Liverpool FC has signed a multi-year deal with Orion Innovation to become the club’s official digital transformation partner.
Through this exclusive deal, Orion Innovation will partner with LFC as it continues to innovate digitally and further connect its global fan base to the club.
LFC will leverage Orion’s two decades of deep experience transforming the business operations of some of the biggest sports leagues and teams across the UK, Europe, the USA, and Asia Pacific.
Speaking about the new partnership, LFC’s senior vice-president for digital, Drew Crisp, said: “We’re super-excited to be working together with Orion Innovation in the digital space, which is so important to us and our supporters.
“As a club we have an aggressive plan to continue on our digital transformation journey to elevate our fan experience. Orion will be a great long-term partner in our ever-evolving and progressing digital journey.”
Billy Hogan, CEO of LFC, added: “It’s fantastic to welcome Orion to the LFC partner family. We see strong synergies and cultural fit between our two brands, with similar core values, ambition, and the desire to be the best in class digitally.”
Through its Sports Innovation Lab, Orion has developed leading solutions for the sports industry, including a platform for sports operations, enhanced fan experience, and gameday management.
Raj Patil, CEO of Orion, said: “We’re thrilled to join the Liverpool Football Club family and drive digital innovation for one of the world’s most popular sports teams. We are confident that our collaboration will elevate the club’s fan experience and operations to even greater heights. This is because we pride ourselves on inspiring and accelerating digital innovation through long-term trusted partnerships with our clients.
“We’re also very excited about the impact LFC’s global platform will have on our brand.”
Satish Kumar, global head of sports and entertainment for Orion, added: “We welcome LFC to Orion’s Sports Innovation Lab and look forward to this partnership fuelling innovation for the sports industry. As a leader in stadium technology, we are thrilled to bring our expertise to Liverpool Football Club, one of the most iconic football clubs in the world.”
RedBird Capital Partners (“RedBird”) has announced the appointment of Zlatan Ibrahimović (“Ibra”) as an Operating Partner across its Sports and Media & Entertainment investment portfolio. In this capacity, he will also serve as a Senior Advisor to AC Milan Ownership and Senior Management.
Ibra is one of the most iconic football players to have ever played the game. He left his mark on every team he played for, winning 34 trophies between Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona FC, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Over the course of his career, Ibra scored over 570 goals, including more than 500 club goals, and has scored in each of the last four decades. Ibra was named the best player in Italy’s Serie A three times (2008, 2009, 2011) and was named the best player in France’s Ligue 1 three times (2012, 2013, 2015). He was also Serie A’s top scorer in 2009 and 2012, Ligue 1’s top scorer in 2012, 2013 and 2015 and the all-time top scorer for the Swedish national team.
On June 4, 2023, Ibra announced his retirement from football following AC Milan’s final game of the Serie A season, capping his career with the Rossoneri. With his appointment at RedBird, Ibra will kick off his post-playing career as part of the one of the most prolific and successful investors in sports and media globally.
Ibra is a personality whose name resonates far beyond the confines of the football pitch. His prowess on the field has enabled him to build a global brand as an entrepreneur, published author, marketing and advertising specialist and investor. With 123 million social media followers, Ibra is a global influencer of unquestionable scale and appeal, as well as a best-selling author for his autobiography “I Am Zlatan” which ranks as one of the most successful sports biographies. Ibra is also a humanitarian who looks to give back, teaming up with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to raise awareness of the extent to which hunger persists as a global problem and the 805 million people who are suffering from hunger today.
As an Operating Partner at RedBird, Ibra will collaborate with RedBird’s global investment team in supporting the firm’s existing investment portfolio across sports, media and entertainment. He will help source and evaluate new investment opportunities for the firm, and will advise RedBird portfolio companies on commercial projects, digital content strategies and strategic brand building initiatives to extend their presence on a global basis.
At AC Milan, Ibra will serve as a Senior Advisor to Ownership, which is led by RedBird and includes the New York Yankees, one of RedBird’s longest standing partners in sports. Working in close coordination with both AC Milan Ownership and Senior Management, Ibra will play an active role across the Club’s sporting and business operations and will help reinforce the Club’s winning culture. His mandate will include player development and high-performance training, advancing AC Milan’s global brand and commercial interests, and supporting special projects of strategic importance, including the Club’s new stadium.
