Bundesliga agrees a four-year broadcast deal with DAZN

Bundesliga International and DAZN have agreed to a four-year broadcast deal which ensures that the international streaming platform will have exclusive rights to show Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2, the DFL Supercup and relegation play-offs from the start of the 2025-26 season.

Football fans in Spain will be able to watch the most important matches from Germany’s top two divisions, live and on demand, as well as highlights of each match and a range of localised shoulder programming.

In addition, thanks to a sub-licensing agreement with Movistar, subscribers to DAZN in Spain will already have exclusive access to the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 throughout the 2024-25 season.

Peer Naubert, Chief Marketing Officer of Bundesliga International, said: “Spain is an important market and a country – like Germany – where football means everything. We are pleased to be working with DAZN across many markets internationally and will now work together to continue to bring Football As Its Meant To Be to fans throughout Spain.”

Why Padel Is More Than Just a Game – It’s a Community

In recent months, the sports world has been buzzing about the rapid rise of padel and its impact on traditional tennis clubs. Last month, even tennis legend Novak Djokovic voiced concerns about this shift. But instead of viewing padel as a threat, tennis clubs should see it as the nudge they need to adapt to changing times. As the founder of Padium, the UK’s premier padel operator, I believe padel is on track to revolutionise the sport landscape, offering a fresh and inclusive alternative that resonates with today’s players.

Addressing Djokovic’s Concerns

Novak Djokovic is right to point out the challenges traditional tennis clubs are facing. The growing popularity of padel is undeniable, and it’s forcing tennis to rethink its approach. Many tennis clubs have been slow to evolve, clinging to an elitist model that hasn’t adapted to modern times. Meanwhile, padel has exploded onto the scene, offering something fresh and exciting that resonates with today’s players. The growth of padel is impossible to ignore with celebrities that include David Beckham, Lionel Messi, and even tennis greats themselves such as Andy Murrary and Rafael Nadal joining the trend. The numbers speak for themselves with over 50 new padel clubs opening every week globally (Playtomic Global Padel Report 2024). It’s clear that padel is more than just a trend, it’s a movement that’s here to stay.

But instead of seeing this as a rivalry, it’s time to understand why padel is capturing so much attention and this may provide tennis clubs with some answers. 

The Appeal of Padel: Why It’s Grabbing All the Attention

Padel’s rise has caught everyone’s attention for a few simple reasons. First off, it’s easy to get started. Unlike tennis, which can be tough to learn, padel is much more accessible for beginners. You can jump into a game with little to no experience, have a rally and have a great time. This ease of entry makes it appealing to anyone looking to try something new without a steep learning curve. But don’t be fooled—padel isn’t just a casual game. It’s got layers that make it tough to master, keeping people hooked. It’s also a social sport by nature. 

The Social Magic of Padel: Why It’s More Than Just a Game

Unlike tennis, where the skill gap can make matches feel isolating, padel is all about inclusion and interaction—perfect for those looking to enjoy a sport while connecting with others. The smaller courts and emphasis on doubles means more interaction and more fun, regardless of their experience level. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, padel helps level the playing field, making it easy to mix and mingle. It’s not just a sport—it’s a social experience that brings people together in a way traditional tennis often doesn’t. And often can’t. 

At Padium, we witness this social magic every day with people of all walks of life entering our venue. People aren’t just playing a game; they’re meeting new friends and building a community. I’ve personally met many incredible individuals through open matches at our club.

Padium’s Vision: Leading Padel’s Remarkable Story 

At Padium, we’re committed to being at the forefront of this padel boom. Our focus is entirely on creating the best possible experience for padel players in a premium, unforgettable setting. From our top-notch facilities to our expert coaching, and from our special events to the Pro-Am tournaments we’ve held, we’re dedicated to setting the standard for padel in the UK and becoming the nation’s number one padel operator. We believe that by focusing solely on padel, we can offer something truly special—an environment where people come together to enjoy a sport that’s as social as it is competitive.

Padel’s rise is no accident. It’s a sport that perfectly captures the modern desire for accessibility, fun, and community. As tennis clubs grapple with how to stay relevant, padel is showing the way forward and making itself appealing to a modern, young audience. We’re excited to lead this charge, offering a padel experience that’s unmatched anywhere in the UK and setting the stage for what’s to come in the fast-changing world of racket sports.

