Ellie Norman has been appointed as Formula One’s new head of marketing.
Norman joins the motor racing body from Virgin Media, where she served as head of advertising for five years.
During her time at the telecoms giant Norman led memorable brand campaigns including a ‘9.58 seconds’ advert starring Usain Bolt.
She was also responsible for a transition away from the sponsorship of V Festival towards strategic partnerships at Southampton Football Club, Bafta TV and EGX.
Sean Bratches, managing director of commercial operations at Formula One, said: “Ellie’s appointment represents the latest addition to our expanding management team, aimed at increasing engagement with Formula One fans globally.
“Her previous experience across major automotive and media brands will help Ellie to drive Formula One’s marketing strategy forward.
Norman added: “The commercial potential of the brand is enormous and I can’t wait to work with Sean and the growing Formula One team to unlock new opportunities to engage with Formula One fans around the world.”
iSportconnect, the largest global private network of Sport Business Executives, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Engage Sports Media (ESM).
Over the last 5 years ESM has established itself as a leader amongst the new breed of modern content companies, producing and distributing world class digital content for sports IP owners and sponsors, backed by major investment in analytics, publishing and technical solutions, demonstrably driving new commercial value.
ESM are delivering clear digital content strategies and sponsor activations for a variety partners across multiple sports including: Arsenal, MLB, Goodwood, World Rugby, Emirates Team New Zealand and Godolphin, ESM’s next phase is to service partner and sponsor growth across its 3 main content hubs in London, Mumbai and Dubai.
iSportconnect Founder and CEO Sree Varma said: “We are delighted to announce our latest partnership with Engage Sports Media. We look forward to helping each other grow and build on our respective positions as industry-leaders.”
Speaking of the partnership, ESM Director Casey Harwood said: “Since our early partnerships with MCFC and the FA and with subsequent investment from the Swedish media group MTG, we have been investing and building competencies to bring value to our clients and drive sponsor value.
“Now with a staff of over 70 specialists to support growth, it’s time to communicate to a wider group of domestic and international partners; the iSportconnect model of matching fast changing sport industry needs with our specific skills and resource is the targeted and no-nonsense approach we want to continue to take.”
MSC Nutrition will be the Official Performance Nutrition Supplier to England and GB Hockey, in a four year deal encompassing the World Cup and through Tokyo 2020.
The new partnership will see MSC Nutrition provide England & GB Hockey’s men’s and women’s national teams with their nutritional supplements and support required for training and competitions. As well as working alongside the national team and their nutrition specialists, the partnership will also see MSC work closely with all levels of the amateur game to deliver insight and content.
England & GB Hockey’s Performance Director Ed Barney said, “As we look toward Tokyo 2020 we must maximise every opportunity for a competitive advantage and performance nutrition is fundamental to our success. We’re delighted to have MSC Nutrition on our team and the experience they bring in supporting individual athlete needs in a team environment will be critical to our next cycle.”
Nicky Edmonds, founder of MSC Nutrition commented, “ I am absolutely thrilled to be working with GB & England Hockey, as a company we were gripped by the excitement of the Rio games and this is a fantastic opportunity to work across all levels of hockey across the country.
We’re looking forward to working closely with England Hockey’s nutritional team, to provide our products for both teams and where necessary we’ll develop bespoke supplements as we learn more about hockey’s specific requirements.”
HotelPlanner.com, a leading online group hotel bookers, will make its debut as a Team Partner in the upcoming Clipper 2017-18 Race.
The HotelPlanner.com yacht is set to be one of twelve teams participating in the eleventh edition of the unique nautical event, which will start in Liverpool, UK, on Sunday, 20 August.
“We are very pleased to welcome HotelPlanner.com as a Team Partner for the Clipper 2017-18 Race,” said Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
“As a new addition to the Clipper Race family, HotelPlanner.com will bring fresh energy and outlook to their team, which will be needed during their gruelling journey around the world.
“Like the Clipper Race, HotelPlanner.com is a leader in its field, and its experience in providing the best group hotel booking options means our crew and their supporters will have a fantastic experience in every stopover port.
“I wish the HotelPlanner.com Skipper and team all the very best for their campaign.”
HotelPlanner.com Co-founder and CEO Tim Hentchel added: “We are honoured and excited to partner with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
“As a travel technology company always striving to set industry firsts, we respect the extreme endurance, confidence, and fearlessness exhibited by the event’s brainchild Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, and the sailors who set out to confront Mother Nature’s most epic challenge.”
