LaLiga Celebrates Global Sports Entertainment At The Davis Cup

This year’s Davis Cup tournament had a different feel to it, having been re-designed into a week-long ‘World Cup of Tennis’ between 18 nations organised into groups, followed by knock-out rounds.

The new format, created to improve entertainment value for its spectators, bears a clear resemblance to the renowned FIFA tournament. For spectators, this was not the only new connection to the football world on display. During the entire tournament in Madrid, visitors were also able to discover LaLiga through a variety of different experiences.

Earlier this year, a four-year partnership was signed between the Spanish competition and the organisers of the Davis Cup, Kosmos Tennis and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), to assist the tournament in its aim to reach a wider global audience.

“The Davis Cup shares our vision for creating the most exciting competitions that entertain a global fanbase,” said Enrique Moreno, global brand director at LaLiga. “We will be sharing all of our expertise to help it achieve these goals, from our technology innovation to global digital trends.”

A wide range of these assets were on display at the Caja Mágica venue where the tournament was staged. Visitors to the LaLiga stand could try out two separate VR challenges that merged the worlds of tennis and football; a penalty-taking experience using tennis balls playing the role of either the taker or the goalkeeper.

In addition to this, fans could create memorable souvenirs via augmented reality. Using a green screen, fans could generate a personal GIF of themselves celebrating in tennis and football stadiums, while a separate experience allowed them to select their favourite LaLiga team and put themselves into a team photo with some of the first team players.

“Whether you prefer tennis or football, sport fans share a desire for modern and engaging experiences that bring them closer to their favourite clubs or players,” continued Moreno. “This has been a big part of our international growth in recent years and we are happy to see other sports follow the same path.”

To extend the reach of the tennis competition across digital platforms, LaLiga also shared clips of the action via its social media platforms, reaching an audience of millions around the world.

This approach is in keeping with LaLiga’s strategy for supporting other sports via its LaLigaSports programme. The LaLigaSportsTV over-the-top streaming service, for example, contains a tennis channel that streams matches organised by the Spanish tennis federation all year round.

In return, LaLiga also received widespread visibility as an event sponsor for Davis Cup, appearing in its global broadcasts and digital content.

https://twitter.com/LaLigaSports/status/1196820430104846336

In the build up to the tournament Kosmos Tennis, with the collaboration of LaLiga, came together for the first edition of the Kosmos Sports Summit, hosting relevant figures from the sector who debated the opportunities that emerging technologies and data analytics present to the sports and entertainment sector.

Gerard Piqué, president of Kosmos Tennis, explained that the better use of technology will help sports organisers to go one step further in the fan experience. “The main value of the sport is live matches, but the seats are limited,” he said. “One of the questions we ask the most is how we can improve the experience of those fans who can’t be present. Technology is key to offer them the most authentic experience possible.”

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, highlighted the importance of data analysis to help the industry to connect with wider audiences. “Four years ago we realized that you had information about those fans who did not go to the stadiums,” he said. “Without analysing this data, companies will struggle to attract younger audiences and there may be a disconnection with future generations.”

As the partnership continues, LaLiga will work alongside Kosmos and the ITF to share this expertise and help ensure that tennis, like football, remains an essential part of the sporting calendar.

ICC Chairman Manohar To Step Down

The International Cricket Council’s Independent Chairman Shashank Manohar is to step down in the summer of 2020.

Manohar was appointed the first Independent Chair of the ICC in 2016 and has announced he will not stand for re-election.

“I am not interested in continuing for another two-year term. Majority of directors have requested me to continue but I have told them that I do not wish to,” Manohar told Sportstar.

He added: “I have been the chairman for nearly five years. I am very clear, I do not want to continue from June 2020. My successor will be known next May. He has to be elected in May to take charge after me at the annual conference.”

Manohar will continue to lead until the ICC’s Annual Conference in Cape Town next July.

Formula 1 CEO: “Sponsorship Arenas Are Tougher Than A Few Years Ago”

Chief Executive of Formula One, Chase Carey, has admitted it has been more difficult than he has imagined to sell sponsorships for the sport since taking over in 2017.

Speaking to Motorsport.com Carey spoke about the challenges of trying to add to F1’s main sponsorship group: “Our cupboard was pretty bare, because we didn’t really have a sponsor group. We hadn’t created any tools. We hadn’t created capabilities to tell the story of F1, to create some excitement.

“We have some momentum today. We’ve had attendance up, we’ve had viewership up, we’ve got a good story, we’ve got new dimensions to the sport.

