Sodexo Wins Long-Term Swansea City Contract

Leading global services company Sodexo has won the exclusive catering contract at the Liberty Stadium for Swansea City and The Ospreys.

The eight-year contract starts in June 2019 and will see Sodexo providing catering on event days throughout the stadium in all Lounges and general admission areas.

Sodexo will invest in new digital screens and a stadium wide EPOS system to support speed of service in the public areas alongside improved audio-visual facilities in the lounges and new local food offers.

A new hospitality experience will be launched in 2020 alongside enhanced general admission offers and a further facility investment in a new bar area.

Sodexo has also won the contract for non-match day sales to help drive additional revenue for the stadium, drawing on its expertise in the sports and leisure sector.

Chris Bray, CEO Sports & Leisure Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “This new partnership with Swansea City Football Club will see Sodexo bring its world-leading expertise in catering and  venue and event management to South Wales. Working with Swansea City gives us a great opportunity to deliver a fantastic experience for spectators and host a wide range of conferences and events on non-matchdays.”

“At our other stadiums we have strong relationships with the local community, and the Liberty Stadium will be no exception. We look forward to bringing fresh, innovative, responsibly-sourced local produce to stadium visitors.”

Chris Pearlman, Swansea City’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We chose to partner with Sodexo for the next eight years because of their proven ability and reputation to deliver first class food, service and hospitality. We will work in partnership with Sodexo to deliver an enhanced fan experience supported by smart technology.”

LaLiga Clubs Work Together To Improve Fan Experience

While they compete against each other on the pitch, Spanish clubs are joining forces when it comes to commercial best practice. Particularly when it comes to making the fan experience across Spain’s stadiums even better.

Under the banner of LaLiga, clubs from across LaLiga Santander and LaLiga 1l2l3 have begun regular meetings to share ideas and initiatives relating to ticketing and stadium organisation.

As part of the LaLiga Ticketing Strategy, three working groups (the Quality Standards Committee, the Digital Transformation Committee and the Regulatory Committee) have been set up by the league in order to introduce clubs to some of the world’s best sporting innovation and to learn from each other. Some of these clubs are now partnering with these working groups by participating in regular video conferences, in-market meetings and period exchanges.

“It’s exciting to see the clubs of LaLiga working together to help the league as a whole improve the fan experience,” said José Guerra, Director of Corporate Operations at LaLiga. “Through collaboration we can continue to make matchdays at the stadiums of Spain more accessible, more comfortable and more enjoyable for every kind of football fan.”

Read the full story here in Global Fútbol.

Chris Brindley Is New Rugby League World Cup Chair

Rugby League World Cup 2021 has confirmed the appointment of Chris Brindley MBE as the tournament’s newly appointed Chair of the Board, replacing Brian Barwick.

A member of the RLWC2021 Board since 2018, he has held senior executive roles with NatWest, British Gas and Metro Bank, as well as non-exec positions in the sports industry with the likes of the Rugby Football League and the Manchester Football Association.

He has been Business Mentor at the Premier League Elite Academy Manager Programme and Chair of the Sporting House Group and Chair of the County Sports Partnership, GreaterSport (from 2007-2018).

In June 2018, he was awarded an MBE for his services to sport.

His accolades include Britain’s Best Boss, Sales & Marketing Director of the Year for three consecutive years and Sales Leader of the Year at the National Sales Awards. In 2017, he was awarded United Kingdom Non-Executive Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors.

Speaking on his appointment, he said: “I am extremely proud to have been appointed to  the position of Chair of the Board at RLWC2021. Already occupying a position on the board, I know that the team has enjoyed a fantastic start on the project and have gained some real momentum.

“It is important to keep this impetus going, and in my new role as Chair of the Board, we will ensure that we work together to ensure key objectives are met, and the team can deliver the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup ever.”

RLWC2021 Chief Executive Jon Dutton added: “Chris’ CV speaks for itself. He has a fantastic breadth of knowledge, both from a sporting and a business perspective, which will help us in pursuit of our ambitious goals.

“Moreover, Chris offers a unique set of experiences, which include working with Elite athletes and using sport as the inspirational learning model to inspire success within business. His previous successes at GreaterSport will really support our ambitious legacy programme. This epitomises the work which is at the core of RLWC2021’s ethos, and as an already valuable member of our board, his promotion to Chair of the Board is well deserved.”

