View From The Middle East – An unprecedented investment in sport infrastructure

In this week’s View From Middle East article Felicien Dillard, Partner and Head of Active Places at Portas Consulting looks at the unprecedented investment being made in the sports infrastructure in the Middle East.

We are seeing an unprecedented and extended period for major investments in sport infrastructure around the GCC countries led by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar in particular. 

It began in 2010 with Qatar’s world cup bid and the necessity for stadiums, public transport, and tourist accommodation. After overcoming the challenges of completing the infrastructure on time and successfully hosting the World Cup, Qatar is facing a similar challenge to many ‘post-major-event’ nations: how to utilize the newly developed sport infrastructure in the decades to come. The current pipeline of legacy events (including the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and the 2030 Asian Games) has anchored Qatar’s event calendar and shows a willingness to be an established fixture in sporting events globally.  The country’s sport infrastructure will continue to be activated as the event calendar grows. 

Today Saudi Arabia is leading the way in developing sport infrastructure and this is expected to continue for the coming decade, in time for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2034 Asian Games, two major milestones in the calendar. Where Saudi Arabia’s approach to sports infrastructure differs from the historical approach and that of neighbouring countries stems from the inclusion of Sport as a distinct and core element in the Saudi Vision 2030. Sports has therefore become a strategic consideration in all the major infrastructure projects the country embarks on, rather than an isolated sector or selectively attached to a major event milestone. This is best illustrated by the inclusion of Sport in the planning and designs for Saudi Arabia’s mega and giga projects such as NEOM, Qiddiya, Al Ulla, Jeddah Downtown, King Salman Park, Diriyah, and others. The inclusion of sport and sport facilities from the inception of these projects gives them a chance to be built for daily community as well as major event use, and for their designs to integrate with the overall project and their future diversity of users. The legacy planning (sizing, users, commercialization, operations) considerations for the Saudi sport infrastructure inherently become the shared design rationale alongside major event functionality. 

The Saudi approach to sports infrastructure also differs from its neighbours with for example the major upgrade and refurbishment program of Saudi stadiums initiated to meet the 2027 AFC Asian Cup hosting requirements (four stadiums are undergoing major refurbishments in Riyadh and Dammam). Enhancing existing assets allows for risk reduction in the national stadium development program and keeps many fans, teams, and communities anchored in their existing stadiums. 

The UAE has so far taken a more gradual and selective approach to developing sports infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is filling the ‘opportunity-gap’ by selecting sports to invest in, such as the first indoor Velodrome in the region and the world’s largest wave pool, both under development on Hudayriyat Island. These will be landmarks in an ambitious destination that combines sport and leisure for tourists and residents. With the 2018 Special Olympic World Games and the two seasons of UFC fight Island in 2020 and 2021 Abu Dhabi has been developing as a global destination for major sporting events, which will only increase the need for adapted sports facilities. 

The evolving mentalities around sports infrastructure since the last construction boom in sport cities and stadiums of the 1970s has been an increasing interest in developing multi-use sports facilities that are capable of hosting major events, cater to a growing need for performance athlete training, and enable year-round community use. Government institutions initiating these project are demanding more from the developers and designers by setting briefs for new sport facilities that give more balanced consideration to

  • Content
  • Operations
  • Commercialisation, and 
  • Design. 

As the GCC takes an increasingly established role in the global events calendar by regularly hosting global sport competitions, building domestic athlete development programs, and investing in local sports participation programs, the sports infrastructure is also undergoing a sustained period of transformation. While mega projects attract most of the headlines, there is a broader trend underway where municipalities, private developers, and investors are also fueling the development of infrastructure. 

iSportConnect Sponsorship Index: Food & Beverage far more dominant among Rugby World Cup Teams sponsors

With the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicking off in just over two weeks in Paris, we decided it was time to take a deep dive into the teams sponsors with this month’s Sponsorship Index powered by caytoo.

caytoo analysed the 291 sponsors of the 20 teams competing in the 2023 Rugby World Cup to identify the most prevalent sectors at a master (e.g. Food & Beverage) and sub-sector (e.g. Alcohol) level.