“We have all been fortunate to witness Zlatan’s greatness as a player and his contributions in leading AC Milan to the top of Serie A,” said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird. “What makes a winner of Zlatan’s caliber is not just physical talent, but also high intellect and an entrepreneurial spirit. At RedBird, we have developed partnerships with a very select group of high-performing world class athletes and artists who are able to thrive in the RedBird ecosystem across our sports, media and entertainment portfolio. I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Zlatan in thinking through his post-playing career options. To have him play an active role in the future of the Club is indicative of our continued commitment to excellence both on and off the pitch, and I’m looking forward to working with him as a partner and colleague at both RedBird and AC Milan. The respect Zlatan commanded as a player, his global presence among fans of the sport, and his diverse skillset as an entrepreneur is a powerful combination for both AC Milan and RedBird. I’m thrilled for our fans, our players and coaching staff, and the rest of the Rossoneri community that we can formally welcome him back to the team once again.”
Paolo Scaroni, Chairman of AC Milan, added, “Ibra embodies the meaning of a champion. During his time with the Club, we all saw his work ethic, determination and relentless pursuit of success. Having him as an Advisor for both Ownership and Senior Management is a win by all measures as we continue our relentless pursuit to return AC Milan to the top of European Football.”
AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani commented, “Bringing a leader like Ibra as an Advisor to AC Milan’s leadership team underscores our commitment to the future success of our Club for the benefit of our players and our fans. We’re fortunate to have access to Ibra’s creativity and expansive network of relationships across European Football to continue elevating the Club on a global stage.”
Discussing his new roles, Ibrahimovic added, “I am extremely grateful to be joining both RedBird and AC Milan in these important and influential roles. RedBird has partnered with some of the greatest athletes, teams and business figures in the world to create businesses with meaning and impact. I look forward to contributing to their investing activities across their sports, media and entertainment properties.”
He continued, “My love for the Rossoneri will never die, and the opportunity to be a part of its future in a meaningful way is something I could only have dreamed of. I am grateful to Gerry for making this opportunity available to me. I have greatly admired the commitment, passion and hard work RedBird and Senior Management have demonstrated since acquiring the Club. This is not a decision that I take lightly – it is one which is very important and personal to me and my family. I’ve thought long and hard about the first steps in my post-playing career, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to start that journey as a member of RedBird and AC Milan. For me and my family, this is truly a homecoming with the cherished Club where I ended my playing career and am now starting my next chapter.”
Ian Whittaker, Twice City AM Analyst of the Year pens down the lessons from the new Premier League deal.
The new Premier League deal feels like it is a return to the days of old – Sky taking most rights, the re-emergence of a duopoly with TNT (ex-BT) and the absence of any Tech players. However, the outcome tells us a lot more not just about the value of the rights but the motivating factors for the main players.
For a start, the deal highlights – again – the sharp contrast between the English Premier League and other major soccer leagues when it comes to rights. The League managed to attract an increase in the absolute value of the rights (4% on a proforma basis i.e. adjusting for the fact the new contract is four years, not three). Other leagues, for example Serie A, have seen a decline in their absolute value while others – aka in France – have seen their auction process blow up spectacularly as bidders refused to meet the demands of a minimum price. This part reflects the appeal of the English Premier League relative to the others and part the financial state of the backers involved.
That leads onto the second point. People only bid for the rights – and are willing to pay large sums – if they think there is economic value. Sky is paying significantly more in absolute terms (it now owns four of the top five packages) but, from an economic and strategic standpoint, it is the right call to do. Sports is Sky’s citadel and, as it moves more to relying on a strategy of keeping customers and growing revenues per sub than subscriber growth, a vast increase in the number of matches available is likely to be valuable in keeping customers.
(I also think there is a very interesting advertising proposition here for Sky, particularly around the increased number of matches not just for the Premier League but also in the EFL – that demands an article by itself).
In a way, this also explains the presence of TNT. It was never going to be able to compete with Sky and the strategic (and financial) priorities of its co-owners, BT and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), means that it was always going to play Robin to Sky’s Batman. However, for TNT, retaining the crucial Saturday 12:30pm package sends a message to customers that it remains committed to having sports rights and reinforces it as a home for those who do not want to take Sky.
