PwC’s Scale | Sport Tech Cohort Showcase Innovative Solutions At Stamford Bridge

The Executive Evening of PwC’s Scale | Sport Tech accelerator programme, being delivered in partnership with iSportconnect and London Sport,  took place last Thursday at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC.

Each cohort member had the opportunity to take to the stage and show off their value proposition with a three-minute “elevator pitch” to a room full of executives from around the sport and fitness industry.

Following this there were round-table sessions to delve deeper into the technology on show and networking drinks in the Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge.

The cohort pitching were:

  • Bodygee
  • Choicely
  • IAMBOT
  • Instant Sponsor
  • My Customer Lens
  • Powa Index
  • Pumjack Dataworks

Rob Cowdrey, PwC’s Sport Tech Programme Lead, said: “It was a privilege to work with this group of companies and support them on their growth journey. It has clearly struck a chord with the industry as there have been over 50 follow up conversations requested with our cohort”.

This event marked the conclusion of the programme that has been running over the last 10 weeks. During this time the international cohort have been attending workshops and masterclasses all designed to give them the tools to scale their business effectively.

They have also been shaping their pitch and value proposition with practice sessions to PwC partners and key stakeholders from iSportconnect and London Sport.

You can find out more about PwC’s Scale programmes here.

iSportconnect Founder Sree Varma Shortlisted As Finalist For The 7th British Indian Awards 2019

Three hundred of the most remarkable British Indians are shortlisted as finalists for the 7th British Indian Awards 2019. They received hundreds of nominations throughout the country. The awards recognise a wide range of achievements. These include people from the worlds of business, charity, sport, arts, culture, education and medicine.

The awards showcase the strength of the British Indian community, the impact they have on British culture and their progression over the last year. Categories encompass Rising Star, Young Achiever of the Year and Best in Sport among many others.

The Awards will be held at The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre at the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre on Friday 26th of July in Birmingham.

Sree Verma is one of the finalists in the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ category.

The British Indian Awards 2019 are organised by Oceanic Consulting – the UK’s leading ethnic awards company. CEO Irfan Younis said “All finalists should be proud to represent British Indians, highlighting all the wonderful achievements of this diverse and brilliant community. Our finalist list is full of talent and leadership, and I’m confident these awards will be the best yet. The awards provide a platform to thank those who do what they know best, thrive in their fields and provide future generations with inspirational role-models.”

With 13 years of experience, Oceanic Consulting host annual award ceremonies in major English, Scottish and Irish cities. Campaigns include the Curry Awards, Asian Business, Asian Food, British Muslim, British Indian and Britain’s Asian Wedding Awards.

DAZN Reaches Eurosport Distribution Deal

DAZN and Discovery have announced a new distribution partnership that will see Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD made available to DAZN subscribers in Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The new deal enriches DAZN’s premium sports content line up, with a mix of properties including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, NBA, NFL, NHL, UFC, Matchroom and Golden Boy boxing across its markets.

The live channels and on-demand content from Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD join DAZN from 1 August 2019 in Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain as part of its affordable and flexible sports streaming subscription service.

As part of this agreement, DAZN has exclusively sub-licenced 45 Bundesliga matches from Discovery in Germany and Austria. This includes matches on Friday night, Sunday, Monday and relegation play-off matches from the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. DAZN’s coverage begins with the DFL-Supercup on 3 August, that will see the 2018–19 Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal champions, FC Bayern Munich, take on League runners-up, Borussia Dortmund.

John Gleasure, Chief Business Development Officer at DAZN Group, said: “This is an exciting agreement that brings Eurosport’s incredible sports content to our subscribers, and delivers 45 Bundesliga matches to the DAZN service in Germany and Austria under a two-season exclusive sublicensing agreement. This deal underlines our commitment to providing the biggest and best sports action to fans in an accessible and affordable way, while rewarding rights holders for integrating their content on our market leading platform. We look forward to developing our partnership with Discovery.”

James Gibbons, Head of Commercial Development for EMEA at Discovery, said: “We are delighted to enter this partnership that expands the distribution of Eurosport’s channels in four European markets. We always look for new partners that help get our brands and content to more fans. In parallel we will continue to develop and market our all access multi-sport OTT service – Eurosport Player – for fans who want a deeper experience.”