The author is Houman Ashrafzadeh, Founder of Padium

IBA’s Role in Boxing: A Question of Integrity?

In this week’s Member Insights piece, David Alexander, the founder and MD of Calacus PR spotlights how gender has become a huge issue in sport as well as society.

Ever since South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya underwent tests to prove her gender back in 2009, and the LGBTQ+ community has found a voice in mainstream society, there have been questions raised about fairness and eligibility.

The issue was thrown back into the limelight during the Paris 2024 boxing competition when Italian boxer Angela Carini broke down in tears and quit her bout against the Algerian Imane Khelif after 46 seconds in a fight that sparked huge controversy at the Olympics.

Khelif is one of two boxers permitted to fight at the Games despite being disqualified from the women’s world championships last year for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.

The International Boxing Association, (IBA) has had a difficult few years, with concerns over governance and integrity ultimately seeing it removed as boxing’s Olympic governing body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)  in 2023.

Former President Gafur Rakhimov was said to by the U.S. Treasury Department to have strong links to organised crime, which led the IOC to launch an inquiry and suspend IBA initially in 2019.

Rakhimov’s successor, Russian Umar Kremlev, is said to have strong links to state President Vladimir Putin while the governing body has been backed by Russian state energy firm Gazprom, which Kremlev said had ceased to be the case since 2023.

Concerns over the integrity of bouts and judging were underlined by report by sports investigator Richard McLaren which said “corruption abounded” when he concluded his report into IBA’s governance.

IBA is also under threat from the newly-formed World Boxing, which was set up by former IBA presidential candidate Boris van der Vorst, who have already held talks with the IOC about leading the boxing at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and have almost three dozen nations supporting them.

So it’s fair to say that IBA’s credibility continues to be stretched. 

Last year, Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the World Boxing Championships. 

“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women,” the Association’s president, Umar Kremlev, told Russia’s Tass news agency at the time. “According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition.”

It was a pure coincidence that Khelif had beaten Russian opponent Azalia Amineva in the semi-final, her disqualification ensuring that Amineva’s unbeaten record was restored.

Fast forward to Paris and Khelif, who was born and raised a woman, and does not identify as either transgender or intersex.

The controversy over her inclusion in the women’s 66kg boxing event prompted everyone from author JK Rowling, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk and former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss to pour scorn over Khelif’s inclusion.

Carini, meanwhile, expressed regret over her actions in the ring. “All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision. It wasn’t something I intended to do. 

“Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”

The IOC made a statement criticising IBA’s governance and later IOC President Thomas Bach confirmed that the boxers were not transgender.

He confirmed: “We have two boxers who are born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman and have competed for many years as women. Some want to own a definition of who is a women.”

He went on to underline the IOC’s position while referring to the wider and politically motivated campaign by Russian interests against the IOC and the Paris Olympics. 

He added: “What we have seen from the Russian side and in particular from the (IBA),” Bach said, “they have undertaken already way before these Games with a defamation campaign against France, against the Games, against the IOC.”

IOC Director of Communications, Mark Adams, dismissed the legitimacy of IBA’s testing and the frenzy it was attempting to capitalise on.

He said: “The whole process is flawed. From the conception of the test, to the way the test was shared with us, to the way the tests were made public, it’s so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it.

“I’m not going to discuss the individual intimate details of athletes in public, which I think is quite disgraceful for those who leaked that material. Frankly, it must be terrible to be put in that position. On top of all the social media harassment these athletes have had to endure.”

Despite their lack of involvement from Paris 2024, IBA called a press conference to build upon the controversy and explain why they had banned Khelif from their own event last year.

Given their reputation as an organisation, and despite of the facts as laid out by the IOC, what IBA needed to do was show leadership, authority and professionalism.

That would send a message to the world that they are a serious organisation capable of representing the diverse boxing family and acting with integrity.

What transpired was quite the opposite.

Reporters were kept waiting for the press conference for over an hour amid technical difficulties which were to affect the translations, the live feed to Kremlev in Russia and the sound system.

