and innovative broadcasting model. Our hereby implemented “digital-first approach” in the end leads to extensive value for all involved stakeholders and creates an enormous platform, suited for the attractiveness, power and international reach of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.”

SPORTEL Monaco Postponed To February 2021

SPORTEL Monaco, which was scheduled to be held in the Principality of Monaco from 26 to 28 October 2020, has today been postponed until February 2021.

The internationally renowned convention will now be held from 22 to 24 February 2021, at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco.

Faced with fears of a new COVID-19 wave, many countries are tightening restrictions and increasing border controls. Especially in Europe, governments are imposing new rules on travellers to and from France. In addition, some international companies have issued a travel ban for all their employees until the end of the year.

“Convinced that this economy will fully recover in the coming months, we must be there when the time comes.” says Laurent Puons, SPORTEL CEO.

“We must preserve our DNA. A 100% digital or hybrid concept is not adapted to our event, which above all promotes exchanges and networking. SPORTEL is the largest meeting platform for the key actors in international sports business” added Puons.

By postponing its event, Monaco Mediax demonstrates the attention and consideration given to participants and exhibitors, in order to offer them an event that meets their expectations and needs. However, finding new dates for the postponement of SPORTEL Monaco was difficult due to a 2021 calendar that was already saturated with trade shows and congresses.

The event will take place at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, in its traditional format, offering an ever-increasing variety of services to facilitate exchanges.

SPORTEL, the world’s leading Sports Content Media Rights and Technology Convention, is offering a range of new formulas and customised solutions to bring added value to its clients and innovates by relocating the conference room within the exhibition floor.

In this ambitious context, the organisers are choosing solid and transparent communication plans to reassure participants and exhibitors and maintain their confidence to welcome them in 2021!

New Yorks Mets MLB Franchise Sold To Steve Cohen For $2.4 Billion

The Wilpon family has announced that it has agreed to the sale of MLB franchise the New York Mets to billionaire Steve Cohen.

The deal is reportedly worth $2.4 billion, which makes the franchise, which would make it the highest price of any North American sports team in history.

A statement read:

The Sterling Partners have signed an agreement with Steven Cohen Pursuant to which Mr. Cohen would purchase the New York Mets. The sale transaction is subject to approval of the Major League Baseball club owners.

“I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets,” Cohen said.

Until this point Cohen has owned just an eight percent share of the team, he had reportedly been attempting to purchase the franchise for some time, with a deal said to have collapsed at the last minute late in 2019, however talks were clearly resumed over this summer.

The figure of the sale is reportedly $2.4 billion, which is in a similar ballpark to that of the deals signed in sales of the Brooklyn Nets NBA franchise in 2019 and Carolina Panthers NFL franchise a year prior to that.

Case Study: How A Fan Engagement App Bolstered Fan Engagement For The Helsinki Cup And KuPS

Choicely, a Finland-based fan engagement platform for media, sports & entertainment partnered with Helsinki Cup and KuPS to launch their respective apps to engage fans.

Choicely provides advanced technology for content owners who want to engage & monetise their traffic. Choicely worked with the Helsinki Cup, one of Europe’s largest junior tournament to create an app and with 17k downloads it dominated the Finnish sports apps listing in App Store & Google Play holding the Top 1 spot throughout the whole tournament.

Kavanne further adds as to why Choicely is better and easier to access/use than other apps in the market, “We found the Choicely app platform extremely easy to work with. We don’t have any tech people in house and it was easy to create and manage content with our own team plus our communications agency. Choicely team also gave us personal support whenever we had a question.”

Given the current scenario (Covid-19 era), technology’s role has become of great importance and organisations are coming up with innovative fans to enhance fan engagement. Choicely offers multiple competitive advantages, such as: advanced, modular & highly engaging tools easy scalability to millions of simultaneous users easy integration to existing websites & apps fully GDPR compliant brand engagement & acquisition tools for sponsors attractive local pricing to fit market needs native, localised app creator and publisher.

Stats Perform Retains Exclusive Live Betting Streaming Rights For Matchroom’s Multi-Sport And PDC TV Events

Matchroom has today September, 14, announced a five-year renewal with Stats Perform, a deal that will see the partnership with the SportsTech leader in data and AI technology pass twenty years.

The long-term, trusted partnership sees Stats Perform retain the worldwide exclusive live betting streaming rights for Matchroom Multi Sport and PDC TV events, including some of the biggest tournaments in sport from the Mosconi Cup, World Darts Championship, Champion of Champions Snooker, and more.