The ITF Board of Directors has selected Geneva as the preferred bid to host the World Cup of Tennis finals – a new combined season-ending event including the finals of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.
The finals are the centrepiece of a series of historic reforms that will transform Davis Cup and Fed Cup.
The ITF AGM will be asked to approve the full reform package at its meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in August 2017.
Geneva was chosen by the Board at their meeting in Frankfurt on Tuesday from a shortlist of six cities across three continents that also included Copenhagen (Denmark), Istanbul (Turkey), Miami (USA), Turin (Italy), and Wuhan (China).
The Board will receive feedback from the Davis Cup and Fed Cup Committees on the potential format of the event that could also include the Fed Cup semifinals in a move that would allow the Fed Cup World Group to expand from eight to 16 teams.
The traditional home-and-away format will continue for all other rounds of Davis Cup and Fed Cup.
ITF President David Haggerty said: “The creation of the World Cup of Tennis finals is at the heart of a series of reforms that represent the most significant changes in the history of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. Change is needed to ensure that we maximise the full potential of these iconic and historic competitions. We’ve consulted widely and listened carefully, and believe we will deliver an exceptional new event for fans, players and nations.”
The year that esports will officially become a medal event at the Asian Games in China.
$3.64
How much esports enthusiasts will each spend on average. This includes all revenue streams, while the average direct spending per fan on merchandise, tickets, or subscriptions is $0.33 in 2017.
Touch the interactive image below to discover more about esports…
71%
The number of global audience who are male. The demographic is, not surprisingly, skewed towards the younger generation too with more than half aged 18-34.
424
2016 saw this number of esports events with a prize pool above $5000.
Number of fans who say they buy more in-game content after a specific eSports event. Even 38% say they buy products from the sponsors themselves at these sessions.
$93.3m
Total prize money in 2016 globally.
EVENT FULL! No room left for our Esports Masterclass
If you’re interested in joining future events daniel.wexler@isportconnect.com pic.twitter.com/qoFo7VVsBA
It took a lot to get City Football Group to where it is today. In 2008, we were one club; today, we are six teams, with eight offices operating in seven countries around the world. It’s been a rapid expansion project, one that necessitated a leading technology partner.
When your business is as global as ours, high premiums get placed on seamless process, people management, and operational control. We explored the market and chose SAP for its great product, but even more so for its passion, experience, and expertise in sports.
It’s not sexy to talk about backend software, but SAP solutions for HR, procurement, finance, and operations have become and will continue to be a game changer for us. They have enabled us to scale quickly, align globally, and keep everything running smoothly from the boardroom to the pitch.
With a solid technology partnership in place, we’re positioned to help the Club grow its footprint both here in Manchester and across the globe. We’re working together to invest for the future. Not only do we believe in SAP’s sports performance solutions, but we love what they are doing for youth around the world. SAP also shares our commitment to diversity and inclusion, which is something that can only help our business.
Beyond the boardroom, we’re exploring new innovations in fan engagement and player performance. The Etihad Stadium has a new interactive fan wall, powered by SAP HANA, where fans can explore in-depth individual and team statistics. For the other millions of fans around the world, we’ve worked to develop website widgets and a match day app. These tools help fans understand the team, enable us to tell our story, and in turn, we provide them with the forum to share theirs.
On the pitch, City Football Group will continue to co-innovate on new technological enhancements in the areas of talent management, football performance and human performance for future versions of the SAP Sports One Solution, as the partnership continues to push the boundaries as to what is possible.
The report investigating the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, awarded to Qatar and Russia in December 2010, has been officially released by FIFA following its leak to German newspaper Bild.
A statement late on Tuesday confirmed new chairpersons of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee, Maria Claudia Rojas and Vassilios Skouris, have decided to publish the Garcia Report “for the sake of transparency”.
Former US prosecutor Michael Garcia was put in charge of scrutinising the double award by FIFA’s own ethics committee in 2012, following numerous allegations of corruption.
Upon delivering his report in September 2014, chairman of the ethics committee adjudication chamber Hans Joachim Eckert decided not to release the report to the public, and provided his own summation which cleared Russia and Qatar from any wrongdoing.
Garcia himself resigned from his investigative role on the committee in protest at the “erroneous representations of the facts and conclusion” of his report.
