Tokyo Olympics Domestic Sponsorship Tops $3 Billion

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have generated record domestic sponsorship revenues of more than $3 billion, the International Olympic Committee said yesterday – three times more than any previous summer Games.

Reuters reports:

There is huge enthusiasm among the Japanese for the Tokyo Games, and the public have rushed in their millions to buy tickets.

The IOC’s Coordination Commission chief for Tokyo, John Coates, said local sponsorship agreements were up to 62 companies for all three tiers of sponsorship arrangements.

“This equates to revenues exceeding 3 billion dollars from national partnerships. That is an amazing amount of money,” Coates told the IOC session.

“This does not include the partnerships with (Japanese companies) Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic and their contribution to the TOP program.”

The three companies have separate deals with the IOC as major sponsors of the organization, worth hundreds of millions of dollars in total.

Coates told Reuters revenues currently stood at $3.1 billion and Japanese organizers had filled most categories in their three-tier sponsorship plan.

“Not much more,” Coates said when asked if more domestic deals were expected in the coming months.

Tokyo now has 15 gold partners, 32 official partners and 15 companies that have signed up as official supporters.

In comparison, the London 2012 Games raised roughly $1.1 billion from domestic sponsors – a record at the time – while Rio de Janeiro in 2016 claimed it had slightly surpassed London, although that is unlikely with final accounts inaccurate given ongoing corruption probes linked to those Olympics.

The IOC has been struggling to attract new cities to bid for the Games and awarded the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo after four other cities dropped out and Stockholm was left as the only other bidder.

But in Japan, the Games have generated great enthusiasm with 7.5 million citizens registering to apply for tickets through a lottery system, many of whom ended up without any.

Tokyo’s bid file had said some 7.8 million tickets would be available for Games but 20-30 percent of those are reserved for international customers and sponsors.

“7.5 million ticket (requests). This is an indication of this strong support and high level of interest among the Japanese public,” Coates said.

 

Commonwealth Games: “Fostering Peaceful, Sustainable & Prosperous Communities”

The Commonwealth Games, whose  22nd edition will take place in Birmingham, England, in 2022, is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events. More than 4,400 athletes took part in the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, where iSportconnect TV interviewed Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) CEO David Grevemberg and Birmingham 2022 CEO Ian Reid during the recent SportAccord for this in-depth piece.

Among the members of the CGF are some of the world’s largest and smallest countries, from India, with over 1.2 billion people to Niue with a population of 1,600.  More than 60% of the Commonwealth citizens are under 30.

With 95% of the competition venues already in place, Birmingham 2022 will be both prudent and innovative.

An enhanced and refurbished Alexander Stadium will be pivotal to Birmingham 2022 (see the new design below). Capacity will be increased permanently from 12,700 to 18,000, with up to 40,000 during the Games through additional temporary seating.

The Games will also use three indoor arenas: the NEC, NEC Arena and Arena Birmingham.

One of the CGF’s important innovations described in our video has been the creation of a system of knowledge transfer enabling Birmingham and future host cities to build on the experience of previous events.

Swedish Bidders Struggle To Digest Olympic Disappointment

A devastated Swedish bid team struggled with rejection after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday snubbed their promise of a sustainable Winter Games, instead awarding the 2026 event to Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Reuters reports:

Milan romped to victory in the race, winning 47 IOC votes to Stockholm’s 34, in a one-sided result that left the Swedes almost as confused as they were crushed.

“I am very sad for the 34 people who voted for the Games of the future,” Stockholm2026 Chief Richard Brisius told reporters in Lausanne.

“Our proposal for a transformative Games was a good one, but the IOC did not choose it.. Of course we are very disappointed. We had a bid that included all the reforms for a sustainable Games. But it did not happen.”

When the final hammer blow came with the opening of IOC President Thomas Bach’s envelope, it was hardly unexpected.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven had left Lausanne before the announcement, having earlier addressed the IOC membership.

There was a sense the Swedes had known their chances were becoming increasingly slim after Gunilla Lindberg challenged her fellow IOC members in the morning.

“As IOC members, you must choose a city that embodies the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020 and The New Norm,” she told them. “Not just on paper and, frankly, not just in the bid, but in every part of culture and way of life.