The third point revolves around the lack of presence of the Tech giants amongst the successful bidders. Again, this links with the above point, namely that the economic rationale has to work, and it does not for the major Tech giants. Unlike the US, there is not a large TV advertising budget they can win from such rights, and they can’t really make their money in other ways – Prime has probably maxed out in penetration in the UK and it is hard to imagine Apple seeing a uplift in sales of iPhones or other products from buying the rights. The idea that the Tech giants will be the saviour of European football rights – as has been also proved recently in France – is false.
Fourthly, I am not convinced by the arguments that the fact the Premier League is receiving far fewer revenue per game is necessarily valid. That suggests that the value of the League is driven ‘bottom up’ i.e. a value is assigned to each game and then these are multiplied together to produce an end value. However, that is not the case. Whether additional matches are televised or not does not really impact the economics for the League. Put it another way – if 50% fewer matches were televised and the value of the rights declined by 25% would this be seen as a triumph for the League as it had received more per game? Almost inevitably, the answer would be no. The League is focused on the absolute amount it receives – and will be pleased with an increase.
The most interesting point revolves around DAZN. I have been involved in a LinkedIn debate as to whether DAZN did submit an actual bid or not, but the point is that, regardless, it does not look as though it made a serious bid to secure any of the packages. I think that was probably right on their part – I am not sure securing the TNT package for example would have been economically viable and there was no way they could outbid Sky. DAZN is rumoured to be listing next year and so probably does not want to make any reckless moves. It will, though, raise questions about its appeal in the UK market.
All in all, the rights have resulted in (probably) a happy Premier League, a satisfied Sky, a relieved TNT, a nonchalant Tech space and a cautious DAZN. That is probably not a bad outcome for all involved.
The IBA Ordinary Congress concluded last week in Dubai where 170 National Federation members made their voices heard. SwissBoxing was welcomed back following its resignation from IBA under new leadership, a direction that was then reversed at their last General Assembly. Granted provisional membership by IBA before the Congress, members supported their return by a majority of vote.
In addition, the US Boxing Federation, a new organization led by legendary Roy Jones Jr was formed following the disaffiliation of USA Boxing. Oceania gained two new members as the Norfolk Island Boxing Association and Tuvalu Amateur Boxing Association were accepted.
Meanwhile, three organizations had their memberships terminated by the Congress, as the Czech Boxing Association’s, German Boxing Association’s and Dutch Boxing Federation’s termination was approved.
IBA under Umar Kremliv, President of the IBA who completes 3 years today has ensured positive conditions for athletes including huge prize money, high competition standards, help to National Federations via Financial Support Program and equipment support. IBA has further made significant strides towards achieving gender equality in the sport of boxing and has been working hard to ensure that women boxers receive the same level of recognition and support as their men counterparts. Now gender equality is written in Constitution where the Board should have minimum 5 women representatives from each continent and it is in place.
Tereza Atilio Lual, President of the Boxing Association, Republic of South Sudan said: “I am very impressed with IBA. They want to bring gender balance within the organisation and boxing community globally. A few years ago, I was the only female president from the Africa region and now we have more female presidents. Some people think that boxing is only for men but that it not the truth. The association is further empowering girls and training them to be more self-reliant and financially independent.”
Projects that the Women’s Committee had launched already last year included: the IBA Women’s Boxing Questionnaire; the appointment of five IBA Confederation Women Ambassadors; the creation of Outstanding Women in Boxing Awards; the development of the Women Coaches Manual, the Women’s Community of Practice and “Invisible to Visible” project which highlights prominent women involved in boxing.
Wissam Zoubida, a member of the African Boxing Confederation further added: “IBA has introduced good policies to include women representation within the federation. To speak about my Moroccon organisation, for the first time we have a world champion Khadija El-Mardi and we have several women silver medalists as well. Because of this positive picture of boxing, the number of women participating in boxing has increased a lot. Boxing provides a lot of confidence to these women and my hope is for more women to take up boxing.”
At the global forum, Dutch-born boxer and IBA Champions’ Night winner Megan de Cler shared her story of how after being banned by the Dutch boxing organisation, how IBA is supporting her through its Financial Support Program (FSP) to help her achieve her dream of bagging a gold medal at the Olympics.
IBA Board of Directors Members Marta Forcen Celaya reinforced that inclusivity and gender balance are the priority of IBA. She said: “The development of women in Spain is super important to us. We must achieve gender parity. At IBA on the board of directors, for example, we are 50% women and 50% men, and this is true that it gives the impetus to be able to develop all women in the field, not only in sports.”