The 430-page document has led to FIFA bringing corruption charges against some of its own members.
The new chairpersons of the independent Ethics Committee, Maria Claudia Rojas of the investigatory chamber and Vassilios Skouris of the adjudicatory chamber, have decided to publish the Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Process (the so-called “Garcia Report”).
This had been called for on numerous occasions by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the past and also supported by the FIFA Council since its meeting in Mexico City in May 2016. Despite these regular requests, it is worth noting that the former chairpersons of the Ethics Committee, Cornel Borbély and Hans-Joachim Eckert, had always refused to publish it.
The Ethics Committee will meet in its full composition under the new chairpersons for the first time next week, and it was already planned to use this opportunity to discuss the publication of the report. However, as the document has been illegally leaked to a German newspaper, the new chairpersons have requested the immediate publication of the full report (including the reports on the Russian and US bid teams, which were conducted by Mr Borbély alone) in order to avoid the dissemination of any misleading information.
For the sake of transparency, FIFA welcomes the news that this report has now been finally published.
Football fans in the United States will be able to watch matches from next season’s UEFA Champions League live on Facebook through a partnership with Fox Sports.
The social network will be able to stream Europe’s elite club competition from September through the official Fox Sports Facebook page, and also on their Spanish page to appeal to the Latin community.
The deal follows on from Facebook live acquiring live streaming rights to Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and Liga MX matches.
Fox Sports will live-stream two matches per match day in the group stage, four in the round of 16 matches and four quarterfinal matches. Some matches will be exclusive to Facebook and the Fox Sports Go app, while others will be simulcast on TV.
“Facebook is a social-media powerhouse and a great partner to help us grow soccer in the United States,” said David Nathanson, Fox Sports’ head of business operations. “As people spend more and more time on mobile devices and social networks, offering matches on this platform is a natural extension.”
Football is the most followed sport on Facebook, with 34 million people generating 98 million interactions on the site earlier this month in relation to Real Madrid’s Champions League final triumph over Juventus.
“We’re excited to help Fox reach new audiences, people consuming content on digital, mobile and social,” said Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships. “We’re bullish on soccer.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board have installed a trial hybrid surface wicket in their latest attempts to improve the game.
The mixed grass and yarn surface, made by SIS Pitches, has been installed at the ECB’s centre of innovation in Loughborough to see if it can offer the same benefits that similar hybrid pitches do in football.
Indeed, the ECB’s pitches consultant Chris Wood said that the inspiration for exploring the use of hybrid wickets in cricket came from seeing how effective they were in the Premier League, in terms of stability and durability.
“The majority of Premier League venues now use hybrid pitches, and even to the casual observer of football, I think it’s obvious that those pitches have been of a far more consistently high quality, around all clubs and throughout the season,” Wood said.
“That is because introducing a relatively small amount of artificial twisted yarn greatly improves the stability of the surface underfoot, and allows the sward to endure the long football season with a consistent playing performance.
“We have had to wait to apply this technique to cricket – there have been semi-hybrid pitches, but using artificial turf with cricket loam infill rather than natural grass. But now SISGrass have developed a new, more compact stitching unit than has been used for football. We took the machine to Loughborough last week and have laid one pitch on the square and another in the outdoor nets.
He continued: “We’ve used a straw-coloured yarn, rather than the brighter green in use in football, to make it look as authentic as possible. They still need to be seeded and enhanced, but we hope they will be playable in the near future.
“Possible advantages are increased durability of pitches for matchplay and practice, with prolonged uniformity of grass cover.”
Phil Blackwell, SISGrass Director in the UK, added; “It is very exciting to be partnering with the ECB on this project.
“SISGrass Universal has already made a big impact on the industry across all sports that haven’t been able to access the benefits of hybrid pitch systems in the past. We have managed to combine all of the qualities of our flagship SISGrass product and make them accessible to all.”
According to the developers, SISGrass Universal is an advanced reinforced turf system featuring patented fibre injection technology, utilising yarn that is tested to FIFA recommendations, which offers increased surface stability, more playing hours and faster recovery than 100% natural grass surfaces.
Just 1.20m wide, 2m in length and weighing a maximum of two tons, SISGrass Universal offers flexibility of stitching at every location quickly and accurately, with different depths, spacing or size using precise laser guidance, making it the perfect solution for groundskeepers who are challenged to maintain uniform grass quality in high-wear areas.