“And I think you need to tell that story, and you need to develop tools. Sponsors want partnerships that are more tailored uniquely to them. In the past signs on a wall worked fine, that doesn’t work now.”

However, Carey feels that F1 is on the right track going forward. He added: “Certainly, I’d say we feel we have gotten progressively better, as we’ve gone along. So while it’s been slower and harder than I would have planned it to be a couple of years ago, I think that in many ways is the nature of where we started, and we started really from ground zero.

“I think this is a sport sells well, it’s a unique sport with passionate fans, attractive fans, the sport differentiates from other sports, given it’s marriage to technology, given the nature of the sport, the global aspect of the sport.

“And at a point in time where events in a world that is increasingly commoditised and fragmented, events that rise above are reasonably valued. So I think the interest and engagement we have has been on a steady rise.

“I think in general for almost anybody in the ad market that isn’t Facebook or Google, the broadly defined advertising market, whether you’re television or God forbid, print, radio, even other digital players – certainly sponsorship arenas I think are tougher than it was a few years ago.”

Amazon Buys Champions League Rights In Germany

Amazon has claimed the rights to broadcast Champions League matches in Germany for three seasons, beginning in the 2021-22 campaign.

Following the first round of Premier League matches being broadcast on Amazon’s streaming service, they have now acquired 16 Champions League fixtures on Tuesday nights.

Alex Green, Managing Director of Prime Video Sport Europe, commented on the deal, saying: We’re excited to bring Uefa Champions League football to our customers in Germany.

“The Uefa Champions League is one of the most prestigious club competitions in the world. We’re delighted to bring the top-pick Tuesday matches to our customers from 2021.”

Member Insights: Thomas Lund, Secretary General of the Badminton World Federation, Reviews The Sport’s 2019 And Looks Ahead To 2020

With the 2019 BWF World Tour Finals starting on Wednesday in Guangzhou, China, iSportconnect decided it would be a good time to talk to Thomas Lund, Secretary General of the BWF, about how the sport has developed and progressed throughout the past 12 months and take the opportunity to look ahead at everything to come in 2020 for Badminton.

What have been the biggest changes within badminton during 2019?

It’s been a year where we have focused on growing our existing assets including hosting thrilling Major Championships with the TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019 in Nanning, China, the TOTAL BWF World Championships together with the TOTAL BWF Word Para Badminton Championships in Basel, Switzerland, and further building the HSBC BWF World Tour to reach out to even more global fans.

Our new AirBadminton project was launched in May this year and is one of the exciting new participation initiatives aimed at making badminton even more accessible with more people able to get more enjoyment from badminton by playing in an outdoor environment. With the launch of AirBadminton we hope to see it thrive in all badminton markets and we are delighted to see positive reaction to some of the first AirBadminton competitions and we hope this can also become a new exciting part of badminton’s future.

Which area of progression have you been most pleased about recently?

We are extremely satisfied with the successful staging of the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019 and TOTAL BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2019 concurrently for the very first time. Some 384 badminton players competed in the TOTAL BWF World Championships and close to 300 Para badminton athletes took to the courts in Basel, Switzerland, competing in 22 wheelchair and standing events. It was seven days of thrilling badminton and Para badminton action that showcased some of the most exciting matches seen in the sport and we believe it’s one of the first times that a Para Sport World Championships has been integrated fully into an able-bodied World Championships.

England’s Para badminton Short Stature (SH6) world champion Jack Shephard. Image: Alan Spink/BWF – Other images: BWF

For us this is a reflection of unity and diversity in badminton, and that Para badminton is now completely in sync with the BWF. The focus now turns to both badminton and Para badminton being showcased at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Para badminton making its debut on the Paralympic sports programme. Earlier this year we also heard of the inclusion of Para badminton at Paris 2024 and this provides us with a great opportunity to build upon all the hard work that has been done in the lead up to Tokyo 2020 and to continue to create awareness of the sport and our development initiatives for the foreseeable future.

How do you continue to grow fan engagement at the BWF?

According to our 2018 Global Badminton Study conducted by Nielsen Sports, research has shown that outside of China, badminton is experiencing large-scale growth. The fan base is estimated to be 681 million across seven regions based on sample surveys conducted in 21 badminton markets globally. This is an increase of around 37% since 2015 on those same 21 markets. For 2018, the survey added 15 additional markets, increasing the badminton fan base by 54 million and bringing the total number of badminton fans globally in 35 markets to be an estimated 735 million fans across seven regions. In fact, we are now ranked third behind football and basketball and ahead of tennis, motorsport and golf in terms of total fans when measured in those 21 key countries.

