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Aston Villa FC integrates chip and pin technology into season ticket cards

Championship football team Aston Villa has become the first club in the world to integrate pre-paid contactless and chip and pin payment technology into their season and member cards.

The new technology will enable supporters to use season and member cards in the same way as any pre-paid payment card, including contactless payments up to £30.

As part of the scheme, fans will be able to use their cards to enter Villa Park and purchase items at all of the stadium’s payment terminals, the ticket office and official club shop.

Traditionally season and member cards have been restricted to stadium access and online benefits but the new system will allow the club to build up a personalised understanding of each season ticket holder.

Cards will soon also allow fans to purchase on the high street at a host of affiliate retailers, who will be announced in due course. The technology behind the system is being provided by FortressGB.

Julius Baer agrees deal to become title sponsor of Formula E’s Zurich E-Prix

Julius Baer – a leading Swiss private banking group and global partner of the FIA Formula E Championship – has today been announced as the title sponsor of the 2018 Zurich E-Prix.

The electric street racing series is set to bring circuit racing to Switzerland for the first time in over 60 years, with the inaugural Julius Baer Zurich E-Prix set to take place on June 10.

Gian A. Rossi, Head Switzerland at Julius Baer, said: “Formula E is an investment in our society’s future. The racing series serves as a test bed for innovations advancing the future of mobility and ‘smart cities’.

“We firmly believe that in a country whose flair for innovation is the secret of its success, the racing series will generate great interest and underscore the image of Switzerland as a hotspot for technology.

“The decision to pick Zurich to stage the race is the right one – after all, it is a flagship for research and innovation as home to ETH, one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, as well as being the country’s largest city.”

Alejandro Agag, Founder & CEO of Formula E, added: “It’s only fitting that at such an historic moment in the championship and for motorsport in general, one of the main protagonists in bringing racing back to Switzerland for the first time in over 60 years, has put its name to the first-ever Julius Baer Zurich E-Prix.

“Since even before the first race in 2014, our global partner has believed in the concept of electric street racing and has been instrumental in making the championship what it is today.

“Formula E makes history at every race, but on June 10, Formula E becomes the first category to bring back professional circuit racing to Switzerland – none of this would have been possible without Julius Baer and the vision of electric racing.”

Asian Football Confederation expands partnership with Sportradar’s intelligence & investigation services

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today signed a new agreement with sports data company Sportradar for an historic partnership in the field of integrity, specifically addressing match-fixing.

Sportradar’s Intelligence and Investigation Services will now be engaged with the AFC from the 2018 and 2019 seasons to investigate those behind the fraud on the pitch in Asia.

This comes after all matches in the top two leagues and cups in the AFC Member Associations, as well as in AFC competitions, will be monitored for betting patterns as part of an existing agreement between the AFC, Sportradar and FIFA.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who joined Sportradar Chief Executive Carsten Koerl at the signing, said: “In the AFC Vision and Mission, the
fight against match-fixing is imperative and remains ongoing. We, at the AFC, take this threat extremely seriously and our actions during recent years demonstrate our zero-tolerance stance.

“But we also appreciate that times are changing, and technology is needed to combat this ever-growing threat. Sportradar’s technology and proven expertise will help us to target those corrupting our game.”

AFC General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs Benoit Pasquier added: “Sportradar’s Intelligence & Investigation Services have played a crucial role in previous AFC cases and they provided firm support to the AFC Judicial Bodies.”

Carsten Koerl said: “We are delighted, honoured and proud that the AFC is taking such a determined step in the fight against match-fixing. Our Fraud Detection System has long been proven as a potent weapon against match manipulation. And now our Intelligence and Investigation products will give the AFC an added layer of protection.”

Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System and Intelligence and Investigation Services are world leaders in their field, partnering with over 70 football associations and have been involved in investigations leading to 214 sporting sanctions and 24 criminal convictions.

Boston Celtics announce partnership with Bedgear

NBA team the Boston Celtics have announced a new partnership with US bedding retailer Bedgear for the 2018/19 season.