Food & Beverage is by far the most prevalent sector, accounting for 22.9% of teams’ sponsors, making the sector far more dominant than in other sports such as Formula 1 (5.2% share of sponsors), Tour de France teams (13.5%) and English football’s Premier League (15.6%). Only in the NBA (18.2%) and MLB (19.5%) does F&B’s prevalence come close to that of the Rugby World Cup teams.

F&B’s dominance is driven by Alcohol (8.6%) and Soft Drinks (6.9%) – the two most popular sub sectors – with beer accounting for nearly two-thirds of alcohol sponsors. For example, Guinness is the joint second most prevalent sponsor at four teams (along with Vodafone but one behind personal goods brand Dove at five). Alcohol is again far more dominant among the RWC teams than in F1, the Tour de France and EPL but less so than in the NBA (10.0%) and MLB (9.5%).

Consumer Goods (12.7% share) follows F&B as the second most prevalent sector, narrowly ahead of Financial Services (12.3%). Consumer Goods is driven by Clothing/Apparel manufacturers (the joint-third most prevalent sub sector at 5.2%), Personal Goods brands and Electronics/Appliances manufacturers while Financial Services is driven by Banks (the joint-third most prevalent sub sector at 5.2%) and Insurance firms.

It’s interesting that while Financial Services has a greater share in rugby than the other European-focused sports (cycling, F1 and soccer) it is much less prevalent than compared to the US-based MLB (24.6%) and NBA (16.4%).

Alongside F&B, other sectors that tend to ‘over-index’ on rugby compared to the other five sports covered (i.e. their share in rugby is higher than that across the other five) include Travel & Tourism (led by Airlines), Professional Services, Utilities (led by Energy firms) & Telecoms (led by Mobile Telecoms). Albeit none of these sectors make up a huge share in rugby – each accounting for between 3-7%.

In contrast, rugby WC teams tend to ‘under-index’ when it comes to attracting Information Technology sponsors, which is surprising given the sport has always had a strong following among the corporate crowd or business-decision-makers. For instance, IT accounts for just 1.7% of RWC teams sponsors compared to 21.8% in F1, 9.6% in the EPL, 5.5% in the NBA, 3.8% in the MLB and 3.2% among Tour de France teams.

This could be down to the World Cup audience having a higher concentration of the general public / consumers than the sport’s more regular week-in, week-out fans.

Another sector in which the rugby WC teams under-index compared to the European-based sports is the Industrials sector which comprises Construction, Engineering/Manufacturing and Materials/Chemicals firms. They account for just 3.1% of sponsors compared to 10.1% in F1, 5.7% in the Tour de France and 4.8% in the EPL. Although this is higher than in the US-based MLB (1.8%) and NBA (2.0%).

Member Insights: Takeaways from the popular ‘The Pirates vs The Premier League’ podcast

In this Member Insight piece, Richard Brinkman, discusses Piracy off the back of the popular The Pirates v The Premier League podcast.

In common with many that I speak to in the sports industry I regularly enjoy listening to some of the many podcasts that seek to address the business of sport. Unlike most I speak to I am in the privileged position of having one-foot in the industry and one-foot outside it. This means that I do not have any particular attachments or vested interests, and can more easily see the real-world perspective objectively.

With that in mind I have recently particularly enjoyed the Unofficial Partner Gillis/Cutler “collab” The Pirates vs The Premier League. If you have not started listening yet I can thoroughly recommend the first few bite-size episodes. It is as illuminating and thought-provoking as it is revealing.

As well as learning why Richard Gillis normally presents podcasts rather than edits them (for those of a certain age there is more than a whiff of hitting the red button at just the right moment on the cassette player as you listen to the charts on the radio – interestingly early piracy!), or how the Brummie accent can win-over open responses from the most unlikely of sources, you can also get a feel for the size of the piracy issue (courtesy of YouGov) and some salutary lessons that all sport would do well to be mindful of.