IBA further announced a $5 million prize money for the women’s world championship. Also, superstar fighters Conor McGregor and Petr Yan had a staredown officiated by IBA President Umar Kremlev.
TNT Sports and its streaming home discovery+ will show every match of FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Saudi Arabia™ live from Jeddah in the UK and Ireland including each match featuring current UEFA Champions League holders and Premier League champions Manchester City.
Live coverage of FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Saudi Arabia kicks off on TNT Sports 3 on 12 December (KO 18:00 GMT) with a first round clash between an Al-Ittihad FC side featuring Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho and Oceania Football Confederation champions Auckland City at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s 2022-23 treble winners enter the competition at the semi-final stage where they will face the winner of the second round tie between Club Leon (Winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League) and Urawa Red Diamonds (Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League) with TNT Sports 2 broadcasting the match live from 18:00 GMT.
The final of FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Saudi Arabia™ is scheduled for TNT Sports 2 on Friday 22 December, kick-off 18:00 GMT.
Manchester City qualified for FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Saudi Arabia™ after defeating Inter Milan by a single goal to win the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul in June.
The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) is moving forward with its strategic plan for the growth of women’s tennis with a further revision to its structure.
The revised structure will separate the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to allow greater focus on the WTA’s mission and goals and will bring on an additional new leader to assume the CEO role. The CEO will be charged with responsibility for managing and growing the operations of the WTA and its many initiatives. The WTA has begun a comprehensive selection process for the WTA CEO position, supported by the global executive search firm Korn Ferry.
Once the position of CEO has been filled, Steve Simon, currently Chairman and CEO of the WTA, will assume the role of Executive Chairman. In this role, Simon will focus on governance, strategic interests of the WTA within the sport, integrity issues and the development of new markets and frontiers for the WTA. In addition to his designated role as Executive Chairman of the WTA, Simon continues to serve as Chair of the WTA Ventures Board.
In parallel with the changes to the Chairman and CEO roles, Micky Lawler, who has served as President of the WTA since 2015, has decided to leave the organization at the end of the year to pursue new opportunities.
The planned revision to the WTA’s structure is the latest step in the WTA’s strategic development, which has led to a landmark collaboration with CVC Capital Partners and the creation of a new commercial division, WTA Ventures. The new structure will help the WTA to secure its objectives of growing the game and delivering equal prize money for women by 2033. It will ensure that the organization benefits from breadth and depth of expertise and experience across sporting, operational and commercial matters, allowing it to take advantage of future growth opportunities while delivering world-class events and providing an excellent experience and increased compensation for players. The changes have been developed with the WTA and WTA Ventures Boards since the summer.
Steve Simon, the WTA’s Executive Chair designate, said: “Following investment from CVC Capital Partners and the creation of WTA Ventures earlier this year, we are now moving ahead and implementing further change to ensure the WTA is well positioned for future opportunities. WTA Ventures is achieving significant progress under the leadership of CEO Marina Storti, and we are looking to replicate this model by bringing in additional operational expertise for the Hologic WTA Tour. By putting in place additional leadership capability and capacity, we are getting ready to accelerate the development of women’s tennis as the WTA moves beyond its 50th year. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Micky Lawler. She has been a valued colleague who has made a significant contribution to the WTA and we wish her every success for the future.”
Victoria Azarenka, former WTA World No.1 and member of the WTA Players’ Council, welcomed the development, commenting: “I wish Steve all the best in his new role, and the continued progress and development of the WTA as an organization. The partnership with CVC has been a great opportunity for growth to our sport, and the addition of an added leadership role for increased aid will continue pushing the WTA forward and the progression of women’s sports. I look forward to seeing the benefits this will bring for everyone involved in our sport.”
Adam Barrett, Chair of the WTA Tournament Council and WTA Board member, added: “On behalf of the tournaments, we are committed to delivering the highest-quality experience for players and fans. Adding a strong CEO to the WTA leadership who will be laser focused on key operational issues will have a positive impact as we work together to further elevate women’s tennis for players, fans, partners, and our tournaments.”
With the Formula 1 season having just finished and the teams no doubt taking stock of the sponsorship sales strategy ahead of the 2024 season, caytoo analysed the ~360 sponsors of the 10 teams and F1 itself to understand how the landscape has changed over the last two years in terms of the fastest-growing and declining sectors.
