Mastercard And Australian Open Extend Partnership Deal

The Australian Open and Mastercard will extend their global partnership in a new multi-year deal announced today.

As the Official Payment Partner, Mastercard is set to deliver a range of unforgettable experiences throughout the tournament to fans onsite and around the world.

“There is an incredible synergy between the Australian Open and Mastercard,” Tennis Australia Chief Revenue and Experiential Officer Richard Heaselgrave said.

“I’m delighted we have the opportunity to work together to continue to enhance the fan experience, both here at Melbourne Park, and globally via our online platforms.

“As the Australian Open evolves, we look to collaborate with world-class brands that share our vision for celebrating elite sport, innovation and one-of-a-kind experiences.

“The level of choice this January is unprecedented, and we have worked incredibly hard to expand our food, entertainment and family friendly offerings, with Mastercard aligning perfectly in helping us create lifetime memories for millions of fans.”

“Mastercard is thrilled to once again be partnering with Tennis Australia to put on another magical Australian Open in 2020,” said Rustom Dastoor, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.

“This world-class tournament offers Mastercard infinite possibilities to create priceless experiences for cardholders and consumers around the world that will bring the tournament to life in meaningful ways that are sure to leave a lasting impression – whether they’re watching a match from the stands, or following along online from the comfort of home.”

2020 Seating Aims To Revolutionise Safe Standing

As anyone who regularly attends football matches in England and Wales can attest, persistent standing at football matches has been an issue for a number of years.

Fans who stand at games in the Premier League and the Championship are constantly requested to sit by stewards.

A number of football fans have been campaigning for the ban on standing at stadiums should be lifted, but the current model of all-seater stadiums does not safely allow for this.

However, a new seating concept has been devised, called 2020 Seating, which solves the problems of persistent standing, from both the club and fan perspective.

If you’re short and can’t see or don’t want to stand for long periods, you probably won’t see the most exciting action when other fans stand in front of you. That is essentially what we set out to solve.

Potential problems exist for fans that may not be able to stand for a full 90-minute match and therefore require the use of seats, where their view of the game, the reason they paid their ticket, is then blocked or impaired. This is also problematic for younger people and children who are attending the games.

2020 Seating solves these dilemmas, by eliminating the problem of persistent standing at football grounds and delivering a safe environment for all. It enables supporters to see the action, even if everyone around them is standing, and includes a guardrail to block supporters from falling. They can be set out in a theatre style, with off-set seat centres in alternate rows, which further improves fans’ views or in the traditional lines of seats i.e. one behind another. You can also enjoy an enhanced level of comfort as the seats are fitted with armrests and footrests, with design options to accommodate ambulant disabled fans.

This concept has been developed by Noel Jeffs and Michael Cunnah, who have over 40 years’ combined stadium management experience gained at a senior management level at Wembley Stadium, Aston Villa Football Club, Galatasaray Sport Kulubu, Turkey and Al Ain FC, UAE. The elevated seats ensure that all supporters’ eye levels are the same regardless of whether they’re sitting or standing, and Cunnah said: “With conventional seats, if you’re short and can’t see or don’t want to stand for long periods, you probably won’t see the most exciting action when other fans stand in front of you. This is no longer a problem if 2020 seats are installed”.

The 2020 seats have been installed in the family stand at Wycombe Wanderers’ Adams Park Stadium, and also at Scottish Premiership side Hibernian FC’s Easter Road ground. They are produced by 2020 Seating Ltd in conjunction with Alderdale Seating, and have been cleared for installation in stadia throughout England and Wales under the UK Government’s ‘all-seater’ stadium policy by the Sports Ground Safety Authority.

Installing the seats in a theatre-style layout mitigates the risk of fans spilling into the gangways which makes the areas where 2020 Seats are installed incredibly safe.

Noel Jeffs added: “A lot of clubs actually have problems when everybody stands as fans spill into the gangways. There’s also a high risk that they will topple over seats in front, particularly during goal celebrations. We started thinking about how best we can mitigate all these issues and we solved the problem by raising the seats, which also enables the guardrail to be raised to the regulatory 1.1m in height.

“The seat is also multifunctional as it improves the customer experience and allows for the inclusion of families and disabled fans. There is also a cost benefit in terms of reducing stadium and temporary stand construction costs.”