One reporter described the event as “the most extraordinary, chaotic, shambolic and badly organised international sporting press conference I have ever attended,” and it was perhaps a fatal blow to IBA’s hopes of regaining Olympic Programme control for boxing.

The speakers rambled, avoided answering direct questions and there was no coherent messaging to convince the attendant media that IBA, and by extension its point of view, was credible.

IBA Chief Executive, Chris Roberts, a former British Army officer, revealed that blood tests carried out by a laboratory in Istanbul during the 2022 World Championship came up as inconsistent for Khelif and another boxer, with a similar test the next year leading to her disqualification. 

He added that the controversy “wasn’t anything that we wanted. We delivered the test information to the IOC and they haven’t done anything with it because they believe in their own criteria, which is the passport. We never intended to raise any issues because this is not our event. We are now here because the media has questions.”

Kremlev used the opportunity to attack the IOC and President Bach again, claiming that he was standing up for women’s sport, despite all the speakers being men.

In a rambling tirade that prompted journalists to leave or ask him to stop talking, Kremlev said; “As a Christian, the Olympic opening ceremony was something horrible. Today we are destroying sport, especially feminine sport. 

“We have genetic tests showing that these are men. We have not checked what’s between their legs. There are doctors and medics who can verify these things. We don’t know whether they were born like that or changes were made. 

“Today we are witnessing the death of women’s boxing, the corruption of judges. All this is happening while Mr Bach is president (of the IOC). Under no circumstances should we allow women’s boxing to be destroyed. Today not only is women’s boxing being destroyed, but I believe that in the future they will also try to destroy women’s sport.”

Several journalists and other people who were attending left in disgust, at not just the language, but the tone of the answers from the IBA participants.

Nothing is ever off the record with journalists and it was laughable that Roberts then contradicted his President by confirming that Gazprom was still a sponsor and also undermining the validity of the 2023 tests by saying that there was no independent presence when they took place.

No wonder the IOC’s Mark Adams responded: “It was a chaotic farce. The organization and the content of this press conference tells you everything you need to know about their governance and credibility.

“It clearly demonstrates that the sport of boxing needs a new federation to run boxing. If you ever needed any evidence at all that the IBA is unfit to run boxing just look at the key members of the IBA who took part in that travesty yesterday.

“We would love to see boxing, we want to see boxing on the programme in LA. Now it is up to the boxing community to organise themselves for the sport and for the athletes.” 

Beyond the confusion, the chaos and the shambles that was IBA’s press conference, not once did any of the speakers show any sympathy for the online bullying and abuse that Khelif has faced.

Khelif had earlier said the furore was having “massive effects” as she called for restraint. “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects,” she said.

After winning gold by beating Chinese world champion Yang Liu by a unanimous decision over five rounds to win welterweight gold, Khelif said: “I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. 

“For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist. That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks.

“We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics.

“I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.

“As for the IBA, since 2018 I have been boxing under their umbrella. They know me very well, they know what I’m capable of, they know how I’ve developed over the years but now they are not recognised any more. They hate me and I don’t know why. I send them a single message: with this gold medal, my dignity, my honour is above everything else.”

Paris 2024 will go down as one of the greatest Olympiad of all time, with the Khelif affair a rare controversy which raised questions of fairness and safety. But Khelif has struggled in other competitions, her Olympic gold surely the peak of her career which has never been characterised by overly powerful punching.

Sadly for IBA, their communications and their shambolic Paris press conference end any hope they had of regaining the hearts and minds of the boxing community, or, more importantly, the support of the IOC.

Click here to know more about Calacus Sports PR.

Paris Hosts Grande Olympic Games of Sport & Hope in Divided World

As the Paris Olympic Games enters its final weekend, Michael Pirrie reviews the highlights and lessons of the world’s premier global sporting event. 

The Olympic Games means the world to sport but the wider world in which it exists is increasingly ruptured and challenged by a rapidly changing and uncertain global environment. 

Paris showed there is still hope.

Athletes, teams and officials from nations fractured by political conflict and violence embarked on an unlikely journey of hope from war to sport in the French capital. 