Arsenal’s Vinai Venkatesham & Raul Sanllehi Sum Up “A Season Of Change”

Arsenal FC Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham and the club’s Head of Football, Raul Sanllehi, cover a wide range of subjects in this discussion about their first season at the helm of the London club. The in-depth interview is made available courtesy of Arsenal Media. Watch it here on iSportconnect TV.

Vinai has been MD since October 2018, having served previously as the club’s Chief Commercial Officer and Marketing & Sales Director.

A sports marketing business veteran, Raul joined Arsenal at the start of 2018 after holding a similar position at FC Barcelona. He was at Nike before that.

The interviewer is Laura Woods.

 

FIFA’s João Fonseca: “Our Main Goal Is To Unleash The Potential Of The Football Community As A Whole”

In today’s world, data is the new currency, present in everything an organisation does, and football is fighting for attention against huge data-driven companies like Facebook and Netflix, according to FIFA Business Analysis Manager João Fonseca. To compete successfully, he says, football needs to get closer to the fans in order to understand them. Enjoy the interview on iSportconnect TV.

HBA Media Renews Deals For Iconic Horse Races

HBA Media will continue to represent the international media rights for two of the world’s most famous horse racing events, the Lexus Melbourne Cup and the Breeders’ Cup.

The UK-based company has extended its agreements with the Victoria Racing Club (Melbourne Cup) and the Breeders’ Cup in multiple year production and distribution contracts.

These new deals with both properties see HBA Media enter its sixth-consecutive yearly association with both iconic race meetings, after hugely successful partnerships with wider audiences being gained year-on-year.

The 2019 edition of the two-day Breeders’ Cup meeting will take place on November 1-2 with the Lexus Melbourne Cup scheduled 72 hours later on November 5.

Henry Birtles, CEO of HBA Media, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have again secured agreements with the VRC and Breeders’ Cup, underlining the pivotal role that HBA Media continues to play globally on behalf of this great sport.

“We will aim to increase the distribution of these two phenomenal sporting occasions, as well as delivering strategic digital and social media campaigns in line with the ever-changing media landscape.”

 

Motorsport Network, Canal+ and adidas To Join 2019 Paris Summit Line-up

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that Sébastien Audoux of Canal+, Olivier Dufour of Motorsport Network, and Claudio Borges of adidas will be speaking at the second event of this year’s Global Event Series, the 2019 Paris Summit, which will be held on Thursday 4th July.

iSportconnect has assembled a content programme that will bring together thought leaders from premier rights owners and brands to discuss and debate strategic issues impacting the future of the global sports business, including digital content strategies, sponsorship and partnership issues, hosting major events and the future of sporting facilities.

The speaker lineup includes:

  • Brett Gosper, CEO, World Rugby
  • Dan Rossomondo, Head of Global Media & Business Development, NBA
  • Olivier Dufour, CEO France and President of Video & OTT, Motorsport Network
  • Claudio Borges, Global Director of Digital Planning, adidas
  • Sébastien Audoux, Head of Sports, Canal+

 

Olivier is a seasoned executive in the field of sport business, digital media, OTT distribution, and marketing. He is VP EMEA Operations as well as France CEO at Motorsport Network, an integrated digital platform that is the destination for millions of cars and racing fans, across media, live & experiences, and eSport. Previously Chief Digital Officer at beIN Media Group, he transformed and boosted beIN’s OTT distribution and digital publishing, across all platforms, including social media. Under his guidance, all KPIs soared to record highs, including subscriber base, viewership, ad revenue, and social media reach.

Olivier previously founded OTEK Media Consulting, a practice focused on digital media strategy and products. OTEK supported the launch of many successful B2C digital products, for industry leaders such as Euromedia, beIN SPORTS, France Television, Arte, Orange, French Ministry of Culture, BNP Paribas to name only a few. Earlier in 2002, Olivier founded SkemA, a pioneering start up in the User Generated Video market. Solutions developed at SkemA propelled a new generation of live TV shows, with users’ videos at their heart, for many different broadcasters. He sold his equity to investors in 2007. Olivier started his career with telco Orange and Sofrecom, where he successfully launched some of the very first digital content distribution platforms.

In his role at the French TV channel, Sébastien handles all digital content output on social media and on the company’s proprietary platform, MyCanal. Last year, Sébastien launched the first dedicated social talk show, #LePetitDebrief, reviewing the football week live and exclusively on Facebook, Twitter and Dailymotion. Since then, Canal+  has launched a second successful show called #LesPetitsPronos, which examines football betting.