Michael Davies, General Manager at Wycombe Wanderers, said: “As a club, we’re very open-minded about trying new things. We’ve reached a point where we were looking to upgrade to provide something better and safer for our families as the existing seats got older. The bespoke 2020 Seat installation in the Frank Adams Stand at Wycombe has also proven to be a cost-effective solution to reprofiling the old standing terrace, which has avoided the cost of demolition and reconstruction.

“I think the best thing about these seats is that they’re not typically like most rail seats. They are off-set so if someone stands in front of me, I can look through the gap over their shoulder. We hope to install more of these seats around the ground when the time comes. I’d have no hesitation in recommending it to other clubs.”

Clubs such as Wolves and Tottenham Hotspurs have installed seats with barriers where everyone stands. Those that wish to sit go elsewhere in the stadium.

The 2020 seat is a hybrid and therefore means that fans don’t need to choose between sitting or standing. Installing the 2020 seat give the “standers” and the “sitters” what they want in a safe environment that is compliant with Green Guide 6.

No longer is “sitting or standing” a decision that fans have to make – they can do both whenever they wish.

Those wishing for more information can visit www.2020seat.co.uk or contact info@2020seat.co.uk.

 

Member Insights: Joan Cusco Carbo, VP And CEO of Beach Soccer Worldwide

With the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup well underway and the semi-finals and final taking place this weekend, it was a great time to interview Joan Cusco Carbo, VP and CEO of Beach Soccer Worldwide.

The Beach Soccer World Cup is taking place in Paraguay for the first time, so iSportconnect asked Joan how the event is going, what the sport has been developing in recent years and how they adapt as a sport.

So, how has the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup been going so far?

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup always brings great, unforgettable moments, and so far it has been no different. With the best teams in the world competing, and the unique atmosphere of a World Cup, excitement and thrill were always guaranteed.

Paraguay is hosting a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for the first time, the first FIFA event in their history! This means that the evolution of the sport is reaching new frontiers. The APF have been doing a great job both on and off the pitch, and the growth they have brought to beach soccer has been rewarded with the possibility to host the biggest competition in the sport.

Every year, more and more national associations embrace beach soccer, realise its potential, and make it a part of their programme.

Where has the sport seen the best development in recent years?

Beach Soccer has not stopped growing for the past few years and in 2019 we have seen confirmation of that. We have had new teams coming to take part in competitions, and have taken another huge step forward of women’s beach soccer, with the inclusion of new national teams taking part at the international level.  We have also had new events being born, with the World Winners Cup, a global club competition, ready to become bigger and bigger in the coming years. I would also not like to forget our role in the Olympic movement, either, as beach soccer has featured in the first ever ANOC World Beach Games, becoming one of the highlights of the games, and being one of the pillars of the second European Games, held this summer in Minsk

How do you continue to work on expanding Beach Soccer as a whole?

There is only one way to do it: working hand in hand with the national associations and the different confederations, so that we jointly built solid ground together. Every year, more and more national associations embrace beach soccer, realise its potential, and make it a part of their programme, which is the key not only for the international competitions to keep growing healthily, but also for the grassroots programs to successfully bring more athletes in.

Sponsorship and TV Rights distribution concepts are constantly changing and you need to keep up to date to be competitive in this pool and keep positioning yourself as an attractive sport for brands and media.

What are the areas you see as having the best potential for growing the sport?

The first thing that comes to my mind is the development of women’s beach soccer. 2019, as we promised, has seen an amazing improvement in this field, with both national teams and clubs competitions taking place in new areas of the world, to make this year the busiest one in the history of women’s beach soccer. This has to be seen as the confirmation of the potential women’s beach soccer possesses, we just need to work steadily to make this potential blossom into a solid structure of competitions

What are the main difficulties for Beach Soccer as a sport and how do you conquer them? 

Like all sports, we need to keep exploring the income possibilities that support any kind of growth. Sponsorship and TV Rights distribution concepts are constantly changing and you need to keep up to date to be competitive in this pool and keep positioning yourself as an attractive sport for brands and media. Otherwise, without that projection, future gets harder and harder. Fortunately for us, beach soccer has always been an appealing sport through its uniqueness. We need to keep working to maintaining the unique presence, as it makes beach soccer so special and attractive to brands and media, and at the same time put all of our effort in to enlarge our fanbase at the same time as making our athletes base grow.

