On The Move: Latest Community Job Updates

Richard Masters will now be the permanent CEO for the Premier League to replace Richard Scudamore after an extended spell in the interim role.

Massimo Calvelli will become CEO of the ATP on the first of January.

Luis Vicente has been appointed as the new CEO of Eleven Sports.

Michel Possau will be the Rugby World Cup 2023 General Manager, as named by World Rugby.

Neal O’Rourke is the new managing director of Sky Österreich.

Ironman Group has announced two new appointments, Chris Marciani as Vice-President of Global Partnerships in North America and Matt Wikstrom as Vice-President of Global Partnerships for Global Business Development.

Stats Perform have announced roles the Hirdt brothers. Steve as Senior Director of Operations and Research and Peter as Senior Director of Content and Broadcast Service.

Cole Gahagan is new President of Content, Revenue and Enterprise Solutions at Learfield IMG College.

Major League Rugby have announced George Killebrew as their new Commissioner.

Keykavous Saeidi is now Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mark McCafferty has become Chairman of Warwickshire CCC.

Markus Haggeney is Acting Secretary General of the FAI.

Erlinda Tabla is now Vice-President, head of legal at Eurosport, and head of legal at Discovery France

Katie Carew is now the New York Giants Director for Corporate Partnerships.

Richard Masters Appointed Premier League Chief Executive

At a special meeting held today, Premier League clubs approved the appointment of Richard Masters as its Chief Executive with immediate effect.

Masters is the third person to have been offered the job, following Susanna Dinnage accepting the role before reneging on her agreement with the league and David Pemsel, who was forced to pull out of the running a fortnight ago following accusations about his private life in the British press.

Bruce Buck, Chairman of Chelsea Football Club and Chairman of the Premier League Nominations Committee, said: “Richard took on the role of Interim Chief Executive a year ago.  Since then, the clubs have seen Richard rise to the occasion, dealing with our various stakeholders and partners with aplomb and skill.

“As Interim Chief Executive, he has faced challenges head-on and has proved himself. The clubs believe that this is the right appointment now in the long-term interests of the Premier League.”

Commenting on his appointment, Richard said: “I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to lead the Premier League in what will be one of the most exciting stages of its development.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the clubs and our partners and other stakeholders over the past year. This is one of the most incredible jobs in the world of sport and I now look forward to leading the League in the many opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”

Richard has worked in the sports industry for more than 25 years. He joined the Premier League as Director of Sales and Marketing in 2006 and was promoted to Managing Director in July 2015.

Prior to joining the Premier League, Richard was Commercial Director at the English Football League and before that he worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The Premier League Nominations Committee will now look to appoint a non-executive Chair promptly in the new year.

Massimo Calvelli Announced As New ATP Chief Executive

The ATP has announced the appointment of Massimo Calvelli as the ATP Chief Executive Officer, beginning 1 January 2020.

Calvelli brings a wide range of tennis and executive experience to the position and was the unanimous choice of the ATP Board of Directors. The 45-year-old Italian has been a highly respected sports executive in global sales, marketing, operations and product development for the past 20 years.

Calvelli will work closely with fellow Italian Andrea Gaudenzi, who becomes the new Chairman of the ATP on 1 January 2020. The two will serve in a new split role at the helm of the ATP, replacing the combined position of ATP Executive Chairman and President, currently held by Chris Kermode through to the end of 2019.

“I am delighted and honoured to be appointed as the new CEO of the ATP,” said Calvelli. “I have been involved in professional tennis for most of my life and I look forward to bringing my passion and knowledge of the sport into this role. It’s a very exciting time to be involved with the ATP Tour as we strive to build on the growth of recent years, and I look forward to getting started in January.”

Most recently, Calvelli was employed by Nike where he worked across multiple functions and oversaw all aspects of global tennis sports marketing. During his time at Nike, he has led negotiations with many of the sport’s global icons. Previously, the former professional tennis player was the Global Business Director for Wilson Sporting Goods.

Gaudenzi said: “Together with the ATP Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Massimo as the new CEO of the ATP. We share a great passion for the sport and I’m confident our diverse business experiences will serve the Tour well as we work on the future direction of men’s professional tennis.”

The appointment of Calvelli concludes an extensive leadership recruitment process undertaken over the last eight months by the ATP Board of Directors, with the assistance of global leadership advisory and executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

ELEVEN SPORTS Appoints Luis Vicente As CEO

Luis Vicente will join ELEVEN SPORTS as the group’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 15th January 2020.

Luis is a vastly experienced sports executive, with a 25-year track record of driving innovation, commercial growth and brand engagement for athletes, teams and governing bodies.

He joins ELEVEN SPORTS from FIFA where, as Chief Digital Transformation & Innovation Officer, he worked to champion new technologies, gaming, data and content strategies.

Luis has worked with some of the world’s leading brands in football and motorsports. He held leadership roles with Manchester City and Valencia CF and has offered strategic guidance to Real Madrid, AC Milan, the Premier League, LaLiga, Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and A1GP. He began his career in talent management, representing Luis Figo and Ronaldo Nazario among other world class athletes.

