HotelPlanner.com announced as latest Clipper 2017-18 Race team partner

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.”

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iSportconnect 2017 Corporate Regatta

 

Geneva selected as preferred bid to host new combined World Cup of Tennis finals

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.”

 

Power up – number-crunching the incredible growth of esports

In 1980, Atari held the Space Invaders Championship across the United States, recognised as the earliest large-scale esports competition.

Almost 40 years later, the sector is projected by forecasters* to reach $696m in revenues this year as part of recent remarkable year-on-year growth.

As iSportconnect gears up for its inaugural esports masterclass this week, we take a look at some of those head-spinning numbers in the world of gaming from last year and the future.

$1.5bn

The projected figure of annual revenues by 2020, based on market research on current sponsorship levels and event attendances.

385.5 m

Total global audience this year, made up of 191m enthusiasts and a further 194m occasional viewers.

2022

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.

$32.2m

Ticket revenues from such events.

47%

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.

*Information collated from Newzoo’s 2017 Global Esports Market Report

Corporate Sponsorships Reimagined: City Football Group

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.

By Damian Willoughby, senior vice president of Partnerships for City Football Group

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FIFA release Garcia report on 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bids after leak – Update

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.

You can read the whole report here.

–

FIFA statement in full: 

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.

Facebook to live stream UEFA Champions League matches in the US through partnership with Fox

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.”

Cricket the latest sport to embrace hybrid pitches, as ECB installs trial wicket

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.

Borgward appointed official sponsor of AIBA Men’s World Championships in August

With 60 days until the start of competition, AIBA has reached agreement with the German car manufacturer Borgward to become the official sponsor for the 2017 AIBA Men’s World Championships in Hamburg.

Running from 25 August to 2 September, the year’s biggest boxing tournament will be able to count on the financial and logistical support of one of the host country’s most historic automobile companies as it seeks to relaunch in 2018.

“We are delighted to have secured Borgward as our main sponsor for this year’s AIBA World Championships. The agreement shows that the hard work AIBA has done to build boxing’s stature is being recognised in new and exciting markets, and we welcome Borgward to the AIBA Family for these World Championships and beyond as yet another high-level partnership that will benefit our sport at all levels,” said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

The agreement includes significant financial support for the competition as well as the use of Borgward’s newly developed SUVs for transport during the tournament. The brand will benefit from global exposure via live television coverage, highlights packages and social media campaigns across all territories, as well as on the Field of Play, Mix Zone, Fan Zone and all promotional materials and tickets. The Borgward Boxer of the Tournament will be voted for by AIBA Twitter followers at the end of the competition.

“The Olympic spirit embodies many of the values that our company represents, and the AIBA World Championship is the biggest boxing tournament in the world. The association is an excellent opportunity for us, and Borgward looks forward supporting AIBA, the German Boxing Federation and the city of Hamburg to hold an exceptional boxing tournament,” said Tom Anliker, Vice President Marketing, Sales and Services from Borgward Group AG.

Paul Fisher promoted to Chief Executive of Jockey Club Racecourses

Paul Fisher will be promoted to the role of Chief Executive of Jockey Club Racecourses, on the back of his sustained success at leading the racecourse group that stages the likes of The Cheltenham Festival, the Randox Health Grand National, The Investec Derby Festival and the QIPCO Guineas Festival. The move takes effect from 1st July 2017.

Currently, Group Managing Director of the 15-strong racecourse group, Fisher has led Jockey Club Racecourses to achieve eight consecutive years of growth, which has allowed it to make record prize money contributions and major investments to racing’s infrastructure.

He has also overseen a raft of successful innovations in recent years. This includes the issue of the first retail bond in British sport; the launch of Jockey Club Services, which provides business services to UK sports organisations and was just awarded the Sports Innovation Award at the Sports Business Awards; the formation of Jockey Club Live, which quickly established itself as one of the UK’s largest music promoters; and the introduction of Rewards4Racing as The Jockey Club’s loyalty scheme, which now has more than one million members and has expanded to also include York Racecourse and Arena Racing Company.

In his new capacity, Fisher has also become The Jockey Club’s appointment to the board of British Champions Series Ltd.

He will continue to report to Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club and Chairman of Jockey Club Racecourses.

Nevin Truesdale

The Jockey Club also announced that Nevin Truesdale has added the heritage title and responsibilities of ‘Keeper of the Match Book’ to his current role of Group Finance Director. He has assumed this additional responsibility following the retirement of Christopher Foster, which sees him oversee the governance, rules and regulations of the Club and the interpretation of its Royal Charter. He continues to report to the Group Chief Executive. Truesdale joined The Jockey Club in 2013 from Centrica plc, where he was Finance Director of its £9 billion-a-year British Gas Residential Energy business. He is also a board director of Jockey Club Racecourses and recently joined the board of The National Stud.

Scott Bowers

In addition, Scott Bowers, who joined The Jockey Club as Group Director of Communications in 2010 from leading the sports division of the world’s largest PR agency, Weber Shandwick, recently assumed the title of Group Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs. This better reflects his role on the executive management team, where he is involved in strategic business decision-making, reporting to the Group Chief Executive. He is also a board director of Jockey Club Racecourses.

Simon Bazalgette said:

“I am proud of our executive management team and what they, and all of our hardworking colleagues around The Jockey Club, achieve for British Racing on a daily basis.

Under Paul’s leadership, we have seen Jockey Club Racecourses’ turnover increase by more than 90 percent since The Jockey Club’s first full year operating solely as a commercial group, leading to increased prize money contributions to new record levels each year. His promotion is a reflection of achievements such as these and the responsibilities he delivers for us today.”

Paul Fisher said:

“We’re proud to welcome millions of people each year to enjoy our events and, whether they are coming because they are racing fans, looking for a great day out or participants in our sport, we want each to have a fantastic Jockey Club experience at our venues or through our broadcast partners.As well as investing large sums in our facilities and prize money to achieve the growth we have in recent years, we have also put a lot of emphasis on building a really positive, supportive and high-performing culture. Our people are our greatest asset and we’ll continue to invest in them in the years ahead.”

As well as investing large sums in our facilities and prize money to achieve the growth we have in recent years, we have also put a lot of emphasis on building a really positive, supportive and high-performing culture. Our people are our greatest asset and we’ll continue to invest in them in the years ahead.”

Portugal becomes first football federation to join Dugout

The Football Federation of Portugal (FPF) announced today a partnership with Dugout, becoming the first football federation in the world to partner with the digital content platform.

Dugout will publish content for all Portugal’s national teams, including the men’s senior team, women’s senior team, under-20, under-21 and youth teams, as well as beach soccer and futsal teams.

Fans will be able to follow the teams behind the scenes through training, friendlies and major tournaments.

The FPF joins Dugout’s growing portfolio of social media sports content publishers, which at present stands at 100 professional football players and 51 football clubs.

Nuno Moura, chief marketing officer of FPF said: “It´s a real privilege to see Portugal become the first National Team in the world to join Dugout, a platform for football lovers from all corners of the globe, that has achieved enormous success in such short window of time.

“We have a huge fan base worldwide, aka #TeamPortugal, and love to stay close to them.”

Elliot Richardson, president of Dugout commented: “We’re thrilled to announce Portugal as the first national team to join the Dugout platform. Portugal is an iconic football nation, reigning European champions, with one of the best players ever to play the game in Cristiano Ronaldo. Now football fans all over the world can access the best content from Portugal, both on and off the pitch – no matter where they are.

“We are in conversation with a number of other federations, and we hope to announce more partnerships over the coming weeks and months – watch this space!”