As the Paris Olympiad moves into its final weekend, it is clear the Games has been a triumph for the IOC, for France, its iconic capital, and for Olympic  Movement

Paris provided a unique opportunity to bring the Games back to the home of its founder Pierre de Coubertin and reconnect with his vision for the event to build relationships, dialogue and understanding between nations towards peace.

Paris Fills Void in Uncertain World

With a global movement and conditions threatening the status quo, Paris reinforced the Olympic Games as the pinnacle of world sport.

Paris has been a success for international Olympic sports federations, National Olympic Committees, broadcasters and worldwide partners and sponsors.

The Games has showcased the Olympic experience, athletes and sport in iconic venues and electrifying Parisian atmosphere.

Venues were full and loud; the host city was vibrant; and sport captivating like Paris itself.

Paris filled a void in a fragile world like Tokyo did, bringing the world together remotely in a global pandemic

The French Games further underlined the Olympics as the world’s most important global sporting event dedicated to peace

Paris came at a pivotal moment for the Olympic movement and the world, on the brink of full-scale war in the Middle East and threats of nuclear annihilation in Europe, the Olympic Movement’s home continent

The Paris Games resembled an international sport census and consensus on sport; a global communal gathering of athletes from more than 200 nations and territories, more than the number of member states in the United Nations

Nations across the political spectrum, even some of the most isolated and extreme attended Paris, including North Korea after the reclusive nation missed Tokyo because Covid. 

While some individual athletes secured more medals than entire smaller nations, some of which sent only 1 competitor – just making it to Paris was an achievement for many countries that meant more than competing in a deeply divided world.     

The team from Ukraine was greatly diminished in size due to the death toll and casualties inflected by Russia but its presence in Paris symbolised its existence and survival as a nation.

The multiple gold, silver and bronze medals won by Ukraine’s athletes have inspired the devastated nation and the world beyond, symbolising strength and spirit in the darkest of times.

This was a powerful statement of trust and hope in sport and peace in a world divided by war, deepening social inequality and disadvantage, authoritarian governments and racial and religious motivated terrorism.

“This culture of peace was, and always will be at the heart of our Olympic community,” IOC President Thomas Bach, said as the Israeli victims of the Munich 1972 Olympic Games massacre – described by Bach as “the darkest day in Olympic history”-  were remembered at a ceremony in Paris

Paris pointed to new directions, priorities and concerns for world sport.

The Games was the biggest sporting event ever staged and the biggest security operation as well, with a ring of steel reportedly involving 75,000 police and military officers stretching around the Olympic rings to protect Paris.

With the presence of Israeli athletes in Paris amid   on going conflict in Gaza, team members are escorted by elite tactical squads, with tensions heightened following reports of threats against Israelis at the Games.    

Paris 2024 was a milestone for the Olympic Movement 

There had not been a fully successful Games since London, and Paris was the moment the Olympic Movement had been waiting for.

Paris enabled the Games to return to a major European capital, with no major organisational problems or scandals, a beautiful host city, world famous venues and huge potential audiences. 

This was the opportunity for the Games to recover from the isolation and emptiness of Covid and return to its premier status in the world. 

Paris captured and held the world’s attention amid the catastrophe of war, political unrest, and declining economic and social conditions.

This was the world’s most screened and streamed sporting event, out rating Netflix.

Paris redefined the appearance of the Games, integrating the mega event into and around host city venues and settings like never before 

The French capital produced its own cinema verite with the sport superstars, soundstage, landmark locations and extras needed for a global hit.

These included crowd favourites such as Tom Cruise, Eva Mendez, John Travolta and even Snoop Dog in roles as Olympic venue extras.

Paris also had a contemporary cinema feel that harked back to MGM spectaculars like an American in Paris.

Hollywood will need to produce its own blockbuster when the Olympic set and location moves to Los Angeles in four years.      

Paris produced scripts with story lines so extraordinary they could have come straight from a Steven Spielberg ‘works in development’ production meeting.

These included an athlete whose great grandfather was on Schindler’s List, and while competing in Paris drew on the strength and spirit of her late grandmother who survived the Holocaust

Narrative Sport That Matters 

The Holocaust survivor escaped to Paris in 1944, where 80 years later, her granddaughter, Jemima Montag, would win bronze in the Olympic race walk, finishing under the arches of the Eiffel Tower that once beckoned as a beacon of hope to her grandmother eight decades earlier.