The number of F1 sponsors has jumped considerably in that time by 23% due to a combination of various factors. These include F1’s growing global fan base across TV, race attendees and social media, that audience becoming younger and more gender diverse, plus a near 10% increase in the number of races (factoring in the 2024 schedule). This growth has been particularly pronounced in the US through the extra number of races held in ‘glitzy’ locations – Las Vegas, Miami and Austin – which are heavily promoted and also create more global interest.
Over 75% of sponsor growth is being driven by just three sectors – Information Technology, Financial Services and Consumer Goods – and all of these can be attributable in some way to the sport’s younger audience.
IT’s growth is dominated by Software brands; this sub sector seeing by far the biggest rise in the actual number of deals. F1’s emphasis around technology and innovation has always been a naturally strong fit with software and, although the sector itself doesn’t particularly target younger demographics from a purchasing perspective, many of the deals are centred around helping the teams to better engage with that fanbase, particularly on social, app and web channels.
For example, Salesforce x McLaren, with Salesforce stating the aim being: “to bring McLaren even closer to their fans across their digital platforms and deliver amazing digital experiences that help them connect with their global fanbase in a whole new way.”
Financial Services’ growth has been driven by the amount of Investment/Trading and Crypto/Blockchain sponsors rising by nearly 75%. Consequently, FS has overtaken Industrials as the fourth most prolific sponsor in F1. Many Investment/Trading sponsors are focused on online trading which targets a younger audience, such as Hantec Markets x Haas. This is the same for large crypto-related brands, such as Binance, OKX and OpenSea, increasingly jumping into F1 to generate awareness and, more crucially, trust and credibility on the global stage – particularly targeting Millennial and Gen Z audiences.
Consumer Goods remains the most common sector sponsoring F1 and its growth is mainly being driven by challenger brands to the traditionally dominant players in both Clothing/Apparel and Accessories. Clothing/Apparel includes the likes of newcomer shoe brands P448 x AlphaTauri and clothing brands such as K-Way x Alpine.
In turn, Accessories includes the like of upcoming glasses brands such as Web Eyewear x Alfa Romeo and luggage brands such as Globe Trotter x Aston Martin. Most are trying to reach a largely younger audience than the more traditional brands.
The fact that F1’s sponsor landscape is increasingly shifting towards younger audiences is reflected by Industrials and Automotive having the biggest drops in the number of sponsors. Industrials is primarily driven by a reduction in Construction sponsors while Automotive’s drop is mainly due to Auto Component brands. The latter in particular reinforces the sport moving away from its ‘petrol-head’-based roots to being positioned primarily as an entertainment brand, more in line with activations more typically seen in festivals and music.
Carlo De Marchis, ‘a guy with a scarf’ pens down this month’s business index.
Fun fact: This month there is a lot of green on the iSportConnect Business Index! This does match the overall global market sentiment of positivity.
Ones to watch: Man Utd UP, Apparel sector is UP (holidays season?), TKO down
The latest market capitalization snapshot for major sports-affiliated industries reveals a strong showing from broadcasters and brands, but a retrenchment for properties and betting outfits.
In the broadcasting category, valuations grew 3.4% over the past month to over $5 trillion. The combined force of television stalwarts and streaming giants like Apple, Amazon, Disney and more continues to yield impressive gains, even in a turbulent economic climate. With Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent merger fueling more content and reach, the category appears poised for sustained growth.
Apparel also saw valuation expansion, with an 8% increase highlighting the endurance of performance brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma. Through technical innovation, lifestyle resonance and star partnerships across sports, the apparel giants continue to drive profits amidst broader retail contraction.
However, sports real estate struggled, with venue and team owners seeing combined market caps fall 3.1% to $29.2 billion. Formula One, Madison Square Garden Sports all trended negatively, reflecting macroeconomic pressures on live events. Sports betting also declined 0.9%, with regulatory uncertainty around firms like Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel persisting. The only standout positive was Man Utd – will we be getting closer to a deal between the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Other insights include gaming’s mild 0.7% uptick showing resilience for Electronic Arts and others. Compass Group’s steady football stadium and arena food service business boosted “other” related markets slightly as well.