“This is your chance to prove that The New Norm is not just talk,” she added, prompting sharp intakes of breath from seasoned Olympic watchers.

The IOC’s reforms in recent years under the ‘Agenda 2020’ banner and ‘The New Norm’ program — “an ambitious set of 118 reforms that reimagines how the Games are delivered” — aim to make it cheaper and easier to stage the Olympics.

Not even a rendition of Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ by Stockholm Mayor Anna Konig Jerlmyr could put the bid back on track as the hours to the vote ticked down.

In the minutes between the secret ballot and Bach revealing the winner, Swedish IOC member Stefan Holm was seen in despair.

The Olympic high jump gold medallist had taken himself outside the SwissTech Convention Centre and stood slumped over a metal railing.

His head in his hands, he stayed there, motionless apart from a shaking head, for more than 10 minutes, processing the soon-to-be-announced defeat.

Lindberg failed to address the media after the announcement, in a rare move for such an experienced IOC member, while Konig Jerlmyr peddled the party line.

“We are very proud of our work,” she said. “Of course we are disappointed… we thought we had a strong bid, but of course we congratulate Milano-Cortina.”

Sweden, a winter sports powerhouse, have now bid eight times for a Winter Olympics and never won.

“It is too early to speculate about another bid,” Konig Jerlmyr said. “We have to evaluate the whole process and then see. We thought we had a strong bid, but at the end they did not choose us.”

The IOC is due to discuss radical reforms to the bid process later this week, a move welcomed by the Swedes.

“It is probably a good thing that the IOC will make changes to the bidding process,” Brisius said. “Because obviously it does not seem to suit us. That’s my conclusion.”

 

Natalie Cook: “Athletes’ Mental Health Is A Hot Issue For Sport”

Australian gold medallist Natalie Cook, who competed in beach volleyball at an incredible five Olympic Games, has made the mental health of athletes a focus of her post-playing career. In this exclusive interview with iSportconnect TV, filmed at SportAccord in her native Queensland, she shares insights about the often overlooked psychological component of sports.

Natalie is the first Australian woman to compete at five Olympic Games: 1996 Atlanta (bronze medal), 2000 Sydney (gold medal), 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.

She was part of the successful team who lobbied to get Beach Volleyball into the 2018 Commonwealth Games for the first time ever, and is currently lobbying for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Queensland.

LA Mayor Predicts $1 Billion Profit From 2028 Games

The 2028 Summer Games will see host city Los Angeles record a profit of at least $1 billion, Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Monday.

Garcetti said utilizing the city’s existing sports venues would keep costs down while ticket and sponsorship sales would top current projections to help Los Angeles avoid the pitfalls that have left some other host cities in debt.

Reuters reports:

“We made a million dollars in 1932, we made $250 million in 1984,” he said, referring to the last two times the city has hosted the Games.

“I think we will make at least a billion dollars in 2028.”

Garcetti said the money would help support youth sports in the city “for decades to come.”

“We’ve had cities scared to bid for the Olympics because they cost so much and because people build so much infrastructure for two and a half weeks.

“It wasn’t a very sustainable model … we created a different model.”

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the LA Sports Summit, Garcetti also said that seeing the deals Tokyo 2020 organizers had been able sign for sponsorships for next year’s Games had made him even more bullish on his city’s prospects.

“When I look at what other cities have been able to do in terms of sponsorships, we should be able to blow way past the guaranteed level that we’re budgeting with,” he said.

“I think our ticket sales will do that as well.”

Garcetti’s comments came on the same day the Los Angeles Sports Council released an ‘Economic Impact Analysis of the Sports Industry in the Greater Los Angeles Region’.

The report found that last year alone the sports industry generated $6.3 billion in economic impact, $327 million in taxes for state and local governments while supporting nearly 40,000 jobs.

Los Angeles is home to 11 professional sports franchises and will next year open a multi-billion dollar NFL stadium in Inglewood, one of the venues that will host events in 2028.

 

 

IOC Signs First-Ever Joint TOP Partnership Mega-Deal

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), The Coca-Cola Company and China Mengniu Dairy Company Ltd today announced that they have signed the first-ever Joint TOP Partnership Agreement.

The new deal is worth a combined $3 billion, according to the Financial Times, making it one of the biggest ever corporate endorsements in sport.

