Fulham Football Club submits Riverside Stand plans

Fulham Football Club has today submitted an application to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham council for the redevelopment of the Riverside stand at its Craven Cottage stadium.

This application follows a period of consultation and open dialogue with residents, supporters, and many stakeholders with an interest in the project and local area.

The Club secured planning permission for its previous design in 2013. The new proposal, commissioned by Fulham FC’s Chairman Mr Shahid Khan, has incorporated a modern design that is sympathetic with the river and local area and best reflects the needs of the Club, community and neighbourhood by delivering a wide range of benefits both now and for future generations.

In addition to increasing the seating capacity at Craven Cottage, the Club has sought to add amenities to help transform the riverside walkway into a world-class leisure destination, both on matchdays and non-matchdays.


This new design will still allow the River Thames walkway to be opened up, an aspect of the approved design in 2013, and will incorporate bars, restaurants, and lounges —all of which will be open for business throughout the year.

Alistair Mackintosh, Fulham FC Chief Executive Officer, said: “Everyone here at Fulham Football Club is incredibly excited to submit this application, and we are confident that the plans we have laid out will both upgrade the current stand and add new facilities that everyone in the community will be able to enjoy and appreciate.”

Formula E names Motorsport.com as official digital media partner

Formula E has named Motorsport.com as its official digital media partner ahead of the start of season four.

The Motorsport Network will bring fans of the electric street racing series additional news and video content across 28 global editions in 81 countries in 17 different languages.

As part of the agreement, new video content including the Formula E ‘Street Racers’ magazine programme will be shown on Motorsport.tv broadcast platforms on traditional cable, plus its online OTT apps and website.

The new media partnership is an extension of the existing relationship between Motorsport Network and the FIA Formula E Championship, with the former having announced earlier this year that it has taken an ownership stake in the electric street racing series.

Alejandro Agag, Founder & CEO of Formula E, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Motorsport Network as our digital media partner – as we aim to benefit from the extensive reach of their platforms to bring Formula E content to as many passionate fans around the world.

“Formula E is transforming motor racing for the digital generation and as the leading motoring and motorsport media operation, Motorsport Network are the ideal partner to continue growing our presence in this space.”

Zak Brown, Motorsport Network Chairman, said: “The Formula E championship and Motorsport Network are both experiencing massive growth and we believe joining forces with this media partnership will provide to be very beneficial for both of us.

“Motorsport Network’s investment in Formula E was driven by the audience growth and engagement we saw in the series on our platforms.

“There is a new breed of motorsport fan around the world that is inspired by electric mobility, that will discover Motorsport Network for the first time thanks to our partnership. We also plan to work closely with the championship’s manufacturers to help them showcase their vision of the future of electric vehicles.”

Santander agrees three-year UEFA Champions League sponsorship deal

Banco Santander has agreed a thee-year deal to become an official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for the 2018 to 2021 cycle.

The agreement represents the third partnership to be agreed as part of the curren sponsorship sales process for Europe’s most prestigious football competition. Heineken and Nissan have both already confirmed that they have extended their sponsorship of the competition for another three years.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events SA Marketing Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Santander into the UEFA Champions League sponsor family and are excited to partner with one of the most distinguished and forward-thinking banks globally.

“There is natural fit between the UEFA Champions League and Santander, with the bank being consistently recognised within the best global brands and, of course, with the UEFA Champions League Final remaining the most watched annual sporting event on the planet.

“Santander has a great heritage in sport and this partnership will allow the UEFA Champions League to further engage with football fans in Latin America and around the world.”

Banco Santander Executive Chairman, Ana Botín, added: “Santander’s partnership with the UEFA Champions League, the world’s most global and aspirational sporting competition, builds on our support of Libertadores and, more recently, Racing Santander, the local football team of the Cantabrian city where our bank was founded 160 years ago.

“We love sport. Our free-time exercise, which we do to challenge ourselves to be better, the weekend match we watch with family and friends, our loyalty to a club and the excitement of the spectacle. We will continue our support of sport because it is a valuable way to contribute to the prosperity of the communities where we work.”

EFL announces new partnership with Thai Airways

The English Football League (EFL) has announced a new partnership with Thai Airways, who will become an official supporter of the EFL.

As part of the agreement, Thai Airways will benefit from a digital and in-stadia presence at all five EFL Finals to be held at Wembley Stadium throughout the 2017/18 campaign.

The partnership is a product of the recent activity undertaken in Asia by the EFL – including August’s Asian Summit in China – coupled with the growing relationship and connections with Thai organisations. The EFL has also signed a number of high-profile broadcast deals in the region in recent months, including Super Sports in China and MCOT in Thailand.

EFL Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, said of the deal: “Asia is an increasingly important market for the EFL and our commercial partnerships are providing us with the opportunities to develop a strong footing in the region.

“The EFL’s standing is growing overseas, with this season’s launch of iFollow providing international fans with unrivalled access to EFL matches. This relationship will help to continue the growth in profile of the EFL and ensure that football fans in Asia are more engaged with our clubs and competitions than ever before.