Under the multi-year agreement, Stats Perform will have the exclusive right to distribute live video streams of the competitions to licensed sportsbooks, creating exceptional betting experiences online, on mobile, and in retail betting venues.

Stats Perform recently worked with the PDC Darts Home Tour delivering coverage to some of the world’s leading sportsbooks as Matchroom and the PDC led the way in sports innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alex Rice, Stats Perform Chief Rights Officer, commented: “We are delighted to be able to continue our long-standing relationship with Matchroom. The multi-sport nature of the deal provides our clients with a broad range of content which appeals to a high number of betting fans. In Matchroom, we have found a great partner who shares our vision for providing access to premium betting content.”

The Matchroom announcement follows the recent news that Stats Perform acquired the live streaming rights to the Belgium Jupiler Pro League. Both of these partnerships form part of Stats Perform’s official betting live streaming portfolio which also includes the Brazilian Leagues, National Basketball League, Spanish La Liga soccer, Women’s Tennis Association, French Ligue 1 soccer, Kontinental Hockey League, and more.

Matchroom Chairman Barry Hearn added: “Stats Perform are one of our longest-serving partners and this new partnership underlines our commitment to leading the way in sports programming. I’m delighted to see it pass 20 years of working together and long may that continue.”

iSPORTCONNECT Joins Forces With Stack Sports

iSPORTCONNECT has partnered with global sports technology leader Stack Sports.

Stack Sports currently works with a wide range of customers in the EMEA region including The Rugby Football League, Chelsea Football Club Foundation, UEFA Foundation, Basketball England, Basketball Ireland and Run for All, along with a number of other sporting organisations, charities and foundations.

Stack Sports General Manager APAC/EMEA Andy Graham said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with iSPORTCONNECT who will assist with our growth across EMEA. Their private digital community and market intelligence will position Stack Sports products and solutions as a market leader across the globe and expand our reach in this region.

iSPORTCONNECT Founder and CEO Sree Varma commented: “I’ve been aware of Stack Sports for a while so it was really interesting hearing about their plans and wonderful to now be working alongside them on their journey as they are already doing a phenomenal job. This partnership with Stack Sports is a statement from us here at iSPORTCONNECT and how we hope to play a key role in their market growth and look forward to a successful partnership.”

ABOUT STACK SPORTS

Stack Sports is a global leader in sports technology, hosting and facilitating nearly 50 million users across 35 countries.We provide a variety of integrated technology platforms, specifically targeted to support all sport capacities, from national governing bodies, mass participation events, sports leagues, clubs and ultimately, coaches, athletes and fans. Stack Sports has offices in New Zealand (Auckland) Australia (Melbourne, Sydney), United Kingdom (London and Manchester) and the USA (Dallas, Atlanta, New York, San Diego).

iSPORTCONNECT CONSULTANCY

iSPORTCONNECT’s consultancy division assists clients with commercial development, marketing&communication and business strategy surrounding the world of sport. We provide business intelligence, global sports market entry strategy and support. Our clients include the likes of LaLiga, Tata Communications, Hookit, Seyu, ATPI.

ABOUT iSPORTCONNECT

iSPORTCONNECT was launched in 2010 with the aim of bringing together sports business professionals around the world as a networking community, enabling them to meet one another, find information and obtain access to a wide range of relevant services. The platform is now the largest global private network of sport business executives, where membership is exclusive and follows a strict door policy.

Innovative Data From Velon Shows Automotive & Fitness As Two Most Targetable Sectors For Sponsors Aiming For Cycling Fans

Velon, the business entity owned by 11 of the worlds largest and most successful cycling teams, has today released the results of an extensive study into cycling fans. The bulk of the study, performed in whole by Velon’s data & commercial agency partner Halfspace, has been collected over 1st party data on 127,000 fans who have interacted with Tour de France content across Velon’s owned channels including the website and CRM activities.

Data from Velon social channels (including 460k subscribers in YouTube, 3.7m fans on Facebook, 2.7m fans on Twitter and 3.8m fans on Instagram), cross-referenced with data from Google also showed an increase in global consumer interest in cycling from March 2020 through to September with a peak in internet searches in April.

As well as the direct engagement data collected, the study also contains GDPR-compliant analysis on the universe outside the Velon channels and how the same fans are behaving and interacting across the sectors of travel, retail, commerce, FMCG, Gaming, Technology, Automotive, Fitness and many more. It is the last of these two sectors that have shown the highest index for cycling fans to engage with.