Here are some of my “everyman” thoughts about the lessons that the issue of Piracy and the Premier League (ie the unauthorised use of broadcast rights) has given rise to. Those in the “bubble” of sport may wish to ponder (or ignore!) these personal perceptions.

LESSON 1 : If you create a monster you better be sure you can feed it.

Football has always been popular – both in the UK and around the world. The EPL is football on steroids – everything bigger, better and to the Nth degree. Be prepared when the plan comes together and people cannot get enough of it. If you are not prepared to meet that demand do not be surprised (or outraged) when the market and enterprising individuals find a way to do so. Its called competition.

LESSON 2 : Treat a global sport in a global way.

If your ambition is to reap the rewards of universal appeal you will need a universal approach to broadcast and how people can consume your product. If it is one rule for one lot, and another elsewhere, you are creating unequal treatment of different “fans”. This is a breeding ground for piracy and legitimises illegal streaming in the mind of fans who feel they are being “hard done by” in comparison to their peers in other markets.

LESSON 3 : Do not let short-term expediency kick the problem down the road.

At the heart of this issue is good governance. The Premier League is run by the 20 clubs solely for the benefit of the 20 clubs. The voting power of the clubs far outweighs all other constituents. The clubs will almost always do what benefits them the most financially in the short-term. The prioritisation of revenue over stakeholder management of core customers is critical here. The market has been squeezed and the pips are now squeaking.

In the mid-00s the EPL had the opportunity to create and run their own broadcast platform. Ultimately, they decided that it was too difficult and distracting for an organisation that runs a football competition to take this route. Rather they selected the status-quo and out-sourced 99% of the customer experience to broadcasters in exchange for guaranteed fixed income which has consistently risen with each rights cycle.

Short-term this was financially expedient and lucrative. However, out-sourcing means the PL has lost control of how and what their consumers receive and, most importantly, how much they have to pay for it. The PL would do well to speak to the High Street banks or the likes of Vodafone to see how out-sourcing has benefitted short-term financial performance but damaged their long-term viability (think Monzo, Starling, Metro etc). Imagine how much more control the EPL would have over their approach to piracy, their own financial destiny and the ethical arguments over the issue were it running its own broadcast platform.

LESSON 4 : Don’t assume wide-spread support because your approach is deemed “legal”.

I am approaching 30 years of consistent Sky subscription, also subscribe to BT/TNT and pay my Licence fee annually by Direct Debit. I have never watched a football match via an illegal stream. I am as boring, middle-class and law-abiding as they come. Yet, nailing my colours to the mast, I find myself far more sympathetic to the pirates than I am to the Premier League.

How, why? If someone like me is not on the side of legitimate law-abiding business like the EPL then perhaps the issue runs deeper and demands more attention than the industry has given it up until now. Interestingly illegal streaming is almost certainly bigger than the YouGov figures from those that admit to it suggest.  As an aside, a favourite hobby-horse of another podcaster, Roger Mitchell.

Listen to the podcast – the hassle that the average punter is prepared to go through to get pirated football, to the regret in their voice that they are driven to it and then decide if the “its illegal” defence is the most sensible approach.

Condoning the police visiting 1000 homes in the West Midlands suspected of taking advantage of pirated content is counter-productive – an appalling waste of limited resource from the perspective of what else that time could be spent doing. The BBC has spent many years sending goons around to check up on suspected licence fee non-payers yet support for, and payment of, the licence fee has never been lower. Like prosecuting forgetful pensioners jailing a hapless middle-man in London (who registered his business, name and address at Companies House for goodness sake!!) does not make an example of him – more likely a martyr. Incidentally, It also makes absolutely no material difference to the issue!

LESSON 5 : Don’t try to force the genie back into the bottle once it has escaped.