One area we are behind on is leveraging influencers and utilising athletes as ambassadors to get more people talking about badminton. This is something we are working very hard on at the moment…

Our next efforts are to tell the world about this. Our digital and TV coverage is the biggest it has ever been and with superstars like Pusarla V Sindhu who is ranked 13th in Forbes’ Highest-Paid Female Athletes list for 2019 with US$5.5 million in earnings, we feel badminton is starting to be talked about more and more. Our simple strategy to capitalise on this is to strengthen the bond between our fans and our athletes, so our stars are more accessible to the world. And this includes converting the huge number of active participants we have globally into everyday fans. One area we are behind on is leveraging influencers and utilising athletes as ambassadors to get more people talking about badminton. This is something we are working very hard on at the moment and are looking forward to unveiling some exciting new projects very soon.

How much of a focus do you place on social media to grow the sport?

We see the digital sphere as being a crucial asset to communicate with the younger generation and to target new and potential fan bases. We are placing considerable resources into improving and expanding our existing digital and social media presence and over the course of the next 12 months you will begin to see exciting new developments both on our Anglophone and Chinese platforms. Naturally, there’s huge potential in China with an existing participation group of around 149.4 million. As we start to build our digital presence and fully utilise the capabilities of digital and social media platforms in China, as well as bringing the athlete-fan relationship close together, we feel we will start to see a shift in our online fan numbers, too.

Are there any big changes you are going to implement in the next 12 months?

In the first quarter of 2020, we expect the first AirShuttles to be on the shelf and available for public purchase. AirBadminton, and specifically the creation of the AirShuttle, is BWF’s ambitious new development project designed to create opportunities for people of all ages and ability to play badminton on hard, grass and sand surfaces in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and beaches around the world. We had the Global Launch in May 2019 using a number of prototype AirShuttles and since then, the emphasis has been on working with leading sports manufacturers to mass produce and rollout the AirShuttle.

The project has been five years in the making, starting with a vision to develop a new outdoor shuttlecock with increased durability, stability and wind resistance to allow people to have a more positive experience of badminton outdoors. The main considerations were that it must be played with the same rackets and have good flight performance, spin response and durability. We fully acknowledge that playing badminton is not a new concept, in fact, many children’s first exposure to badminton is in an outdoor environment, but for us it’s about creating a product that is more suitable for everyone to play in an outdoor environment. Right now, we are still on our original timeline and we expect the mass production of the AirShuttle to begin at the end of 2019 with the shuttle available to the public in the first quarter of 2020. In the meantime, we have sufficient samples to continue the testing and piloting process of AirBadminton and the AirShuttle.

What are you most looking forward to in 2020, how much of a focus does the Olympics take?

Our aim is to continue the growth of badminton as forecasted in our strategic plans. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games are of course a big highlight next year, and the fact Para badminton is debuting at Tokyo 2020 is certainly a landmark occasion for our sport. It is fantastic for our players and wider badminton community to be accepted into the Paralympic Games and to be part of the programme. Japan is also a fitting backdrop to present our Olympic and Paralympic disciplines where Japan has for many years been hosting numerous tournaments being considered among the best and most prestigious tournaments by our players. Regarding the Olympics, we are very much looking forward to the badminton competition at Tokyo 2020. With Japan’s fantastic pedigree in the sport and recent successes, the atmosphere at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza will be amazing.

Both the Olympics and the Paralympics do assume a large chunk of our focus for a 12 month period with a lot of planning, preparation and coordination with the hosts taking place, but we are also very mindful of all other aspects of the organisation where we will continue to develop and grow the HSBC BWF World Tour and before Tokyo 2020 we will invite our fans to experience the crowning of new world team champions at the thrilling TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cups competitions being hosted in Aarhus, Denmark, in May. All of these core tournament activities provide a great platform to promote the sport and to increase our efforts of getting more people to play more badminton.

2020 Seating: English Football, Safe Standing And The General Election…

The three main political parties in this week’s United Kingdom general election do not agree on a particularly large number of issues, however there is one issue that unifies all three groups – safe standing at football matches.

All three have included introducing safe standing at football stadia in their election manifestos, so it appears the issue could finally be set to see a resolution.

After years of fan campaigning for standing, why now?

There are two main reasons. Firstly, safe standing is deemed to be popular and once one party had promised it the others probably felt they had to do likewise, just to ensure that they weren’t going to lose votes as a result. Secondly, since the installation of “dual-purpose seats” i.e. seats with rails at Tottenham and barrier seats at Wolverhampton Wanderers there has been standing at Premier League matches anyway.