“I am delighted that Thai Airways will become a part of the team for all five of our major finals and look forward to working closely with them as the relationship develops.”

Mrs Usanee Sangsingkeo, Thai Airways Acting President, added: “We are pleased to announce that Thai Airways is to be an Official Supporter of the EFL and see our partnership as a wonderful opportunity to connect with football fans. We very much look forward to strengthening our ties with England through this partnership.”

GLORY kickboxing confirms livestreaming deal with Pluto TV

GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing league, has today announced a partnership with Pluto TV – the leading free Internet television service in America – to livestream the preliminary bouts at every GLORY fight night.

Previously untelevised, full preliminary fight cards take place before the GLORY SuperFight Series at each live event. These bouts give fans an opportunity to see emerging kickboxing talent before they are ready to debut on the big stage.

“Pluto TV has been a great partner for GLORY,” said Nadim Tannous, Vice President of Digital, GLORY. “Their curated GLORY channel has already been extremely well received and this additional live content will create new means for fans to access the kickboxing they crave.

“A major element of our online strategy is to distribute via OTT platforms and increase our brand presence with the leaders in that space. We look forward to growing further with Pluto TV.”

Amy Kuessner, VP of Content Partnerships, Pluto TV, added: “Pluto TV fans love sports and GLORY Kickboxing is one of our most popular channels. This expanded partnership brings never before seen live content to our viewers nationwide.”

SAP becomes official sponsoring partner of the DFB Academy

The DFB Academy and SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) have announced that SAP has become an official sponsoring partner of the DFB Academy.

The initial three-year agreement between the market leader for enterprise software and the academy of the German Soccer Association (DFB) will focus on joint innovation projects in the framework of the evolution of soccer in Germany.

The collaboration is set to concentrate on topics involving young talent support, match and practice analysis and expert training. As a DFB sponsoring partner, SAP brings years of experience in the areas of data analytics, evaluation of payer performance and technological innovations in football to the table.

Oliver Bierhoff, Project Manager, DFB Academy, said: “A core tenet of the academy is our desire to continue the evolution of German soccer, and we want to use the latest technologies to do so.

“Big Data analytics is becoming more and more important for soccer, and we want to apply it for our work. We are very pleased to have a strong partner like SAP, which stands for competency, innovation and modern infrastructure and technology. These are the characteristics we want to utilize to our benefit.”

Bernd Leukert, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and responsible for Products & Innovation, SAP, added: “Data analytics and performance improvements based on reliable information are decisive in all respects of professional sports.

“Together with the DFB Academy we will continue to work on innovations for soccer in Germany. With our expertise in the processing of mass data for match and practice analysis, we can deliver real added value to the DFB Academy in the areas of young talent support, talent development and player scouting.”

SAP has been an official premium partner of the DFB and its national team since 2013. Previous co-innovation projects have helped the team to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2017.

Affiliate Insider to boost growth and development in the affiliate sector

SBC Global and Best Odds Marketing have joined forces to launch Affiliate Insider, a joint venture designed to spearhead growth and development in the gambling affiliate sector.

SBC Global, a leading news and events company for the sports betting industry, will work with Best Odds Marketing and AffiliateFEST Founder Lee-Ann Johnstone, to operate a brand new affiliate news, training and events focused business.

Increased regulatory responsibilities and levels of compliance have been placed on affiliates and operators in the iGaming industry, which has seen a number of major operators implementing a ‘one strike and out’ policy for their marketing partners. This demonstrates a need for the affiliate sector to improve skills and business development in order to support acquisition growth.

Combined with a growing wave of consolidation, there has been a lot of change in a small period of time, meaning affiliate businesses have had to adapt very quickly.

Affiliate Insider provides detailed insight about this changing regulatory landscape, and further developments to the marketplace, particularly with affiliates now facing tighter regulation, stricter advertising controls and greater digital disruption.

The business will also cover in-depth training, business support, affiliate mentoring, news and marketing promotions for new and existing iGaming affiliates and those who making the move into the operator channel. It will also provide support for operators seeking access to the best affiliate marketing strategies and skills development for driving incremental revenue.

Johnstone said: “The affiliate market has matured significantly over the past decade and continues to grow at a rapid rate. There is a dire need for ongoing training and development services that help operators and affiliates growth hack their businesses and keep ahead of digital change.

“I’m delighted to be partnering with SBC Global to launch Affiliate Insider, which will focus on supporting affiliate marketing best practice, news and insights and skills development for operators, suppliers and affiliates, enabling closer collaboration within this ever-growing channel.”

SBC Global Founder Rasmus Sojmark added: “Lee-Ann is an award winning affiliate marketing expert and has a wealth of expertise building global affiliate programmes. Affiliate Insider is therefore a perfect complement to SBC’s existing business.

“By focusing on creating specialist industry forums, our mission is to focus on knowledge sharing, skills development and better collaboration in the affiliate space to enable businesses to implement innovation, increase revenue and stay ahead of digital transformation.”

The first of these specialist forums has been confirmed as a part of next year’s Betting on Football conference agenda. The Affiliate Insider Bootcamp, held on Wednesday 21 March, will offer affiliate focused panel sessions, presentations and workshops, with content ranging from digital marketing hacks to latest innovative technologies to scale affiliate business growth.