As part of the agreement, Bedgear will serve as the team’s official performance sleep system partner and provide players will specifically designed mattresses and pillows.

The partnership aims to improve Celtic players’ sleep in an effort to gain a competitive edge over their rivals.

Rich Gotham, president of the Boston Celtics, said: “The Celtics are always looking for a competitive advantage and our partnership with Bedgear will help improve player performance through improved, sleep, rest and recovery.”

Eugene Alletto, chief executive of Bedgear, commented: “Boston matters to Bedgear and we’re proud to assist the Celtics in their upcoming London game by providing them with the best Performance Sleep Systems prior – helping them build their sleep reserves – and by traveling with them to London, to ensure they have the best equipment with them to achieve success.”

Eleven Sports in Poland to live stream first ever Bundesliga match on Facebook

Eleven Sports is set to deliver a Bundesliga first when the sports provider live streams the match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on Facebook in Poland.

The match between the two teams s the opening fixture of the second leg of Bundesliga season 2017/18 and takes place on Friday 12 January.

The move marks the first time that a Bundesliga match will be streamed live on Facebook and underlines the joint commitment of Eleven Sports and Bundesliga International GmbH, the sales and marketing arm of the German Football League (DFL), towards innovative marketing and promotional activities with the goal of closely engaging with fans and followers in Poland.

Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports, said: “Live streaming on social media remains a priority for Eleven Sports and this is further evidence that we are bringing premium sport to connected fans everywhere in highly engaging and innovative ways.”

“Our ambition is to reach every fan in each of our markets and live streaming on social media makes our top-class properties much more accessible to the fans, while also helping Eleven and the rights holder to reach new and diverse audiences.”

Bundesliga International’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Klein, added: “For Bundesliga as an innovation leader in the field of Sports, digitalization plays a key role.

“Our digital platforms and social media channels are providing us with new, effective tools that we use to distribute the Bundesliga’s high appeal in the global market via inspiring content. With the Facebook Live stream through our partner Eleven Sports we will inspire more and more football fans for the Bundesliga in Poland.”

Eurosport agrees new multi-year deal to screen biathlon events

Eurosport has announced a new agreement with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to broadcast biathlon events for another four years from the 2018/19 season.

The pan-European deal includes biathlon’s blue-riband events such as all IBU Biathlon World Cups from next season until the 2021/22 season as well as the next three IBU World Championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Fans will be able to watch every event on Eurosport and via the Eurosport Player, the broadcaster’s OTT platform.

As part of the new deal, Eurosport has secured exclusive rights to all key biathlon events in 27 countries and territories including the United Kingdom.

Ingolfur Hannesson, Head of Sports Rights – Winter Sports, EBU Sport, said: “We are really pleased to have extended our long-term partnership with Eurosport, which secures extensive coverage on various platforms across the European territory.

“Eurosport continues to be one of the key players in the amazing onwards and upwards development of biathlon.”

Eurosport CEO, Peter Hutton, added: “Europe is undoubtedly the epicentre of biathlon. Testament to that fact is that we regularly have up to a million people across Europe watching the sport on our channels.

“Over the next four years we will continue to find new ways to innovate, whether that be through programming or short-form content that complements our programming.”

Peter Hutton is part of the speaker lineup at iSportconnect’s upcoming Broadcast Masterclass. Discussion topics will include the rise of OTT, current competition within the rights market landscape and how to deepen audience engagement.

Click here to register your interest now.

iSportconnect expands UK team with new Head of Events

iSportconnect, the largest global private network of Sport Business Executives, is delighted to announce that Abigail Kalikwani has been appointed Head of Events (UK).

Abigail will be responsible for producing and strategically planning iSportconnect’s exclusive, high-end business networking events.

With significant experience in logistics, organisation and audience engagement, Abigail will help to expand and strengthen iSportconnect’s UK operations.

Sree Varma, iSportconnect Founder and CEO, said: “We have big plans in place for 2018, with our range of UK events set to be bigger and better than ever before.