So, if standing is here already, what are these parties promising to introduce? 

That’s not clear, however the new installations at Tottenham and Wolves are, in practice, seating areas where everyone stands. After the election, these fans will be deemed to be standing in designated standing areas.

What will change when the next Government introduces safe standing? 

A club such as West Bromwich Albion, who had their application for rail seating rejected, will presumably be able to re-submit the same application and have it approved.

It may be that clubs can introduce a standing-only area i.e. with no seats at all, but this has many inherent issues. 

Campaigners have always hoped that by reintroducing standing more fans will be allowed onto the same terraces i.e. an increased density of fans on the terraces. The hope is that ticket prices can be reduced because clubs will be able to sell more tickets. 

Before capacities can be increased and more fans admitted, every other relevant issue must be checked to ensure that access and egress, concourse sizes, toilets and other key aspects of the stadium operation can all cope with more people. If not, the required additional investment may be prohibitive.

However, the world has moved on since fans were crammed onto standing terraces in the 1970s. The terraces built for all seated stadia are steeper than terraces designed for standing, which means that additional guardrails are essential if standing is going to be allowed onto terraces designed for seating. 

There were crushes and crowd surges in the 70’s which would be even more dangerous on today’s steeper terraces. Barriers would mitigate these risks and crowd numbers would have to be carefully managed to ensure that there is no over-crowding. Barriers would need to be high enough to be perfectly safe. 

Currently seats with rails and barrier seats are 800 / 900mm high which is safer than no barrier at all but not as safe as it is possible to be – that would require a fully compliant 1.1m guardrail. Only the 2020 seat delivers this.

Are there any other considerations associated with standing?

Given that almost every part of our lives has been rebuilt so that disabled and vulnerable people can access the same buildings as their more able-bodied counterparts, it would be an odd move to go back to standing-only sections of stadia. 

Creating standing-only terraces would be a retrograde step that would force some groups of fans to be spilt up or have to relocate to other areas, as some of them can’t stand for 90 mins or are too short to see, if others are standing.

Post-election, standing areas in stadia without some form of seating is therefore possible but very unlikely, particularly as this is not currently allowed for any UEFA-organised match. It is more likely that clubs will follow the lead of Tottenham and Wolverhampton by introducing “dual-purpose” seating. 

If clubs install the rail seats or seats with barriers then everyone in that section will have to stand for the whole match or move to another part of the stadium to sit in a conventional seat – however, this is a potential problem for some away fans as don’t have the choice to go elsewhere in the stadium and therefore will always be disadvantaged.

Clubs can avoid these dilemmas by installing 2020 seats which give the best of all options to everyone. Whereas fans using the seats with rails or barriers are expected to stand, installing 2020 seats will allow fans to sit or stand as and when they feel like it. Fan surveys have highlighted that most fans don’t want to stand all of the time and the 2020 seats allows each fan to dictate how long they are on their feet.

The 2020 seat is first and foremost a seat that most fans will sit on for some of the time but, importantly it allows fans to safely stand without impacting the enjoyment of others.

2020 seats can be seen at Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers FC, Easter Road, Hibernian FC and can be researched at www.2020seat.co.uk

WADA Hands Out Four-Year Sporting Events Ban To Russia

The World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee has unanimously endorsed the recommendation made by the independent Compliance Review Committee that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency be declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code for a period of four years.

This will see Russian competitors banned from both the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, among other major events.

Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, the 12-member ExCo supported the CRC’s recommendation, which includes a series of strong consequences and conditions of reinstatement in accordance with the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS).

The Chair of the CRC, Jonathan Taylor QC, took ExCo members through the CRC’s recommendation, which had been provided to ExCo members on 25 November together with the report of WADA Intelligence and Investigations (I&I) and that of the independent forensic experts from Lausanne University’s Institute of Forensic Science. This was followed by a number of questions from members, and discussions on specific aspects of the recommendation.

WADA President Sir Craig Reedie said: “The ExCo’s strong decision today shows WADA’s determination to act resolutely in the face of the Russian doping crisis, thanks to the Agency’s robust investigatory capability, the vision of the CRC, and WADA’s recently acquired ability to recommend meaningful sanctions via the Compliance Standard which entered into effect in April 2018. Combined, these strengths have enabled the ExCo to make the right decisions at the right time.