Montag, representing Australia, was inspired by wearing her grandmother’s bracelet in Paris, marching in her memory and footsteps.   

“She (her grandmother), teaches me to take one step at a time and it also puts things into perspective,” Montag once said. “Towards the end of the Holocaust they marched through the snow and cold for days on end in little sandals and hardly any clothing.”

Paris was ‘narrative sport’ at its most impactful with story lines of life imitating art so compelling and improbable they could have come from the Louvre.

These include US basketball star Brittney Griner coming back and challenging for a team gold medal after she was taken as a hostage by Russia shortly before invading Ukraine and later released in a prisoner swap.    

These were stories the world was longing to hear; stories about overcoming adversity that gave hope in times of great adversity. 

While great sporting events inevitably produce great sport, the Olympic Games is about more than sport and revealed more about the human condition and condition of the planet. 

Cutting edge technology and vast sums of money used in a landmark effort to clean up the Seine River for Olympic swimming still couldn’t wash away concerns about the safety of the murky river.

The gender fight in boxing that has engulfed the Games, complicated by the credibility of the International Boxing Association and its Kremlin linked leader, indicates the dispute over ‘chromosome doping’ has deep and complex social and cultural origins as well as scientific ones and is a tragedy for all involved.

In a gender equal Games, women athletes gave the most inspiring performances – from legendary US swimmer Katie  Ledecky to gymnast Simone Biles.

Teenage women skateboarders energised the Games. 

Soaring so high in aerial rotations they may have needed a flight plan and parachute for landing, the teenager skateboarder also provided a new way of looking at the world and sport.     

Arisa Trew, at 14, from Australia, was the youngest gold medal winner at the Games, said she had been motivated to win the competition after her parents promised her a pet duck.   

Conclusion

The IOC sees the Games as a potential way to bring the world together. While the Games cannot stop wars, sport can help to highlight what’s important. 

The Paris Games highlighted the increasingly urgent need for peace in a fragile world, in line with the vision of its founder whose hopes and dreams for the event remain as relevant as when the Games last visited de Coubertin’s home city in Paris 100 years ago. 

The world will be hoping it does not take another century to return.

Michael Pirrie is an international Olympic and major events communications adviser and commentator who led the global media campaign for London’s successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012 against Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid   

AS Monaco signs Renault as major partner

AS Monaco and Renault, through Renault 5 E-Tech electric have announced their collaboration for the coming season.


The legendary Renault 5, marketed from 1972 to 1996, is back! Reinvented and revealed just a few months ago, Renault 5 E-Tech electric is Renault’s new 100% electric small city car. The French automotive brand, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, has set its sights on making Renault 5 E-Tech electric its new pop icon.


By becoming a major partner of the Principality’s football club, Renault will enable Renault 5 E-Tech electric to be displayed on the front of the AS Monaco professional team jersey during the Champions League matches the Club will be playing this season.

The R5 logo will also be visible on the “pocket” of the Monegasque players’ tunics during their Ligue 1 matches, and will also benefit from high visibility at the Stade Louis-II, as well as on the Club’s various communication media.

This new partnership with a world-class group like Renault and their iconic and responsible Renault 5 E-Tech electric is further proof of AS Monaco’s appeal. We look forward to working together and helping each other achieve our goals.

As part of this collaboration, a fleet of over twenty Renault vehicles will be made available to AS Monaco. Finally, a number of activations between the two entities will enable the Monegasque club, backed by Renault dealerships throughout France, to reach all its supporters in France and in the Principality.

Laurent Aliphat, VP Renault Marketing Brand Content: “We are very proud to be partnering AS Monaco football club this season. We share strong ties, based on our history and our values. Founded over one hundred years ago, we are both entities with national and international reach. And we are both seeking to implement strategies with a focus on clean mobility. This partnership comes at a time that promises to be exciting and meaningful for both of us, with the launch of Renault 5 E-Tech electric, an iconic car inspiring real passion, and the centenary celebrations of AS Monaco.”