Keep an eye on Roblox. Yes the shares are benefitting from the huge rally in Crypto (BTC is well over 100% higher than a year ago) but they are also connecting their online world back into the physical world. This could be a gamechanger and the first real example of the “Phygital’ world working. One to watch in 2024.
In summary, sector rivals broadcasting and apparel are leveraging content and branding to lift valuations, while economic uncertainty weighs on venues, teams, and sportsbooks. With these trajectories diverging widely, the interplay between streaming dollars, live attendance, licensed goods sales, and betting handle will remain crucial to track.
The Ryder Cup has become one of the world’s greatest sporting events. Every two years, 24 of the best players from Europe and the United States go head-to-head across three days of match play competition in front of hundreds of thousands of fans and an addressable global audience of more than 620 million households.
The 44th edition of the event was held at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome from September 29th till October 1st 2023 and was under the spotlight perhaps more than any edition in recent memory. Italy were hosting for the first time and the event was played amidst LIV Golf’s challenge to golf’s established tours.
In addition to this wider context, and from a technology delivery perspective, iSportConnect’s David Fowler spoke with Michael Cole, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the PGA European Tour to know more about his team’s work in a “technologically challenging” environment.
“Golf is arguably the most technologically challenging sport. There is not one single stadium to connect, but 18 fields of play spread across many acres. A mini smart city was essentially built from scratch in the middle of the countryside”.
“Our vision was to match the gladiatorial contest between the US and the Europeans inside the ropes with a rich amphitheatre of technology to match. The historical city of Rome meeting the technological innovation of the Ryder Cup”.
Helping to deliver on this vision were the event’s technology partners, such as Capgemini, HPE and CDW, who used their vast experience to shape a best-in-class technology experience.
Re-Imagining the Spectator Experience
Technology is perhaps more relevant in golf than many other sports because it can be challenging for spectators to understand the status of play across a vast competitive landscape. The challenge was to bridge the gap between armchair fan and on-course spectator.
“The genesis for the fan development I describe simply as three Es: Engagement, Excitement and Experience. Engagement through location-based services and targeting but importantly relevant rich media content. Generate the excitement through the delivery of new course features such as Match Probabilities and “Every Shot” commentary, and as they leave, ensuring their experience of the Ryder Cup was one of the best sporting events they’ve ever attended”.
“Great connectivity, enhanced navigation and interactive communications optimised the tournament experience enabling fans to spend more time watching golf, soaking up the atmosphere and immersing themselves in the unique experience of live sport, whilst enjoyed new features such as Shot Commentary and the revolutionary Outcome IQ technology, providing unique insights into matches never experienced before in the Ryder Cup”.
Spectator experience highlights:
24 Large LED screens, with over 2,000m2 of LED (which was a 25% uplift versus 2018), and over 500 Digital TVs.
One of the first and definitely the largest deployment of WiFi6 for any temporarily-delivered major sporting event in the world – over 800 Access Points.
Launched Outcome IQ, which gave constant updates on who was statistically likely to win each match.
A shot-by-shot tracker on the mobile app with multiple data points (distance, number of strokes, resulting lie etc) to reach the fans across a series of Wifi hotspots.
Location-based insights to facilitate rich media push notifications to drive interaction on site by telling people when a player was on a hot streak, or showing merchandise offers.
Infrastructure intelligence drove an Occupancy indicator – where to watch, eat and buy.
Narrative for every shot displayed on the large on-course digital screens – customised feeds for every hole.
The Intelligent Course
The intelligent course was about collecting a number of data points from IoT devices to understand spectator behaviours, and generally empower smarter, data driven decision making in real time.
“Our technology partners ensured this Ryder Cup was the most data-driven ever by implementing a visualisation platform for multiple data sources across the course that created smarter real-time data driven decisions. Spectator flows and interactions with the venue for food, merchandise, grandstand seating were collected, analysed and visualised for both on-course spectators and the staging teams, generating behavioural-outcomes based on real insights”.
Intelligent course highlights:
The topology for Ryder Cup critically used edge devices to generate data sources and cloud-computing to surface key insights and intelligence, a true edge-to-cloud hybrid deployment.
The European Captains Dashboard was driven by key stats collected by a specialist team mobilised across the course.
Using the player locator app, fans could see where each match was via a map and check-out their latest scores at any time.