Claudio is the Global Director of Digital Planning at adidas. His team is responsible for planning seasonal and campaign strategies across online touchpoints and developing digital standards to be rolled out across all adidas global markets. His team also works together with Sports Marketing to define the best set of digital rights to be included in global asset deals. Previous to adidas, Claudio Borges spent 8 years with Manchester City Football Club and City Football Group leading the group’s fan relationship marketing strategy.

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

To register your interest in attending the 2019 Paris Summit, please contact Chloe McCombie at info@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Paris Summit is a complimentary event for iSportconnect members who are from governing bodies, sports teams, brands and broadcasters. There is no fee to become an iSportconnect member. No sports agencies, professional service providers & suppliers are allowed.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact Hugo Millns at info@isportconnect.com

Roland Garros Will Add Lighting To Main Courts

The four main courts at the French Open will be lit from next year, meaning the top matches will not be interrupted by bad light, organizers said as the 2019 tournament ended yesterday

Court Philippe Chatrier’s retractable roof will also be in operation from 2020 and French tennis federation president Bernard Giudicelli confirmed that it would be used if necessary and that night sessions would start in 2021.

Reuters reports:

Matches at Roland Garros usually finish at 21:30 local time at the latest, when play is no longer possible due to the fading light.

“The lighting will be on four main courts: Lenglen, Chatrier, Mathieu, and Court No. 4. And for the other ones it’s 2021,” tournament director Guy Forget told a news conference.

Giudicelli added: “It’s the last year where matches will end because of night time.”

Court One, known as ‘the Bullring’, will be destroyed as planned after this year’s tournament and will be replaced by a large lawn to facilitate spectators’ movements.

Organizers also faced questions about empty stands with the officials’ and corporate seats often left unoccupied around lunch time.

The stadium was not full, for example, even when Rafael Nadal (who won his 12th French Open crown on Sunday) and 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer started their semi-final on Friday.

“Today, in particular with our partners, we are trying, as of next year, to find new means to fill up these boxes that are empty sometimes,” said Forget.

“Sometimes, economically speaking, we cannot afford to refuse these partners and sometimes people who pay for a more expensive ticket consume tennis in a different way and have difficulty in spending eight to nine hours sitting on the chair.”

“That’s why we will try to do with our partners the sort of overbooking you have in hotels or in airline companies in order to have some of their clients in the first part, and then a second batch of people coming afterwards following lunch.”

Giudicelli explained that the tournament was economically dependent on hospitality tickets.

“If we only sold general tickets without any hospitality services, it would be a threat to the economy of the tournament and the Federation,” he said.

“I’m not sure that we could give the same prize money as we have today, and I’m certain that we could not make the investments we made.

“Between 2008 and 2021, we invested €500 million, in total, on its own assets without any public subsidies to modernize this stadium.”

French Open organizers asked employees to fill empty corporate seats for Saturday’s men’s semi-final and start of the women’s final, demanding they stay ‘discreet’ and take off their accreditation once seated.

 

Esports Entertainment Seeks NASDAQ Listing

Esports Entertainment Group, a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, has applied to list its common shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market.

The listing remains subject to the approval of NASDAQ and the satisfaction of all applicable listing and regulatory requirements. The Company will continue to maintain the listing of its common shares on the OTCQB under the symbol “GMB.L”

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, stated: “Given the tremendous progress of our esports betting platform, including partnering with more than 190 esports teams from around the world, we believe the Company is now well positioned to pursue additional growth opportunities. A NASDAQ listing, if successful, will broaden our access to a larger and international group of investors as we seek to become a truly global company.”

Esports Entertainment offers betting exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg.  In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes.

Nation’s League Final Tops TV Ratings

The final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League on Sunday was number one in the TV audience stakes in The Netherlands and Italy on Sunday.

NPO 1 pulled 3.239 million viewers and a share of 49.9% for the match yesterday evening as Dutch viewers watched Holland lose 1-0 to Portugal.

On Thursday, the same channel had 2.951 million and a 58.1% share for the Dutch victory over England in the semi-finals.

The final yesterday was well ahead of the F1 Grand Prix in Canada, also in primetime, on ZSport. The race attracted 1.095 million Dutch viewers and share of 17.5%

In Italy, the National League match also topped the ratings on Sunday, albeit with a relatively low audience for number one of the day.

RAI 1 pulled 2.959 million viewer and a share of 14.2%.