Sina Sports Will Launch First FIS-Endorsed Mass Ski Event

China’s Sina Sports has signed a strategic partnership MoU with the International Ski Federation to create the first ever FIS-endorsed mass participation skiing event in the world with a specially-designed “Endorsed by FIS” logo.

Both FIS and Sina Sports acknowledge that this five-year partnership will help promote the Sina Alpine Ski Open series and lead to wider participation and exposure to skiing sports in China in the lead up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The MoU was signed at Genting Secret Garden in Chongli, China, an official venue for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Four years ago, Sina Sports introduced a new strategy to create and operate its own marquee sporting events to capitalize on the developing Chinese sports industry and diversify revenue streams provided by having its own sports brands.

Sina Sports has successfully created several leading sporting events brands by leveraging the strong online presence of both Sina Sports and Weibo, including the world’s largest 3×3 basketball tournament with stops in over 120 cities in China, and Asia’s largest futsal tournament in over 50 cities in China, as well as the Sina Cup Alpine Ski Open.

The five-month-long 2018/19 edition of the Sina Cup Alpine Ski Open covered more than 20 ski resorts across 12 provinces in China and one overseas stop in Sölden, Austria, with a total of over 5,000 participants.

The upcoming 2019/20 edition will reach approximately 100 stops in China and overseas, with an estimated participation of 250,000 skiers. The Sina Alpine Ski Open is the largest and the most influential mass participation alpine ski event in Asia.

Sarah Lewis, FIS Secretary General  (at left in photo alongside FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper), said, “We believe that today’s important signing ceremony of a strategic partnership between Sina Sports and FIS will contribute significantly to the promotion of skiing and snow sports in China which we enthusiastically welcome.”

Sam Li, Head of International Business Strategy of Sina Sports (holding the document in photo), said, “We are delighted to be entering into this cooperation with FIS and receiving the first-ever mass participation skiing event endorsement from FIS. We are proud to support FIS initiatives in China in order to jointly promote winter sports in anticipation of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.”

As part of the endorsement by FIS, the Sina Cup will be held to international standards in all aspects of the competition and the FIS member Chinese Ski Association will be providing technical support.

Additionally, each participant’s results will be officially recorded. Sina Sports will help promote FIS initiatives in China, including official events as well as the Get Into Snow Sports (GISS)-China program, a recently established grassroots beginner program, executed by FIS’ educational entity, the FIS Academy. FIS and Sina Sports are dedicated to promote skiing and winter sports through this partnership leading up to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

The approaching Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is a crucial moment for winter sports development in China. Through this partnership, the China Ski Point Game will provide a solid base for China’s plan to encourage 300 million people to be involved in winter sports.

 

Euroleague Salutes Zalgiris Kaunas For Marketing Efforts

Lithuanian basketball powerhouse Zalgiris Kaunas, Andalou Efes Istanbul and FC Bayern Munich won gold, silver and bronze respectively in Euroleague’s Devotion Marketing Awards presented annually for clubs which excelled in their off-court efforts during the 2018-19 season. Euroleague President Jordi Bertomeu presented the prizes during the Euroleague Basketball Business Summit in Barcelona, which brought together executives from 42 Turkish Airlines Euroleague and 7DAYS EuroCup clubs. Learn more about the event on iSportconnect TV.

To enter the Devotion Marketing Awards, clubs were invited to present a marketing initiative they had carried out during the 2018-19 season in areas such as digital strategy, sponsorship activation, brand development, ticketing and game presentation.

Gold winner Zalgiris Kaunas was chosen for its campaign to attract fans to attend their first games ever at Zalgirio Arena. Called #ZalgirisVirgin (or #ManoPirmas in Lithuanian), the project started with a focus group discussion to pinpoint the reasons why fans were not going to watch games live.

The results were then analyzed, and a ‘first-timer package’ was developed, giving new fans a scarf, a booklet with fan chants and a diploma, signed by the team’s head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, to record their first visit to a home game.