The partnership combines the non-alcoholic beverage and the dairy categories into a new joint category and brings Chinese dairy company Mengniu into the family of Worldwide TOP Partners.

The new joint agreement has a 12-year term running through to the Olympic Games 2032. The agreement includes unprecedented investment in traditional and digital media to promote the Olympic values globally.

That means six Summer and Winter Games.

This agreement extends The Coca-Cola Company’s association with the Olympic Movement to a historic 104-year-long relationship.  The Coca-Cola Company is the longest continuous Partner of the Olympic Games.

Mengniu becomes the first Chinese fast-moving consumer goods company to become a TOP Partner. The Joint TOP partnership supports Mengniu’s ambitious international growth plans, with the company aiming to become one of the top dairy producers in the world by 2025.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This long-term agreement is another demonstration of the relevance and stability of the Olympic Games in these times of uncertainty. Having our longest-standing partner, Coca-Cola, an iconic American brand, together with a young Chinese company, Mengniu, joining hands under the roof of our Worldwide TOP Programme is a great example of the unifying power of the Olympic spirit. This partnership will give another dimension to the promotion of the Olympic values around the world.”

James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said: “We are honoured and privileged to be a part of the Olympic Movement that makes it possible for athletes from all over the world to come together to represent their nations, pursue their dreams and be a part of history. A lot has changed since we sold the first Coca-Cola at an Olympic event in 1928. With a fresh approach to our business and to our sponsorship, we are proud to join with Mengniu to promote and celebrate future Olympic Games.”

Jeffrey Lu, CEO and Executive Director of Mengniu, said: “Membership of the TOP Programme will act as a catalyst for Mengniu to grow around the world. This is a vital step in our international strategy, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to build the positive reputation of Chinese food and beverage brands among consumers globally. As a Worldwide TOP Partner, we look forward to using the unrivalled platform of the Olympic Games to promote health and joy to Olympians and fans alike.”

The photo above shows (from left): James Quincy, President Bach and Jeffrey Lu.

IOC Inaugurates New Headquarters Building

The International Olympic Committee celebrated its 125th anniversary on Sunday with the inauguration of its new headquarters in Lausanne. You can see President Thomas Bach’s introduction to the new building on iSportconnect TV in a video produced by the IOC for the occasion.

Reuters reports:

Built at a cost of about €130 million, the modern glass and steel structure has a solar-panelled roof and was constructed in the place of the old headquarters on the shores of Lake Geneva.

The new building was designed by Danish architects 3XN and inspired by the shape of a dove with a large central staircase made of five rings, meets stringent environmental and sustainability standards.

It will house all 500 IOC employees under one roof instead of several locations around Lausanne as was the case in the past.

“Of course, we wanted to bring together everyone, the Olympic family and all IOC staff, under one roof,” Bach said.

“At the same time, we want the Olympic House to incorporate the elements of sustainability, credibility and youth. The building reflects these three elements that are so central to our mission.”

 

U.S. Olympic CEO Says Door Is Open To Government Oversight

The newly re-branded United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) must work hard toward earning back the trust of American athletes after a sexual abuse scandal rocked the Olympic body last year, CEO Sarah Hirshland said on Saturday.

Reuters reports:

Hirshland took over some 10 months ago as the first permanent female CEO of the USOPC following the sexual abuse scandal involving former gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar.

Nassar was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in two different trials in Michigan last year after more than 250 women, including Olympic gymnastics champions Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber, testified about abuse at his hands.

The scandal triggered the departure of both the then USOPC President Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun.

“To walk into an organization with the lack of trust that I felt from the athlete community, in some cases, is a very difficult thing to reconcile,” Hirshland told Reuters in an interview.

“We have to earn back that trust. It is easy to break trust, it is not easy to earn it back. We have to humbly recognize this is not something that just gets fixed and you go back to the way it was before.”

USOPC is by far the richest and most successful national Olympic committee in the world but the extent of the scandal and the organization’s failure to act at the time raised fears that subsequent lawsuits could drive it into the ground financially.

“It (legal fallout) requires significant work,” Hirshland said. “It will require, when all is said and done, significant financial resources but not significant enough that it is a concern.

“It distracts from other areas that we might spend that time and money but it won’t disrupt our organization’s focus.