Finally, what have you been most pleased about this year and what are you most looking forward to in 2020?

I couldn’t highlight only one thing! It is the combination of new events, the strengthening of old relationships, the growth of the players and the teams, and the increasing interest from TV and media. The combination of those things showcases the real place the sport finds itself at and the projection it must follow. This is exactly the road we want to follow in the coming season, incorporating more and more people, more countries, more televisions and broadcasters.

Leadership Masterclass: Speaker Spotlight – Greg Silvester, Special Olympics GB

At tomorrow’s iSportconnect Leadership Masterclass we will have a presentation from the inspiring Greg Silvester, board member of Special Olympics Great Britain.

He has been a coach and an athlete across a variety of sports, all while living with Downs Syndrome.

Greg is a continuing inspiration for young children, families and carers around the county as he has excelled as athlete, coach and advocate when raising awareness of learning disabilities in Great Britain.

He first began competing in Special Olympics GB gymnastics at the age of 10. In 1989, Greg participated in his first National Summer Games held in Leicester where he won a Bronze medal. “That was when I really started to enjoy it,” Greg said, recalling the excitement of early victories. “I met so many people in sport who were great and I loved being a part of it.” A few years later, under the tutelage of former Special Olympics coach Alistair West, Greg became ‘All Round World Champion’ winning seven medals, including four Golds, at the 1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Connecticut, USA.

During the mid-90s Greg became one of the first youngsters in Britain with Down’s Syndrome to become a qualified mainstream gymnastic coach. Besides coaching, Greg has also trained and competed in swimming, athletics and table tennis.

In 2000, Greg was chosen from hundreds of British people to carry the Olympic torch in Auckland, New Zealand, on its journey to the Sydney Games. In the same year, he was awarded a place in Wolverhampton’s Sporting Hall of Fame at Aldersley Leisure Village, and was one of 12 ‘People of the Year’ commended by the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation – others included champion rower Sir Stephen Redgrave, and in 2009, he competed in table tennis at the Special Olympics GB National Summer Games, winning one Gold and two Bronze medals.

Since 2005 Greg has been representative of Mencap’s Self Advocacy Committee and in 2010 he joined the ‘Changing Our Lives’ initiative, where Greg supports people with learning disabilities of all ages to advocate for their rights. In 2010, Greg obtained an NVQ level 2 in business administration following a successful work experience at National Grid office in Warwick. In 2011, he was offered a permanent position two days a week as business administrator at National Grid’s West Midlands Gas Alliance office in Wolverhampton.

Greg joined the Special Olympics GB Board in December 2010 and he will be joined by his colleague Charly Classen at the event.

Charly Classen joined the Special Olympics board in July 2019 after having left ESPN, where he was an active supporter of the Special Olympics by leading a team securing broadcast exposure of the Special Olympics World Summer and Winter games, as well as attending its Global Youth Leadership Forum in Baku and the World Games in Abu Dhabi.

At ESPN Charly was General Manager – Europe, Middle East and Africa, South Asia and Oceania.  In his role he was responsible for the growth, strategic guidance, development and oversight for all of ESPN’s business and operations in the region. He was also a member of the Walt Disney Company’s senior leadership team in EMEA and served on the SuperRTL advisory board, a German joint venture between RTL and Disney. Prior to ESPN, he held positions at Fremantle and marchFIRST.

Charly is a native of Hamburg, Germany who has lived in the UK for over 25 years. He now lives in London with his wife and daughter and dog. He holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University. He is fluent in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

We are all looking forward to the Leadership Masterclass and hearing Greg speak to the audience on Thursday!

INEOS TEAM UK Partners Great Britain SailGP Team, Brings In Ben Ainslie

INEOS TEAM UK has partnered with the Great Britain SailGP Team, bringing the most successful Olympic sailor of all time Ben Ainslie to the team.

The global sailing league will enter its second season in February 2020, with Ainslie and his squad representing Great Britain in SailGP – sailing’s newest and fastest championship that boasts the sport’s largest monetary prize of US$1 million.

SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to have one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time – across any sport – join our global championship.