“First of all, on behalf of Zalgiris Kaunas, I want to thank all the clubs and the EuroLeague for evaluating #ZalgirisVirgin as the best campaign of the season,” Akvile Dagilyte, Communications Director for Zalgiris Kaunas, said.

“Secondly, I want to thank our existing fans who liked the idea and worked hard all season to find other people who had never been to a Zalgiris game and kept pushing them to come. We still have much work to do next season, as well. Finally, it’s amazing to work in an evolving club and be a part of the professional, ambitious and creative team working here, which makes projects like this happen.”

Just as in last season’s action on the court, second place was taken by Anadolu Efes Istanbul with its #WhereIStand project, which saw the Turkish club aim to become the center of attraction independent of sporting results.

The overall brand identity restructuring strategy placed fans at the heart of the Efes community, converting game days into unforgettable events and helping achieve a significant increase in ticket sales. A new logo release, the launch of mini-documentary series involving the club’s ex-players and coaches, and the development of a new merchandising strategy were among some of the steps taken towards that new brand identity.

Bronze winner FC Bayern Munich submitted its entry in the category of Brand Development & Corporate Social Responsibility, with a campaign following the motto: “A world like a court with a society like a team.” Bayern developed a project called FCBB HELPSIDE, giving their various social activities a stage to increasingly involve fans, partners and all residents of Munich.

Wimbledon: “Innovation Helps Us To Preserve & Elevate Our Traditions”

During the thrilling Wimbledon tournament which ended on Sunday, the attention of spectators and viewers was frequently grabbed by the drama of line calls made using Hawk-Eye. Alexandra Willis, Head of Communications, Content & Digital at the AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club), which owns the event, shares her insights on iSportconnect TV on that technology and how innovation has become part of tennis entertainment.

Alex spoke to iSportconnect Editor at Large Jay Stuart at THE SPOT in Lausanne, where she took part in a packed conference session entitled Putting Innovation on the Pitch: VAR and Video Technology in Sport.

Olympic Channel Adds Deals with Six More Sports

The Olympic Channel today announced that it has reached agreements with the international governing bodies for chess, life saving and four other sports to collaborate on content.

The six new cooperation agreements bring the number of the global platform’s federation partners to 91.

The new agreements include partnerships with:

  • International Chess Federation (FIDE)
  • International Federation Icestocksport (IFI)
  • International Life Saving Federation (ILS)
  • International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF)
  •  International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF)
  • World Armwrestling Federation (WAF)

“The Olympic Channel provides a platform for the promotion of all sports and athletes within the Olympic Movement,” said Mark Parkman, General Manager of the Olympic Channel (and a speaker at iSportconnect’s recent Madrid Summit). “We look forward to working together to help expand the reach of these sports and athletes to fans and new audiences around the world.”

Olympic Channel federation partners include international sports federations (IFs), recognised federations and organisations, multi-sport organisers and non-recognised federations.

In addition to collaborating on live events, the Olympic Channel actively works with its federation partners to present event coverage, highlights, magazine shows, news coverage and original programming providing an additional platform to distribute content that are complementary to current broadcast and distribution arrangements.

The Olympic Channel is an over-the-top (OTT) global media destination where fans can experience the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round.

Offering original programming, news, live sports events and highlights, the Olympic Channel provides additional exposure for sports and athletes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in 11 languages, and is available worldwide at olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and on connected TV devices.

Suspicious Betting Alerts In Tennis On The Decline

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported today that there were 51 alerts of suspicious betting activity in eight different sports during the first quarter of 2019.

The volume of alerts is up from 37 alerts during the first quarter of this year but down from the 62 reported ion the second quarter of 2018.

The breakdown of alerts in the latest period is as follows:

  • Tennis 25
  • Football 18
  • Volleyball 2
  • eSports 2
  • Table tennis 1
  • Pool 1
  • Basketball 1
  • Ice hockey 1

The total of 88 alerts in the first six months of 2019 compares to 112 at the same point in 2018.

IBIA said this downward trend is mainly due to a continued reduction in tennis alerts.

There were 25 alerts in the latest period relating to Europe, 13 for Asia, four each in Africa and South American and three for North America.

The country with the highest number of alerts was Uzbekistan with eight. The USA and Tunisia had three each. No other country had more than two.