The PL will not be able to rely on the law to extinguish the problem. Just as the drug cheats will always be one-step (at least) ahead of the WADA enforcement agents so the pirates will always find a way. The PL would be better spending the time, money and thought that they commit to detection and enforcement to reducing demand (accepting they will never fully extinguish it).

LESSON 6 : Be very careful that your own house is in order before you play the moral/ethics defence.

The “there are bad men, organised criminals, at the end of this chain” is not an argument that carries any moral weight in the context of football. There has been plenty of pretty organised dubious financial practice at football’s governing body and there is a direct link between some very questionable state-sponsored activities and the owners of Premier League clubs. Other owners have made considerable fortunes from legitimate businesses that are morally debatable – so much so that such businesses would not be allowed on the front of a Premier League shirt.

The EPL does not purport to be a purpose or values-led organisation – and nor should it. So why the high morals when it comes to something that is costing them money?

Equally the “this is not a victimless crime” approach does not hold much water in the real world. If ultimately Sky lose a few subscribers (unlikely – virtually all illegal streamers also watch legitimately) then that is unlikely to elicit too much sympathy. Victims could also potentially be the salaries of players or pundits. I am not convinced too many tears would be shed if Gary Lineker’s £600k pa BBC contract were slimmed down, or if Tyrone Mings’ £3.8m per season, Matt Targett’s £5m per season, or Chris Wood’s £80k per week were to be adversely effected.

Nothing against those players, they are fine professionals but hardly top-draws. The truth is that The Premier League is awash with money. Indeed, it is so excessive that it is little wonder that football fans do not feel their illegal steaming makes any difference to the business.

The EPL could give enforce a 15% wage cut on every first-team player and it would still be by far the best paid league in the world. Mings, Targett and Wood could have their wages halved and they would still be in the top 0.5% best paid in the country (beyond every FTSE100 CEO by the way). Yes, they may leave to play in Saudi but would that really effect EPL attendances or viewership?

Imagine a world where that money might be used to reduce TV subscriptions and ticket prices, launch an access all games for your club pass, extend the excellent job club foundations currently do with less than 1% of turnover and/or increase the contributions across the entire football pyramid? In such a world any football fan might have cause to revisit their decision to illegally stream footage. Truly food for thought.

Bundesliga International extends partnership with Next Media Vietnam

Bundesliga International and Next Media Solutions JSC (Next Media) have renewed their partnership with a new five-year agreement, effective from the start of the 2023-24 season.

Vietnam’s sports marketing and media company, Next Media retains exclusive control over both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 broadcast rights, as well as the German Supercup, relegation play-off matches and additional on-demand shoulder programming.

Having originally agreed a five-season deal in 2020, the previous deal was scheduled to conclude at the end of the 2024-25 season. However, after exceptional on-screen results in the last three seasons as well as a number of successful joint activations both in Vietnam and in Germany, a fitting mutual decision was made, meaning that the collaboration will run for an additional three years, concluding at the end of the 2027-28 season.

With an astounding 500% increase in viewership since the 2019-20 season, the partnership has proven to be an unparalleled success. This remarkable growth underscores the shared vision and commitment to delivering high-quality football content.

As part of the prolongation, Next Media will also work directly with VMG Media JSC (VMG), a market leader in livestreaming football and sports to fans throughout Vietnam. Both parties will work together with Bundesliga International to sublicense the rights to broadcasters, ensuring the best value and reach across Vietnam.

Furthermore, both sides are committed to continuing working together for the development of football at all levels throughout Vietnam. In March 2022, the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Vietnam Professional Football (VPF), centred around improving the technical and sporting expertise, advancing league and club structures, as well as developing the football fan bases and culture in Vietnam. Last November, Bundesliga International supported Next Media efforts to organise the friendly match between Borussia Dortmund against Vietnam National Team in Hanoi to great success, with the game broadcast nationwide by VTV to over 1 million TV households and over 3 million watching on Facebook and YouTube.