“With crucial support from INEOS, Sir Ben Ainslie and the Great Britain SailGP Team will be contenders from day one and will create even more thrilling competition across our growing league.”

“The desire for INEOS and Ben Ainslie – alongside Belstaff, Grenadier and AFEX – to be part of SailGP is further testament to the commercial viability of our platform,” Coutts added.

“SailGP has proven itself as one of the most exciting sailing leagues, with top level competition and racing in iconic venues across the world,” said Ben Ainslie, who formed his own team for the 2017 edition, and is now leading INEOS TEAM UK’s bid to win the 36th America’s Cup, which will take place in New Zealand in 2021.

“The cutting-edge technology, speed and athletic requirements of the championship will provide a great sporting challenge. The Great Britain SailGP Team had a fantastic first season, and we’re excited to be part of this journey as the league continues to grow.”

 

Joshua-Ruiz 2: Eleven Sports Takes Rights In Three Countries, DAZN Claims Spain

Eleven Sports has secured live and exclusive coverage of the Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr rematch in Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, DAZN has taken the exclusive live rights for the heavyweight fight in Spain.

In Belgium, fans will also have the opportunity to watch the fight in special screenings at Kinepolis cinemas around the country, in partnership with Eleven Sports.

Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports, said: “We want to bring the greatest sporting events to Eleven Sports fans, and it doesn’t get much bigger than the battle to be the heavyweight champion of the world.

“This fight is a great addition to an already very strong portfolio of rights across Belgium, Portugal and Taiwan which includes the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, Formula 1 and much more besides. We hope our fans enjoy it!”

Joseph Markowski, executive vice president for DAZN’s North American operation, said: “Everyone got excited about the first bout, showing once again that you never know what will happen when two heavyweights get in the ring.”

Russia Could Face Four-Year Ban After WADA Recommendation

The World Anti-Doping Agency Has Recommended that Russia face a four-year sanction surrounding sporting events.

WADA’s Compliance Review Committee has made this recommendation after “an extremely serious case of non-compliance with the requirement to provide an authentic copy of the Moscow data, with several aggravating features”.

Russian athletes could therefore once again be forced to compete separately from their country if they are banned from international events, similarly to Pyeongchang’s Winter Olympics in 2018.

“Russian athletes and their support personnel may only participate in major events staged in the four-year period where they are able to demonstrate that they are not implicated in any way by the non-compliance,” WADA’s CRC added.

This is due to “incriminating circumstances in the McLaren reports, there are no positive findings reported for them in the database, and no data relating to their samples has been manipulated”.

The statement said: “The Moscow data are neither complete nor fully authentic. In particular, while the 2019 copy of the LIMS database matches in many respects the 2015 copy of the LIMS database provided to WADA by a whistleblower in 2017, hundreds of presumptive adverse analytical findings that appear in the 2015 copy of the LIMS database have been removed from the 2019 copy, and the related underlying raw data and PDF files have been deleted or altered.

“Some of the presumptive positive findings and related evidence were removed in 2016 or 2017, after the general scheme to cover up the doping of Russian athletes was first revealed by Dr [Grigory] Rodchenkov and then quickly confirmed by Prof. Richard McLaren’s investigation.

“However, further significant deletions and/or alterations were made in December 2018 and January 2019 (i.e., after the WADA ExCo imposed the data requirement). These activities were concealed by back-dating of computer systems and data files in an attempt to make it appear that the Moscow data had been in their current state since 2015.

“Furthermore, the commands issued to execute the manipulations, deletions and back-dating were also deleted, in an attempt to avoid detection of what had been done.”

 

Everton Switch To Reusable Plastic Cups With Sodexo

100% of all plastic pint glasses at Goodison Park will now be reusable due to their partnership with Sodexo.

Sodexo have provided new reusable plastic cups which will save an estimated 75,000 single-use plastic cups from being used across a season at Everton’s ground.

Designated recycling points have been installed on the concourse for supporters to place their cups after the initial use, before they are washed and returned to be used again.

The new cups can be reused up to 100 times form part of a wider campaign launched by the club and Everton in the Community, aimed at increasing environmental awareness and reducing the clubs carbon footprint.