“It is really important for us that we resolve the litigation and that we resolve the unresolved relationship that we have with those survivors. We want to have a relationship with them.”

Hirshland also said she would support any decision by the U.S. Congress for greater scrutiny.

“If Congress decides that they want to do something… we would support it,” she said. “The purview is they will look at it through the lens of the Act (the Federal Charter that established the USOPC). That has not been thoroughly reviewed, nor altered for many, many years.”

But it is not all doom and gloom for Hirshland’s start at the organization, with Los Angeles preparing to host the 2028 summer Olympics.

Hirshland in the past worked for Games CEO Larry Wasserman’s media group and that relationship is now a bonus for the USOPC, she said.

“I am uniquely positioned to work with the organizing committee and Casey and his team. It makes it easier to work with us when you have a trusting relationship.”

Hirshland also said it was important that for the first time in its history the USOPC was led both on CEO and President level by women.

“I have spent my entire career in sport and I have been the only woman in the room for most of that,” she said.

“Diversity gets you to a better result and if I can inspire other women along the way that’s terrific. At the end of the day gender should not be a determining factor for you to be at the table and be successful.”

U.S. Soccer & Players Agree To Mediation In Gender Pay Dispute

U.S. Soccer and players for the women’s national team have tentatively agreed to mediate a lawsuit that accuses the federation of gender discrimination and seeks equitable pay.

The federation and representatives for the players confirmed the agreement, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, to pursue mediation following the Women’s World Cup.

The Associated Press reports:

“Here to win a World Cup, lawyers are at home to do their thing, so we both have our jobs,” defender Kelley O’Hara said Saturday. “This team has always been good at compartmentalizing. We focus on the task at hand and I haven’t paid any mind on anything that’s been going on. That’s something we’ll pick back up when we get home but right now my only focus is winning the World Cup.”

The United States, the defending champion and three-time World Cup winner, won its first three games of the tournament and is set to play Spain today in the knockout stage. The championship game is set for July 7 in Lyon.

Twenty-eight members of the current player pool filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in March. The lawsuit alleges “institutionalized gender discrimination” that includes inequitable compensation when compared with their counterparts on the men’s national team.

“While we welcome the opportunity to mediate, we are disappointed the plaintiffs’ counsel felt it necessary to share this news publicly during the Women’s World Cup and create any possible distraction from the team’s focus on the tournament and success on the field,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement.

The federation has maintained the differences in pay are the result of different collective bargaining agreements that establish distinct pay structures for the two teams. Those agreements are not public. Court documents said decisions surrounding the teams have been made for “legitimate business reasons and not for any discriminatory or other unlawful purpose.”

The lawsuit was an escalation of a long-simmering dispute over pay and treatment. Five players filed a complaint in 2016 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged wage discrimination by the federation. The lawsuit effectively ended that EEOC complaint.

The federation and the team reached a collective bargaining agreement in April 2017. The agreement, which runs through 2021, gave the players higher pay and better benefits.

Defender Ai Krieger said she hasn’t given the lawsuit any thought.

“Right now, we’re so focused on the game against Spain, and that’s what’s important for us right now,” she said.

The photo shows (from right): U.S. national team players Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd.

Real Sociedad Introduces ‘Smart Scarf’

LaLiga club Real Sociedad is aiming to convert its Anoeta home ground into a ‘smart stadium’ and already has an impressive technology infrastructure in place.

Meanwhile, with the introduction of its new ‘smart scarf,’ it has provided its following with something truly unique.

The San Sebastian club wanted to pay tribute to its ‘One Club Man’ initiative, which honours the players who have spent their careers with the same team. By purchasing the One Club Man scarf, which comes equipped with NFC technology, followers can access a world of exclusive offers at the touch of a button.

By downloading the club’s Realzale application, then activating the ‘One Club Man Tag,’ fans can use their phone to scan the NFC chip embedded in the scarf. Through real-time notifications pushed by the club, users of the technology can win prizes, VIP experiences or receive real-time discounts throughout the matchday.

“The smart scarf is one of the eleven initiatives identified within the Sport Thinker Smart Stadium programme, which is carried out with Microsoft,” said Juan Iraola, Head of Digital Transformation at the club. “This initiative offered us a different way of interacting with our fans, uniting the offline and online worlds.”

You can read the whole story in Global Fútbol