Luis takes over as CEO from Marc Watson, who will continue working to lead the ELEVEN SPORTS group forward in his role as ELEVEN’s Executive Chairman and Board Director of parent company Aser Ventures.

Marc Watson, Executive Chairman, ELEVEN SPORTS Group, has welcomed Luis to the group:

“Luis has a passion for innovation and new technologies and a history of helping to grow some of the biggest brands in sport. He is the perfect person to take ELEVEN to the next level. We’re delighted to welcome him to the group.”

Luis Vicente, CEO, ELEVEN SPORTS Group, said:

“ELEVEN has been disrupting the world of sports media since 2015 and has already developed a fantastic offering for millions of fans globally. My mission will be to help ELEVEN continue to grow, to further democratise our offering and give fans everywhere the opportunity to enjoy the best sporting moments with ELEVEN. I am very excited to get started.”

Luis also joins Aser Ventures as Board Member and Chief Digital Officer.

DAZN Takes Champions League Rights In Germany From Sky Deutschland

DAZN has won the bidding rights to the Champions League in Germany for the three seasons beginning from the 2021/22 season.

Sky Germany’s CEO, Carsten Schmidt, told BILD that they have lost the rights through the tender process, saying:

“In the tendering process that has just been completed, we have not been able to agree on a continuation of the cooperation after about 20 years of partnership with Uefa.

“We have an economically clear and responsible view on the value of sports rights, however, even in the interests of our customers, we were not prepared to go beyond the high value that we attach to this right.”

U.S. Reform Could Upset Olympic Status Quo

Changes in the governance of Olympic sports being considered by the U.S. Congress could be in conflict with the principles of the Olympic Charter, according to the chief of the national governing body of a leading sport.

Speaking at the Regional SportAccord in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Jim Scherr, CEO of World Lacrosse, said that provisions in proposed legislation aimed at protecting athletes, however well intentioned, would contravene the Charter by giving the U.S. government an oversight role of Olympic sport in the country.

Congress is currently weighing an adjustment to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 (which was last amended in 1998) that would give legislators the power to dissolve the board and/or management of the USOC or any Olympic national governing body.

“The aim of the changes is to protect the welfare of athletes and give them greater voice,” Scherr, a former CEO of the USOC, told iSportconnect in an interview after his conference session. “This is positive of course. However, giving government this sort of political lever would be contrary to the Olympic Charter. The criticism raised by some people that the USOC is hiding behind the IOC is not correct. The Charter does say that governments should not be in such a position.”

The U.S. government, unlike in many other countries, does not get directly involved in funding sport or the Olympic organisations. Support of the USOC comes indirectly through extra protection for Olympic trademarks enabling the USOC to offer partners more value from their association with Olympic sport.

The U.S. government also invests in safeguarding the security of the U.S. team and the Games when they take place in America.

Scherr said a place on the Olympic programme for lacrosse for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 is a possibility.

“Our primary aim is to grow the game,” he said. “I have not met a single athlete or person involved in lacrosse who doesn’t say it would be phenomenal to be part of the Olympics. One day we would like to be in the Games. However, whether or not we are in the Olympics in the future, we will continue to work to develop our sport and work for our athletes.”

Euroleague Basketball’s Startup Challenge Allies With The World’s Leading Tech Conference 4YFN

Euroleague Basketball has announced details of the 2020 Fan XP Innovation Challenge. It invites tech startups to join the sports fan revolution by presenting new innovations that create unique fan experiences in professional sports.

The Fan XP Innovation Challenge, an evolution of the previously held EB Tech Challenge, will be marked by a strategic partnership that will see 4YFN, a world-leading startup event and part of the MWC, collaborate in the recruitment and reviewing of applicant startups, as well as host the final phase of the competition, to be held in Barcelona on February 24, 25 and 26.

iSportconnect & iSportconnect Capital Founder and CEO Sree Varma will be on the jury overseeing the challenge and said: “I am delighted to have once again been asked to be part of the jury to select the winning startup in the 2020 Fan XP Innovation Challenge. It is always fantastic to see the new ideas that are being created every year and I look forward to being part of it.”

4YFN joins long-time Euroleague Basketball partner the University of La Salle-URL, who will continue to power the challenge in collaboration with its tech arm La Salle Technova, and new partners N3XT Sports, a strategic consulting firm specialized in sports technology, innovation and investments, who will provide continuous advisory support to the project.

“We are excited to find out what opportunities can be found in the crossroads of sports, fan experience, technology and innovation,” Jordi Bertomeu, President & CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. “Besides learning about the latest trends in technology and finding solutions to our most important challenges, it is always rewarding to spend time with startups as they instill in our organization a highly valuable mindset of entrepreneurship and innovation. And sharing this journey with partners as University of LaSalle-URL, 4YFN and N3xt Sports, who combine for an amazing level of expertise in this field, makes it even more thrilling!”

Startups can now apply to participate at https://fanxp.euroleague.net/. Applications will remain open until January 10, 2020, and the selection of a maximum of 10 finalists will be announced by January 22, 2020. Finalists will be invited to attend the 4YFN conference in Barcelona to participate in the following activities:

– A minimum of 4 remote and in-person mentoring sessions with Euroleague Basketball executives to receive guidance on how to best adapt their existing solutions to a professional sports environment.