The Varsity Match announces online streaming partnership with UNILAD

The Varsity Match has announced a new online streaming partnership with UNILAD which will see the 2017 men’s and women’s Varsity Matches streamed live on Facebook.

Fans will be able to watch events on Thursday 7 December live on UNILAD’s Facebook page, which has a following of over 34 million people.

The agreement forms part of a triple viewing offering for fans which sits alongside the ongoing television broadcast on BBC and live stream via the Varsity Match website.

The Varsity Match Company CEO, David Searle, said: “We are delighted to be working with UNILAD in what we hope will be a significant step in reaching and introducing The Varsity Match to new digital audiences.

“The Varsity Matches are an historic showcase of student athletes and one of the biggest amateur global sporting events.

“We are continually looking at new, innovative ways to grow and develop the event, and we look forward to moving the matches further into the modern area, opening-up the occasion to a younger, more social media-focused audience.”

UNILAD CEO, Liam Harrington, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Varsity Matches this year. As one of the world’s largest running sporting fixtures, it’s a fantastic opportunity to show our young and global audience a great contest between two of the most prestigious universities in the world.”

Broadcasting is dead – and more alive and dynamic than ever before in the digital world. Television and video content is everywhere, with multiple platforms and devices available at billions of fingertips around the globe.

But staying ahead of the curve has never been more difficult, with business models often running to catch up to ever-changing technology and new opportunities coming online every single day.

Sign up to iSportconnect’s 2018 Broadcast Masterclass now

iSportconnect brings sports industry together at Dubai Summit

iSportconnect, the largest global private network of sport business executives, brought the sports industry together at the inaugural Dubai Summit on November 29, 2017.

The event, which was hosted in association with PwC, Dubai Sports Council and Nielsen Sports, took place in the picturesque surroundings of the Address Boulevard Hotel in the Downtown area of Dubai.

An intimate capacity of high-ranking delegates gathered to discuss a variety of issues, opportunities and future trends impacting the region and wider industry.

LaLiga‘s Adolfo Bara kicked off proceedings with a keynote speech focusing on how to build a global strategy before joining the opening panel to discuss the Spanish football league’s strategies to deliver more value than ever before for its partners, including Inspiratus Group and Du.

Panel Two saw Nuala Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer at Standard Life Aberdeen, Jon Hall, Chief Growth Officer at Kodak, and Felicien Dillard, Deals Strategy – Director at PwC, dissect what brands want from sports partnerships in the digital age, plus how best to protect the credibility and image of sports properties.

Discussions continued during ample networking opportunities, with guests benefitting from a relaxed environment in which to build new relationships and exchange viewpoints.

Broadcasting and the digital audience dominated conversations on Panel Three with Jerry Newman, Sport Partnership Lead – EMEA at Facebook, Aarti Dabas – Head of Media Rights, Broadcast & Digital at the ICC, and Cristian Livadiotti, co-founder of Wildmoka, all sharing valuable insights on digital tools, social media and commercial opportunities.

The event concluded with a debate on the importance of rights owners being active on the ground with live events and other programmes in the globalised digital market. Ben Morel, Managing Director and Senior VP – EMEA at NBA, Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby, and Alistair Kirkwood, Managing Director at NFL UK, all brought significant value to the topic and – fittingly – finished on the future prospects for the Middle East as a sports destination.

The next stop on iSportconnect’s global Summit tour is Beijing, with full event details set to be confirmed in due course.

Future Summits will also be staged in Singapore, Madrid, New York, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, Paris and London throughout 2018.

Please contact Chris Edbrook (chris@isportconnect.com) to register your interest in future iSportconnect events.

Mahindra and Renesas announce Formula E technical partnership

Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd. a pioneer in the development of electric vehicles, and Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the formation of a strategic partnership with Renesas as the official technology partner of the Mahindra Racing Formula E team.

Both parties will work together across a number of programmes inclusive of ‘proof-of-concept’ systems for both racing and road cars.

The organizations will leverage their mutual strengths to expand the development and manufacturing of electric vehicles, powertrain, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, and other systems in India and other emerging markets.

Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and Chairman of Mahindra Racing UK said, “We are delighted to welcome Renesas as a key technical partner of the Mahindra Racing Formula E team as we start the fourth season of racing.

“Formula E is helping to grow Mahindra’s EV technology and expertise, and this new strategic partnership with Renesas will only help to accelerate our learning curve.

“We look forward to working with Renesas and leveraging their automotive semiconductor expertise as we increase our thrust in Formula-E and continue to play a pioneering role in the fast-growing Indian EV market.”

Ryuji Omura, Executive Vice President of Renesas Electronics Corporation said, ” India is one of our focus markets and is expected to bring about significant business growth for Renesas, particularly for the EV segment.

The India government is working on a scheme to limit the cars sold in India to only electric vehicles by 2030, opening tremendous opportunities for the EV market.

Through our new partnership with Mahindra, we look forward to bringing our design expertise based on our open and comprehensive Renesas autonomy Platform, to the Indian market.”