“After carefully analysing the global data it is clear the Automotive and Fitness sectors make up 75% of the top 20 individual behaviors and interests of our cycling fans,” commented Velon CEO Graham Bartlett. “The data collection process means we now have deep actionable insights on all of our fan sectors and we believe, utilising our leading media house services, we can help sponsors reach and engage with these audiences better than ever before.”

The global fitness sector data was further proven when cross-referenced with analysis of Velon’s content production over the trailing 12 months which showed that content on team gear and equipment was statistically more likely to engage fans than other editorial types (outside of live content).

Velon, alongside its 11 WorldTour owner teams BORA-hansgrohe, CCC Team, Deceuninck – Quick-Step Team, EF Pro Cycling Team, Lotto Soudal, Mitchelton-SCOTT, INEOS Grenadiers, Team Jumbo-Visma, Team Sunweb, Trek-Segafredo and UAE Team Emirates, will continue to collect the data over the Giro D’Italia and move to utilise the new data to drive its commercial products such as global sponsorship opportunities, live race data monetisation and its media house offering including the extensive combined social media reach of the cycling teams.

Lewis Hamilton Founds New Motorsport Team, X44, To Compete In Extreme E

Six-Time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton today announced the creation of ‘X44,’ a team which will race as part of the new electric off-road racing series Extreme E.

Named with reference to Lewis’s own racing number, X44 will enter Season 1 of the Extreme E Championship, with its first X Prix race scheduled to take place in early 2021.

As the team’s founder, Lewis will not be behind the wheel or involved on a day to day basis but he will put the learnings of his motorsport career into practice to help guide the creation of a dedicated and competitive team.

Through X44, Lewis will also be able to work towards his goal of raising awareness of environmental issues. In company with Extreme E, X44 will take its followers on a journey of discovery, to show first-hand how human actions are damaging the planet. X44 and its fellow Extreme E competitors will race electric vehicles in five remote locations, that are already damaged or severely under threat of climate change from a range of serious issues including melting ice caps, deforestation, desertification and rising sea levels.

“Extreme E really appealed to me because of its environmental focus. Every single one of us has the power to make a difference, and it means so much to me that I can use my love of racing, together with my love for our planet, to have a positive impact.”

The Extreme E championship will not only raise awareness of climate change but through its Legacy Programme, the series aims to leave its X Prix locations with a long-lasting legacy and hope for the future. Overseen by an independent Scientific Committee composed of leading climate experts, Extreme E will provide a template for how racing, and the wider sports industry, can have a positive impact on the planet.

To minimise environmental impact, the races will not be open to spectators, with fans instead following the action through live TV broadcast, and on social media. The command centre for the championship series will be on board the RMS St. Helena, a ship which is undergoing a multi-million Euro transformation to minimise emissions and transform her into the operations, logistics, accommodation and garage base for the championship.

The single-design electric vehicle driven by X44, and all other competitors, is at the cutting edge of innovation for electric vehicles, and through them Extreme E hopes to develop tech which will find its way into everyday use, paving the way for a less carbon intensive future.

X44 will also provide opportunities to the next generation of drivers, engineers and technicians and will be dedicated to developing world class talent, providing an inclusive culture and promoting diversity. The on-event race team will be made up of seven personnel including, as with all Extreme E teams, a professional female and male driver.

Lewis Hamilton said, “Extreme E is an exciting new sustainability initiative, and this is a great opportunity to be involved from the outset as a team founder. Of course, my ambitions and commitments with Mercedes in Formula One mean that I won’t be operationally involved in X44, but I’m excited to play a different role in this new series, one that brings my vision for a more sustainable and equal world to life.

“Not only will we visit remote locations facing the front line of the climate crisis, we will also work closely with these locations and leading climate experts to share our knowledge and leave behind a positive legacy in each location which goes far beyond the racetrack.

As Founder of X44, I am looking forward to building my team around important values such as sustainability and equality. None of us are perfect and we all have improvements to make, but I am excited to use our platform to highlight the most serious issues facing our planet and the solutions we can all be part of.”

Founder and CEO at Extreme E, Alejandro Agag, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Lewis Hamilton and his X44 team to Extreme E. Like us, Lewis is hugely passionate about motorsport, but also shares our belief that we can use sport to highlight subjects which are vital to the world, such as climate change and equality.

“Lewis is one of the most successful drivers of all time, and we’re all excited to see how his X44 team performs on and off the racetrack under his incredible guidance. A huge welcome to the Extreme E family Lewis!”

X44 joins a roster of already announced teams and drivers including Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport, both from the US, Abt and HWA from Germany, Spain’s QEV Technologies, and fellow British owned outfit Veloce Racing.