Spectator flows and interactions with food stalls, merchandise stores, and grandstand seating were collected, analysed and visualised via the edge-to-cloud Crowd Analytics platform.
Website features and digital screens across the site showed where to watch, eat and buy, and based on occupancy levels, how busy key areas were via a graded display system.
Hybrid Cloud network connectivity was at the core of this data-in intelligence-out digital experience, turning data into actionable intelligence.
Improving Connectivity
Best of breed next-gen technology networking infrastructure was leveraged to lay the foundation for connectivity with location-based services, Wi-Fi 6e (a first at a major sporting event) and a true environmental IoT platform (a first for Golf).
“The experience was a highly secure and frictionless onboarding, using a complementary range of services from wifi, cellular, satellite, 5G and LTE to optimise connectivity across the course, and an environment to deliver richer content on every device for every spectator”.
Connectivity highlights:
Utilising Wi-Fi 6e and a true environmental IoT platform, the experience was highly secure and at the same time, easier to get connected than ever before, using a complementary range of services from Wi-Fi, cellular, satellite, 5G and LTE to optimise connectivity across the course, and an environment to deliver richer content on every device for every spectator.
Three additional mobile masts for enhanced connectivity.
A private 5G network service creating two POCs – solar-powered Wifi and private 5G direct internet connectivity.
Satellite connectivity for areas where power was restricted, and microwave point-to-point where ducting wasn’t possible.
The infrastructure supported over 20,000 concurrent devices at its daily peak, and over 90 Terabytes of data across the Ryder Cup week, one of the highest volumes of data for any single venue sporting event.
Creating Operational Efficiency
Michael’s team created sports first ever “intelligence wall” to manage tournament operations and monitor the fan experience.
“This enabled proactive monitoring of the technology across the course, and ensured robust deployment to ensure the focus of the fan and the world’s media remained on the gladiatorial contest inside the ropes”.
Operational efficiency highlights:
An IoT platform based on edge devices to cloud computing (a first in golf and possibly sport), with proactive monitoring of the technology across the course, ensured robust deployment and the focus of the fan and the world’s media remained on the action.
The IoT platform based on a range of IoT Environmental Sensors for remote and proactive monitoring of the IT infrastructure enabled the IT support teams to identify potential issues in advance and proactively manage them to optimise availability levels.
Also deployed was a platform for auto-locate functionality on an imminent release of software, fully automated integration of Access Point locations, as well as the integration for accredited personal for auto-wifi onboarding.
The Most Sustainable Technology for a Ryder Cup Ever
The core emissions of the event were offset, including all staging operations and player/ staff travel, with only fan travel excluded. There was also a big focus on fan engagement – educating and asking for their support to offset their journey to Rome via technology-enablement on the App. However, the ambition to deliver the most sustainable technology in the history of the Ryder Cup was more complex than simply implementing a carbon offsetting programme.
“Unifying fibre infrastructure, legacy re-use, solar-powered access points, power-efficient infrastructure, environment sensors and avoidance of single-use technology all contributed to the most sustainable Ryder Cup ever, and all being measured and monitored by a first-time launch of a revolutionary sustainability dashboard, measuring in real-time the carbon footprint of our IT infrastructure, graphically reporting carbon impacts, power consumption and energy costs”.
Sustainability highlights:
Free drinking water refill stations for fans across the site to reduce single use plastic waste.
All 117 BMWs in the courtesy car fleet were electric.
Programme to recycle/ reuse significant amounts of build materials.
550 Buggies on site – 240 buggies were tracked and monitored and run on solar-powered energy sources.
This Ryder Cup created the platform for a range of other sustainability initiatives, as part of the commitment to reduce the carbon footprint to zero by 2040, and a number of sporting firsts.
Ensuring Robust and Reliable Technology Delivery
An Olympic-type operational structure was deployed for the Ryder Cup, establishing a call-handling facility for triaging technology calls coming through from Incident Control.
In addition, given the threat of global cyber-attacks, a Security Operations Centre (SOC) was also established on-site, with a Cyber Incident Response team on stand-by for immediate action if needed. The SOC monitored an average of 175 million firewall session log records per day, and was able to actively block 143 malicious attempts from across the globe.
“The proactive structure of the technology operations proved incredibly successful, with the number of troubleshooting tickets raised for technology reduced from 84 during the 2018 Ryder Cup to just 40 for Marco Simone, a reduction of over 50%”.