– Free access to the 4YFN conference, including the Fan XP Innovation Challenge public events.

– Free exhibition space at the 4YFN conference to present their solution to the 25,000+ visitors.

– Opportunity to present their pitch in a public session at the 4YFN conference, where a jury formed by top sports, tech, innovation and investment specialists will select the winning startups. (Jury members to be announced soon.)

– Private sessions with top Euroleague Basketball executives to expand knowledge and receive insights on the sports and basketball industries.

– Private networking opportunities to connect with sports/basketball professionals and jury members.

– Potential pilot test to validate concept at an official Euroleague Basketball event.

– Potential investment opportunities and investor meetings.

The startups that participate are required to satisfy the following conditions:

• Possess a product or service that provides an innovative proposal to upgrade the fan experience in sports and generates new or expanded revenue opportunities for sports organizations;

• Possess a product or service with significant potential for growth and a unique value proposition for potential investors;

• Company must have been operating for at least 2 years and have at least two full-time workers;

• Possess at least one Minimum Viable Product, at least in private beta phase;

• Have paying clients and/or users.

In general, startups that participate are expected to contribute to the improvement of the fan experience and generate direct or indirect revenue opportunities through broadcast, in-arena or digital platforms, or a combination of these.

Visit https://fanxp.euroleague.net/ to apply or contact fanxp@euroleague.net for more information.

Eurovision Sport Agrees FIFA Club World Cup 2019 And 2020 Deal In 37 Territories

Eurovision Sport has signed an agreement with Dentsu, the Japanese based agency, for exclusive media rights, on all platforms, to the FIFA Club World Cup 2019 and 2020.

Eurovision Sport, a division of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), represents Europe’s public service broadcasters. Covering 37 territories*, the new agreement ensures wide free-to-air coverage across Europe for the FIFA Club World Cup via EBU Member broadcasters and builds on the strong relationship between the EBU and FIFA.

The FIFA Club World Cup sees the current UEFA Champion’s League winner competing against the 5 other Confederations club champions (plus the host’s country club representative) in an annual eight-match knockout tournament.

Pascal Fratellia, Head of Football Rights at Eurovision Sport says, “We are very pleased to sign this new FIFA Club World Cup deal, building on a relationship initiated back in 2011. This agreement provides FIFA and Dentsu with a strong and reliable broadcast commitment from EBU Members and reaffirms our ambition and dedication to showcase premium football competitions free-to-air for fans.”

This FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019™ will be staged from Wednesday 11 December until Saturday 21 December. Europe will be represented this year by Liverpool F.C, winner of the UEFA Champions League Final in 2019.

Brooklyn Nets Owner Joe Tsai Spending $10million On Esports Team Stake, Reports Say

Bloomberg has reported that owner of the Brooklyn Nets NBA Franchise, Joe Tsai, is to invest $10 million into buying a minority stake in the G2 Esports team.

Tsai is the co-founder of Alibaba and G2 are reportedly set to use the opportunity to boost the profile of their Berlin-based franchise in China.

Jens Hilgers, Chairman and Co-Founder of G2 commented: “The biggest challenge for Western teams is to properly play to Chinese culture, to understand the true thinking and mentality of the Chinese audience. That’s something that we will pay a lot of attention to, but with the support of a Chinese owner in our group, hopefully it goes a bit easier.”

“We want to be, from a talent perspective, a Western team. But we want to build fans so that when it comes to international competition, these fans can look to G2 Esports and say, ‘I’ve heard about these guys, I follow these guys, and that’s my favorite team when I don’t see my home favorite,'” Hilgers added.

British Olympic Association ‘Dismayed By Legal Tactics’ From Athletes

The British Olympic Association has issued a strong statement in response to continued legal action from major British athletes who dispute IOC ‘rule 40’.

These athletes have been protesting against sponsorship regulations with Mo Farah, Adam Gemili and Katarina Johnson-Thompson among those who are threatening to sue over their potential earnings.

Following a meeting that was conducted last week with representatives of the athletes that the BOA have claimed was productive, they say they are ‘dismayed’ by the continual legal tactics being shown from the opposition.

The statement said: “Despite those encouraging conversations, we have been dismayed by the ongoing legal tactics being conducted in the background, which in no way reflects the spirit of the discussions held.

“Therefore we have been forced to respond fully and robustly to the legal challenge and have done so in the best interests of all of the athletes we serve and the BOA – a not-for-profit independent organisation that receives no taxpayer or Government funds.

“All monies raised by the BOA are prioritised towards providing athletes with the best support in the performance environment. In the four-year period to Tokyo 2020 we will have taken over 700 athletes to nine multi-sport events, including youth Olympic Games and both senior winter and summer Games.

“We reiterate that it is clearly not in the interest of any party to enter into a protracted legal dispute ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“As such, we continue to act in good faith and make ourselves available for further discussions with a strong desire to find a positive solution for the benefit of all athletes through constructive, open and transparent dialogue.”