Sodexo Puts The Flavour Of Northern Ireland On The Menu At The 148th Open

Northern Ireland is hosting 148th Open, which tees off at Royal Portrush on Thursday.

77,000 slices of bacon, 28,000 beef burgers, 14,000 fillets of MSC haddock, 1,000 rolls of butter, 220kg of sliced ham and 200kg of artisan cheese, along with delicacies like dulse and eels, are just some of the delicious ingredients that have been locally sourced by Sodexo for the big event.

Award-winning Sodexo chef Fritz Machala ‘teed off’ at a photo call in Ormeau Golf Club in Belfast to highlight the company’s support of local food suppliers, which include the North Coast Smokehouse, Abernethy Butter, Ballylisk Dairies, Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, Burren Balsamics, Irish Black Butter, Lough Neagh Eel, Morellis Ice cream, Causeway Prime Meats and the French Village Bakery.

It’s the twentieth year for Sodexo looking after The Open and the team has been planning for the Royal Portrush venue for over 18 months. All the public retail, on-course and hospitality catering goes live from Sunday 14 July and continues until 21stJuly.

1,200 staff from Northern Ireland, Scotland and England have been recruited to serve more than  215,000 expected visitors over the seven-day major Championship. In addition, 20 individuals from the Prince’s Trust will also be employed on-site, benefiting from training, mentoring, support and valuable work experience to provide future job prospects post-Open.

Stephen Frost, an Executive Head Chef for Sodexo’s Sports & Leisure Division (and an Open ‘veteran’), said: “Catering for an event as prestigious and world-famous as The Open is an intensive almost 24-hour a day operation that has to run like clockwork over the seven days.”

“We’ll be serving over 20,000 meals in the private hospitality areas and around 100,000 meals in the public areas. We’ll also be catering for 750 media personnel covering the event and roughly the same number of external contractors like florists, electricians, technical and design teams, along with 5,000 lunch bags for security, police and pay gate staff.”

Sodexo is the catering partner of The R&A, which organises and stages The Open. Both organisations are committed to supporting local food businesses in the region of the host venues as part of the GreenLinks sustainability programme for The Open.

The initiative incorporates procurement policies that focus on ethically and sustainably sourced food and drink, such as MSC haddock and Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar, hot chocolate and bananas. Wherever possible, the catering team also buy from local suppliers to deliver a broad range of menu choices that reflect the regional cuisine.

Philip Russell, Assistant Director – Sustainability at The R&A, said: “Our GreenLinks programme forms an important part of The Open and ensures that we address the broad range of sustainability considerations required to stage a major global sporting event.

“We are delighted to be working alongside these local businesses and suppliers to offer tens of thousands of fans a wide range of delicious regional food and drink to enjoy when they come to Royal Portrush.”

LaLiga Unveils Social Project For Refugees In Jordan

The LaLiga Za’atari Social Project, the socio-educational initiative that LaLiga has been developing for a year in Jordan through its department of Sports Projects and the LaLiga Foundation in collaboration with AFDP Global (Association Football Development Programme Global), was officially unveiled yesterday.

As a result of this collaboration and the commitment of LaLiga Santander, LaLiga 1l2l3 and the Liga Iberdrola clubs, the LaLiga | Za’atari Social Project will create a league competition in which all of the 36 teams will be twinned with LaLiga and the Liga Iberdrola clubs, who have donated sports equipment.

The aim of this LaLiga multidisciplinary project is for football to serve as an enduring educational tool that helps to promote core values and behaviour with the purpose of improving the quality of life of the inhabitants of Za’atari, with special emphasis on the children living in the camp.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, founder of AFDP Global, Aranzazu Bañon, the Ambassador of Spain to Jordan, and Fernando Sanz, LaLiga’s Director of International Institutional Relations & Director of LaLiga Ambassadors and Legends Project, were all present for the official launch.

Since the LaLiga | Za’atari Social Project took off around a year ago, more than 750 children have participated directly in this programme. In addition, many young people are taking different practical training courses targeted at helping run and manage the dynamics of the competition as well as to help convey the core values among the inhabitants of the Za’atari refugee camp.

You can read more and see a video about the project in Global Fútbol.