“Abigail is a key addition to the team and her appointment will ensure we are able to continue to develop our market-leading Masterclasses, Directors’ Clubs and Regatta.”

Abigail added: ”I am excited to be joining such a passionate team. I cannot wait to get started and work with the team to take iSportconnect’s UK offerings to the next level.”

Dallas Mavericks announce new official name for Chinese market

National Football League (NFL) team the Dallas Mavericks have announced a new official name to be used in Chinese-speaking regions.

The franchise will be referred to as 独行侠 (DúXíngXiá), which translates roughly in English to ‘Lone Ranger Heroes’.

The new moniker was decided after a total of 100,000 votes were cast by Chinese fans, allowing supporters to directly decide the outcome.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, said: “This is the beginning of a new chapter in the Mavericks’ long legacy in China.

“With this Chinese name change, we’ve made history by giving our Chinese-speaking fans the opportunity to redefine our identity. I think that fans will be proud of this new name.”

Chinese-speaking regions represent a key market for the North American league and the Mavericks are among the most active NBA teams in China, engaging Chinese fans through localised social media, content and events.

All official Mavericks Chinese-language social media bears the new name, which will also soon be adopted throughout Greater China’s digital, print and broadcast media.

After receiving more than 100k votes from Chinese fans, we just revealed our new Chinese team name during our @tencentnba broadcast. We’re proud to introduce 独行侠！

收到10萬多個投票後，我們很興奮地公佈由你們球迷決定的新隊名：達拉斯獨行俠！#独行侠加油 https://t.co/LV7UDNZSzw pic.twitter.com/scOh7SrexE

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) January 4, 2018

Chinese Basketball announces global data partnership with Beitai Digital

The Chinese Basketball Association League (CBA) has set out its ambitious stall for 2018 by calling on Shanghai Beitai Digital Information Technology (Beitai Digital) to become its official and exclusive data service provider across the CBA’s league matches.

Beitai Digital is utilizing its market-leading data collection and analysis technologies to provide high-quality data solutions to the league, while developing data products and services for Chinese basketball fans both in China and across the globe.

Beitai Digital already has an exclusive partnership with Sportradar, who will be working with the Chinese company to ensure that all the data-driven opportunities inside and outside China can be realized.

The current 2017-18 season is the first under the independent operation of the CBA, which marks a critical milestone in Chinese basketball’s reforms. Since the start of this season, substantial developments have been made across various aspects of the sport, including competition structure, league influence, and business values to name a few.

The partnership between CBA and Beitai Digital is therefore an important pillar of these reforms, as it marks a significant upgrade in the reliability of the CBA league’s statistics from here on in.

Beitai Digital, as a leader in sports data technologies in China, has already put in place significant upgrades, adding 40% more data points per game, and also delivering advanced data sets such as EFG%, REB%, PER.

Furthermore, Beitai’s robust data output stability protocols, when coupled with back up collection and real-time reviews by both CBA and Beitai Digital, go much further in ensuring the data speed, accuracy and quality.

Beitai Digital is making this data available to TV broadcasters such as CCTV-5, the CBA’s official website, highly respected digital media such as Tencent, Sina and Sohu for the purposes of pre-game analysis reports and data visualization tools, as well as to individual CBA teams for their performance evaluation purposes.

As part of the partnership, Beitai Digital will also be combing through the last 22 seasons in order to deliver peerless historical data for its clients to filter and use across products and services.

Andy Xue, CEO of Beitai Digital, said: “For us, this deal is a proud culmination of all the hard work and research we have put in to our data-related expertise, systems and ambitions. Collecting stable and accurate data statistics for the CBA is just the first phase of this partnership.

“We will be developing a whole host of applications based on live and historic data that will significantly enrich the experience for fans of this exhilarating league, whether they engage with it on TV, on computers, on mobiles or via social media.

“Then, when we add Sportradar’s international capabilities and experience into the mix, the proposition to CBA fans everywhere should be mouth-watering.”