Thibaut Chatelard, Marketing & Revenue Director of AS Monaco: “Welcome to Renault and Renault 5 E-Tech electric in the great family of AS Monaco partners! As the Club returns to the Champions League next season, marked by the Centenary of our institution, we are delighted to be able to count on Renault’s support for our European campaign and throughout the exciting Ligue 1 season. This new partnership with a world-class group like Renault and their iconic and responsible Renault 5 E-Tech electric is further proof of AS Monaco’s appeal. We look forward to working together and helping each other achieve our goals.”

Arsenal FC teams up with Athletic Brewing Company

Arsenal FC has partnered with Athletic Brewing Company, America’s largest non-alcoholic brewery, who became the club’s first Official Non-Alcoholic Beer Partner.

Starting this August, this partnership will see cans of Athletic’s award-winning Run Wild IPA available throughout Emirates Stadium for all men’s and women’s matches. Additionally, Run Wild IPA will be served on draught at the club level.

Athletic will also invest in a marketing campaign featuring Arsenal players, and will run a series of promotions, including in-stadium sampling activations, social media giveaways, and VIP supporter experiences.

“As we continue to grow our footprint in the UK, we’re honoured to partner with Arsenal, an institution synonymous with not just English football, but the sport on a global stage,” said Bill Shufelt, Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic.

Juliet Slot, our Chief Commercial Officer, said: “I’m so pleased to welcome Athletic to our family. We’re all focused on moving forward after record-breaking seasons for both our men’s and women’s teams in 2023/24. New partners like Athletic are vital in supporting our growth so we can continue to invest in our teams and compete for major trophies.

“Our supporters remain at the heart of this journey, and with more matches coming to Emirates Stadium this season for both teams, we’re excited to work with Athletic to enhance our matchday offer with their brilliant non-alcoholic beer.”

Southampton FC signs P&O Cruises as official sleeve partner

Southampton Football Club has announced that Britain’s cruise line, P&O Cruises, will become the club’s Official Sleeve Partner in a multi-year partnership. The P&O Cruises logo will sit pride of place across the Men’s, Women’s and Academy teams’ sleeve. 

With a rich history within the city of Southampton, P&O Cruises is firmly established as Britain’s favourite cruise line. This partnership, the first sports sponsorship for P&O Cruises, will also offer exclusive benefits and experiences to Southampton FC members and fans and P&O Cruises guests, including cruise offers, match tickets, meet and greet events and onboard coaching.

The partnership between P&O Cruises and Southampton FC will celebrate both entities’ commitment to achieving results and to the community. P&O Cruises is also set to become the title partner of Saints Foundation, the club’s official charity which supports over 5,500 people every year within the city across health, education, gender equality, pathways and employability. Further details on this part of the partnership will be announced in due course. 

Commenting on the partnership, Phil Parsons, CEO of Southampton Football Club said: “We are delighted to welcome P&O Cruises as our sleeve partner. This is a historic partnership for us, working with P&O Cruises for the first time.

“P&O Cruises is an organisation right at the heart in our city, much like us. With customer service and local community central to its business, its values are aligned to our own. We look forward to what this partnership will bring to our fans and the local community.”

Carnival UK & P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “P&O Cruises has a long and illustrious history sailing from the port of Southampton. Southampton Football Club is one of the oldest and forward-thinking clubs in English football, with a passionate and dedicated following of supporters in the city and beyond. It is a natural partnership for both of us and we are excited to see what this collaboration will bring to our guests.

“Investing in our home ports and the communities in which we live and visit is vitally important to us and this partnership underpins our commitment to the region.”

With pre-season preparations well under way for all Southampton FC teams, fans will first see the P&O Cruises logo on Southampton FC’s Men’s First Team kits at the home friendly match against Lazio on 7th August. All fans who purchase or have already purchased any of the Southampton FC 2024/25 replica kits will be able to go into the Southampton FC stadium store to have the P&O Cruises branding applied to their shirts free of charge, subject to availability from 6th August.

iSportConnect Sports Tech Partnership Index powered by SportsTech Match – July 2024

Who’s hot in sports tech? Who is doing deals? Who is creating new, innovative partnerships? That’s what the Index attempts to dig into on a monthly basis. Whether established players or the up-and-coming stars, we go a little deeper for you…

SportsTech Match recorded 67 new or renewed deals and partnerships featuring tech companies in sport during the month of July. This month’s index is topped by AI automated video highlights company Magnifi who reported five new partnerships with rights owner / holder clients in various geographies, and covering a diverse range of sports. 