A Record-Breaking Ryder Cup, Enabled by Technology
The 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy set new records across the board. A total of 271,191 people from 100 different countries attended the event in person, with millions more following the action from afar on television and digital platforms.
The event is scheduled to return to Europe in 2027 and, the rapid advancement of technology, will undoubtedly bring new opportunities.
“I expect connectivity to be better serviced as 5G matures and the team to potentially leverage a range of satellite services. AI advancements will also present opportunities to create further operational efficiencies as well as drive fan engagement”.
The 2027 Ryder Cup will come with its own technological challenges but for Michael and his team the guiding principles remain fairly straight forward, “It’s always a balance between how to use technology in a frictionless way while not distracting from the event and protecting the traditions of the game, for the benefit of all our key stakeholders”.
The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024 in Birmingham, West Midlands, announces its first wave of high-profile speakers for sport’s most influential industry gathering.
A total of seven leading experts, unveiled today, will address some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in global sport with over 1,500 delegates at Birmingham’s award-winning International Convention Centre (ICC) on 7-11 April 2024 under the Summit’s theme “The Power of Sport”.
The complete speaker line-up across the Summit’s Plenary Session and four streams – CityAccord, LawAccord, HealthAccord and MediaAccord – will be revealed over the next two months.
Summit’s stellar speaker line-up – first reveal
Chris Boardman MBE – Olympic gold medallist and world champion cyclist, and now Chair of Sport England and Commissioner of Active Travel England – will be speaking at the Summit’s CityAccord session.
“I believe we have a broader responsibility – to advocate for the transformational impact that sport and activity can have on the nation’s health and wellbeing.
“I’m looking forward to speaking with leaders from all corners of the world of sport in Birmingham next year at the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit, where among other topics we’ll be looking at the impact that active travel can have in making our towns and cities more civilised and more prosperous.”
Boardman is joined by six distinguished experts who operate in various sectors of the global sports landscape. These experts, spanning host cities, Esports, sports medicine, sustainability, and athlete representation, will lead Summit sessions centred around the transformative impact of sport on society, emphasising its unifying potential and role as a force for good.
Melanie Duparc – Secretary General of World Union of Olympic Cities
Paul Foster – CEO of Global Esports Federation
Dr Margo Mountjoy – Clinical Professor and sports medicine specialist, Chair of ASOIF Medical and Science Consultative Group
Dale Vince – Chairman of Forest Green Rovers and Founder/Owner of Ecotricity
Ross Wenzel – WADA General Counsel
Brendan Schwab – Director of Schwab Legal and former Executive Director of World Players Association
Birmingham and West Midlands – outstanding host and location
Birmingham’s ICC is located in the centre of the city, less than half an hour away from Birmingham Airport, which has direct flight connections with more than 150 destinations worldwide. SportAccord’s high-quality official hotels and various dining, leisure and entertainment facilities are also within easy walking distance of the venue.
SportAccord President Uğur Erdener said: “Birmingham and the West Midlands are an outstanding host for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit. This is a city and region with a rich sporting history that is keen to build on the legacy of hosting the successful 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“With excellent transport links by air and rail, superb facilities and accommodation all highly accessible within a square mile of the Convention Centre, and a well-earned reputation as a hub of sport, entertainment and culture, Birmingham and the West Midlands are an ideal destination for SportAccord 2024.”
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “After last year’s spectacular Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, we were clear that we wanted that to be the start of a new sporting journey for our region – not the end.
“If we want to keep hosting the world’s biggest sporting events then showcasing our region to sport’s global decision makers is mission critical. That’s why this SportAccord Summit is so important and I’m delighted we’ve been able to pull it off.
“This is the first time the conference has been held in the UK for over a decade, and the last host – Australia’s Gold Coast – secured the 2032 Olympic Games. There is no question therefore just what a major coup this is for the West Midlands, and we now must ensure we make the most of the opportunity and use it as a springboard for our future.”
Leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr John Cotton said:
“Last summer’s Commonwealth Games cemented Birmingham’s reputation as a global destination with the venues, culture, hospitality sector and expertise to successfully host major events. As a famously friendly city, we can also guarantee a warm Birmingham welcome to all SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit delegates.”
Summit registration – opening soon
Registration for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2024 is set to launch shortly – stay tuned to benefit from the early bird rate.