“For too long, Russian doping has detracted from clean sport. The blatant breach by the Russian authorities of RUSADA’s reinstatement conditions, approved by the ExCo in September 2018, demanded a robust response. That is exactly what has been delivered today. Russia was afforded every opportunity to get its house in order and re-join the global anti-doping community for the good of its athletes and of the integrity of sport, but it chose instead to continue in its stance of deception and denial. As a result, the WADA ExCo has responded in the strongest possible terms, while protecting the rights of Russian athletes that can prove that they were not involved and did not benefit from these fraudulent acts.

“On behalf of the ExCo, and of the many WADA stakeholders that supported the CRC recommendation, I would like to thank the members of the CRC for their expert and considered recommendation, as well as WADA I&I and the forensic experts for their skill, diligence and perseverance in getting to the bottom of this highly complex case.”

Saudi Arabia Signs Ten-Year Deal To Host World Snooker Events

Saudi Arabia has announced it will host a World Snooker Tour event for the first time in 2020.  The event, part of the 2020/21 World Snooker Tour calendar, will run from the 4th-10th October 2020 in Riyadh.

The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will be a world ranking event with all 128 tour players in the field.

A structured draw will see players seeded 65th to 128th compete in the first round. The 32 winners will face those seeded 33-64, after which the top 32 seeds will enter the draw in the third round.

The tournament also showcases four local players competing against four Tour players seeded 65th to 128th competing in the first round, drawn at random. All players will be required to win at least one match for prize money to count towards their world ranking. Total prize money will be £2.5 million.

The newly formed partnership with World Snooker kick starts a ten-year deal, throughout which the Kingdom aims to raise the profile of snooker at grassroots level.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “This is a giant leap forward for our sport. We have enjoyed tremendous global expansion over the past decade, particularly in Asia and Europe and we are thrilled to stage a new and momentous tournament in the Middle East.  We have a packed calendar throughout the year which creates a competitive marketplace for new events.  Snooker has grown to such an extent that we are now creating exceptional tournaments at this level.”

Hearn added: “For the fans in Saudi Arabia it is a wonderful opportunity to see the best players in the world competing for a huge title. We look forward to working with our partners on delivering a huge event.”

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson added: “One of our biggest ambitions is to bring snooker to every corner of the planet so this is a step of huge significance. It gives us a firm footprint in the Middle East and we believe this will be the beginning of a boom for our sport in the region.”

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki AlFaisal Al Saud, Chairman of the GSA, said: “This partnership adds further to our hosting of a diverse range of international sports in Saudi Arabia. Having held motorsport and boxing events in recent months, and with tennis and equestrian events to follow, we are thrilled to add the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, which will see world class snooker played in Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2020.

“Our aim is to provide opportunities to those in our country and region to see the world’s best, in a bid to inspire and encourage participation and spectatorship. Part of this ten-year agreement sees a commitment from Matchroom to host clinics within universities and schools prior to each tournament to educate and encourage our youth to try snooker.”

 

Queensland State Signs Off On 2032 Olympic Bid

Annastacia Palaszczuk, state Premier for Queensland, has revealed that the state has agreed to back a bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games.

“Hosting the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics could be a game changer and deliver 20 years of accelerated opportunity for our State,” Palaszczuk said.

“That’s why Cabinet has today made the decision to continue working towards securing a Games  -and we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure we receive the financial support we require from all levels of Government.

“This is about so much more than a few weeks of sport,” she added.

“There’s more work to do to ensure we are in a position to put a compelling case to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“As I’ve said all along, we will only proceed if it is in the best interests of Queenslanders.

“A strong partnership, including the right funding commitments, is vital – and our focus now is to secure that ahead of key discussions with the IOC at the Tokyo Olympics in July next year.”

John Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee, commented on the announcement: “Sport unites us and inspires us. We have a lot of work to do from here, but it’s hard not to be excited about the benefits that will flow over many decades if Queensland was successful.

“It’s about a decade of opportunity for sport, the community and the economy, leading into the Games – and for decades after. But now we have to focus on ensuring Queensland mounts a compelling case.”

FIFA Club World Cup Broadcasting Rights In Germany Head To DAZN

DAZN have secured the rights to broadcast the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Germany.

The competition will see favourites Liverpool compete in a semi-final and final as they look to follow-up their UEFA Champions League Victory.

This announcement comes shortly after DAZN announced that it has a deal to stream Spain’s premier domestic cup competition, the Copa Del Rey, in Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.

The three-year deal covers the upcoming seasons from 2019/20 – 2021/22, bringing the biggest teams in Spanish football to the platform and represents DAZN’s first package of domestic football rights in Spain.