Video content creation and distribution solutions feature heavily in general in this month’s index with Playsight, Endeavor Streaming, and WSC Sports also reporting multiple new or renewed partnerships in July.

Appearances on the index by companies representing the athletes and performance sector are relatively limited but this month saw a strong representation with Teamworks, Iterpro, and SkillCorner all featuring (Skillcorner featuring for the first time). 

Expect this trend to continue as performance tech continues to permeate teams in the lower tiers of sport and AI plays an increasingly significant role to optimise how athlete data is collected and leveraged to both improve performance and open up new use cases / business models.

Want to get access to the full and ‘near-live’ Tech Feed that drives the index?

The data powering the SportsTech Partnership Index derives from SportsTech Match’s automated, daily Tech Feed. It’s the first and only feed dedicated to sports tech partnerships from around the world designed to help tech companies and rights owners stay on top of the deals and partnerships being struck across the ecosystem. 

Contact info@sportstechmatch if you would like to get early access to the feed and, for tech companies, to make sure that your announcements are being included in our monthly Index.

The price of disloyalty: why it should never always be just about the money when it comes to rights 

Ian Whittaker, Twice City AM Analyst of the Year pens down the nuances of buying rights in the sporting ecosystem.

One of my favourites themes when I present my views to clients on the major macroeconomic trends that are shaping the world is to talk about how we now at the end of the c. 40-50 year dominance of what I call the Reagan-Thatcher consensus, which promoted a range of ideas such as globalisation, de-regulation and a move away from government intervention. One of the other major intellectual tenets of that consensus was the idea of ‘Homo Econimus’ namely that individuals act in an economically rational way, ignoring the effects of emotions and other ‘non-rational’ calculations when they come to decisions. 

It is a theory that is increasingly being disproved and, when it comes to sports rights, we have had two decisions recently that have hurt organisations who eschewed loyalty and, ultimately, are paying the price, one case regarding the rights’ owners, the other a major platform.  The first instance is the situation with the French Ligue 1 rights where the LFP has had to accept a significantly lower rights deal from DAZN and BeIn than it wanted due to the reported risk of French clubs going bankrupt if no deal was signed. The second regards the upcoming legal fight between Warner Bros Discovery and the NBA over the latter’s sale of rights to Amazon. 

As in most cases, a knowledge of history often helps to explain the situation. First, France. Back in 2018, the LFP ditched its long-standing sports rights agreement with Canal+ and signed a deal with Spanish-based rights firm MediaPro for E3.3bn for the rights. When that deal collapsed in 2020, Amazon stepped in to buy the rights at a cut price while angered Canal+, which believed (fairly) it was now overpaying for the rights it had bought. . 

The attitude of the LFP at the time was a clear “that’s tough” line when it came to Canal+. There was clearly a view that Amazon stepping in to pick up the MediaPro rights heralded a potential golden age of competitive bidding for its rights, which meant it did not have to rely on ‘dinosaurs’ such as Canal+ anymore. While Canal+ may not have always been the best of partners, there was a mutually beneficial relationship between the two parties.

Canal+ now has had its revenge. The LFP failed to understand that the idea Amazon and / or other Tech giants would replicate their strategy in the US of buying major sports rights was unlikely to be replicated in Europe, simply because the economics do not work in what is a fundamentally different sports rights market(s) with different economics and drivers. If the LFP had not been so high-handed in its treatment of Canal+, it would (probably) now be benefiting from an enhanced sports rights deal. 

The second example is in the United States and, again, involves Amazon, only this time Amazon is more than willing to pay up as it believes (correctly) that buying premium US sports rights can work because it unlocks the key to US television advertising spending. However, the fault here seems to lie more with a buyer of the rights, not the seller. 