Jo Wetherill, Sodexo Catering Services Director at Goodison Park, said: “Reducing waste is one of our key priorities so when Everton asked us for a solution to help drive down plastic waste we were more than happy to use our expertise to find an answer.

“These reusable cups will make a huge difference to the amount of plastic used at Goodison Park and make our work even greener.”

Alix Craig, Stadium Development and Project Manager, said: “The initiative is a key part of our environmental awareness campaign, ‘Everton for Change’, and it has been great to see the Club and Sodexo team up to launch this scheme. Reusable cups will make a huge difference to the amount of single-use plastic used at Goodison Park and help us achieve our environmental goals.”

Announcement: Accenture And FIBA Confirmed For Dubai Summit

iSportconnect are delighted to announce two more fantastic speakers for our Dubai Summit on the 5th of December.

We have added Peter Thomas, European and Middle East Marketing Director for Accenture, and Frank Leenders, Director General at FIBA Media & Marketing Services SA.

They join a host of fantastic names we have lined up to speak, with Frank joining a panel which will cover the three major world cups in sport this year, with huge names from World Rugby and the International Cricket Council taking part on the same panel.

Peter Thomas

Peter leads Corporate, Brand and Digital marketing for Accenture across the Europe and Middle East region and as part of that has led, or overseen, most of the company’s significant sports and arts sponsorship programmes over the last 5 years. Sport has always played a major part in his life and, indeed, he was brought up as a child in Dubai where his father was one of the three co-founders of the Dubai Exiles and Dubai 7s in the late 1960s.

He started his career in the PR Agency world spending nearly 15 years at major global agencies and ending up at Hill&Knowlton where he led the European Technology Practice. In 2004 he joined Accenture as UK and Ireland marketing director responsible for a broad range of marketing and communications programmes before joining the Rugby Football Union in 2009 as the head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs where he was closely involved in the bid for the right to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

In 2012 he returned to Accenture to lead European and UK Marketing including leading their award winning sponsorships of the RBS 6Nations and the National Theatre as well as advising on multiple other sports and arts sponsorships Accenture has globally. In 2017 he expanded his responsibility to include the sponsorship Accenture has with Expo2020 where they are a Premier Partner.

Frank T. Leenders

Frank Leenders (born in The Netherlands, 1968) has more than 20 years of experience in international sports marketing at the highest level. 

He started his professional career with ISL Marketing during the FIFA World Cup 1990 and subsequently joined start-up company TEAM Marketing in 1992, where he was part of the launch and development of the international benchmark project, the UEFA Champions League, since its very first season (1992-93). 

He moved to Rome to join pay Television Sky Italia in 2001, where he was Director of Sports Rights Acquisitions, responsible for the acquisition of all sports related Television rights.

In 2002 he returned to TEAM, where he became Managing Director and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2005. Following his departure at the end of 2010, he co-founded the independent sports marketing firm Value-Experience. 

In 2012, he supported the design and development of a dedicated media and marketing unit for FIBA, the international Basketball Federation in Geneva. Frank is now the Director General of this entity: FIBA Media and Marketing Services SA.

Frank holds a degree in Economics from the University of St. Gallen (CH) and has an MBA from SDA Bocconi in Milano (I).

With a maximum of 150 invite-only delegates, iSportconnect provides a media/agency free opportunity to network with influential senior-level sports business executives. We are famous for our intimate and relaxed environment, encouraging ideas exchange and helping to introduce you to the right new connections.

To register your interest in attending the 2019 iSportconnect Dubai Summit, please contact Joe Condon at joe@isportconnect.com

NBA Makes Unibet The League’s ‘Authorized Sports Betting Operator’

Unibet has been announced as an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the NBA. Through this agreement Unibet will have access to official NBA betting data to further improve its already strong customer experience.

Kindred Group’s flagship sports betting brand Unibet will now work with one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world, and as part of the agreement, throughout the NBA season. Unibet will have access to official NBA betting data and league marks across its online and mobile platforms in the United States.

Manuel Stan, SVP Kindred US, said: “We are very proud to team with the NBA.  This will add further customer value to an already first-class betting experience thanks to official NBA betting data and league marks across our mobile and retail platforms.  Kindred shares the NBA’s view on a legal and sustainable sports betting market, which makes this partnership a perfect match.”