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav once said “We don’t need to have the NBA”. That is likely to be a comment that will haunt him given what has happened. WBD has found itself locked out of the new NBA 11-year rights deal, with Amazon, Disney / ESPN and Comcast / NBC picking up the main rights. As a result, WBD has now taken the NBA, claiming its contractual rights mean that it should have the rights Amazon has been awarded, a claim the NBA disputes (in summary, WBD claims it has met Amazon in financial terms, the NBA is pointing to other factors such as reach). The outlook looks quite messy. 

However, WBD may not have found itself in this position if it had stepped back and taken a clear-eyed view of what it needed (i.e. the rights) and acted accordingly. Instead, it seems like the company was trying to signal to the financial markets that it was serious on maintaining tight cost control and therefore acted tough. As a result, it is very likely that WBD has – at the very least – significantly damaged its long-term relationship with one of its previous major sporting partners and, at worst, fundamentally damaged the linear television advertising ecosystem on which it depends. Not the best strategic move. 

The morale of the two tales is this. It is a fundamental mistake for any organisation, and whichever side of the sports rights fence they sit, to assume that the only relationship that matters is financial. No one likes to do business with a counterparty that they do not trust. Relationships count and decision makers tend to have long memories, For those who think otherwise, the cost of such short-sightedness can be high. 

As usual, this is not investment advice. 

Olympic uniforms: Protecting national pride and consumer trust 

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are on-going with great fanfare, with thousands of athletes competing on the global stage. As excitement grows, sales of Olympic merchandise – from uniforms, to T-shirts, to souvenirs – have already shot out of the blocks. The allure of owning a piece of the Olympics, whether it’s a Team GB jersey or a commemorative pin, drives millions of transactions each time the iconic event takes place.

Olympic merchandise amounts to a colossal enterprise. Rio 2016 licensed merchandise sales hit US$15.5 million in Brazil alone, while 15 product lines of Tokyo 2020 merchandise sold out on the opening day of online sales. As much as these polo shirts, bags, and towels symbolise national pride and unity, unfortunately they are also magnets for counterfeiters. 

Counterfeit goods cost EU industries an estimated €16 billion in sales and nearly 200,000 jobs each year, according to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Sporting apparel and merchandise affiliated to major tournaments are an obvious target for the organised criminals behind producing fakes.

For instance, during the 2016 Rio Olympics authorities seized large quantities of fake branded products. And counterfeit Olympics merchandise on sale in Paris has already prompted French police to carry out raids in recent months, in a high-profile crackdown on street vendors.

Such incidents highlight the pressing need for robust measures to combat this illicit trade. The sale of counterfeit products not only syphons off revenue but also erodes the trust of fans and collectors who seek genuine memorabilia.

Protecting the authenticity of these products is crucial for preserving consumer trust and supporting sustainable practices. What can be done to beat the counterfeiters?

Technology to the rescue

Innovative technologies like smart labels are at the forefront of the fight against counterfeit branded clothing. Smart labels that are scanned using an RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) reader can be used to determine stock availability, item location, and reassure buyers of product authenticity. This technology is gaining traction across the apparel industry, including leading sportswear brands, as it enables efficiency and scalability.

Authenticity and sustainability

Beyond fighting counterfeiting, smart labels play a crucial role in promoting sustainability. By providing transparent supply chain information, these technologies enable consumers to make informed choices about the products they purchase. For example, a consumer can verify if a jersey was made using sustainable materials or if ethical labour practices were followed during its production.

This transparency encourages brands to adhere to higher environmental and social standards, fostering a culture of accountability and sustainability within the industry. Moreover, by ensuring the authenticity of products, these technologies help reduce the demand for counterfeit goods, which often involve unsustainable and unethical practices.

Celebrating national pride with confidence

Fans deserve to celebrate their national pride with confidence, knowing that their purchases are genuine and ethically produced. Countries like the United States, with its iconic Team USA gear, or Japan, with its meticulously designed Olympic apparel, invest heavily in creating uniforms that symbolise their heritage and aspirations. Protecting these symbols through advanced technologies not only preserves their value but also upholds the integrity of the Olympic spirit.

As we look forward to Paris 2024 and future Games, I believe the continued adoption of smart labels across the sports merchandise industry will be pivotal. These innovations not only safeguard consumer trust but also pave the way for a more sustainable and transparent global marketplace.

The author is Jonny Hewlett, director, team sports, Avery Dennison.