In addition, and in cooperation with Next Media, the organisers launched the Bundesliga Youth Incubator Project, a programme in which promising young talents from Vietnam’s national youth teams came to train for several weeks with the youth departments at Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, 1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The youth development project attracted strong media and public interest, with extensive nationwide media coverage generating over 15 million impressions. The success of the Youth Incubator Project has paved the way for future Bundesliga talent development programmes in Asia, including an expanded “Bundesliga Dream Vietnam” project for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Bundesliga International Chief Marketing Officer Peer Naubert said: “When we sign agreements with our broadcasters, our intention is that it will be a long-term partnership based on mutual trust and respect. Prolonging our deal with Next Media is a fantastic reflection on both sides’ commitment to working together, not only on the broadcast product, but as equal partners in the development of football throughout Vietnam.

“When we began three years ago, we embarked on a strategic roadmap, which we have stuck to despite the global changes we faced. Since then, our steadfast commitment to this roadmap has remained unwavering, even in the face of global challenges. This remarkable journey has seen an impressive surge in viewership numbers and culminated in the resounding success of last year’s Youth Incubator Project. All signs point to continued success and we are excited for the next steps in our partnership.”

Nguyen Trung Kien, General Director of Next Media, said: “Following the success of the partnership, the level of cooperation between both parties will ascend to even greater heights. This partnership opens doors to innovative avenues beyond traditional broadcasting, marking a transformative phase in our joint pursuit of excellence.”

Visa appoints Iga Swiatek as global ambassador

Visa, a global leader in digital payments has appointed tennis champion Iga Swiatek to its diverse and impressive roster of Team Visa athletes from around the globe, preparing to compete at The Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Team Visa helps athletes thrive personally and professionally, providing financial support, assistance with philanthropic endeavors, financial literacy tools, and mental health and wellness resources. An incredible addition to Team Visa, Swiatek is a powerful voice championing her local communities and inspiring tennis fans across the globe.


In 2020, at the impressive age of 19, Swiatek made history as the first-ever Polish tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest woman to reach the French Open final. Since then, she has continued to break records, becoming the first Polish tennis player to rank No. 1 in the world. She currently holds four Grand Slam titles, a historic milestone for her nation and age bracket.

“The world has borne witness to the exceptional talent that Swiatek showcased early in her career, and we are proud to welcome Swiatek to Team Visa and champion all that she stands for,” said Frank Cooper III, Chief Marketing Officer, Visa. “Swiatek is an example of what hard work and dedication can do to achieve your dreams, while inspiring the next generation.”

Since its inception in 2000, Team Visa has supported more than 600 athletes with women representing over 50% of the roster. Team Visa provides athletes from around the globe with tools, resources and support needed to achieve their goals on and off the court. Athletes are selected based on athletic achievements, personal journey, and social impact, aligned with Visa’s brand values and priorities including diversity, equity, inclusion and commitment to uplifting their communities.

“I started my career in tennis at a young age and even if I’m still learning, I’m trying to use my voice and become a role model for other young people,” said Iga Swiatek. “Joining Team Visa with so many incredible athletes will help me continue to advocate for what’s important to me, advancing the sport and social issues that matter most to me.”

Fulham FC signs Ebury as official FX Transfer Partner

Fulham Football Club has announced Ebury as the Club’s Official FX Transfer Partner for the following four seasons.

Ebury will become the preferred service for all Fulham FC and Jacksonville Jaguars UK FX transfers.

Ebury offers solutions and services to enable businesses to trade and grow internationally quickly, easily, and securely by removing global barriers. By combining expertise with state-of-the-art technology, Ebury delivers high-impact and diversified solutions across three key areas: payments and collections, business lending and FX risk management. With capabilities in 130+ currencies and a multilingual team across 32 offices in 21 countries, Ebury empowers thousands of organisations through simplified and hassle-free solutions to support their global growth ambitions.

The four-year partnership will allow Ebury to drive its brand awareness to a global audience through Fulham FC’s extensive media backdrops and the Club’s social channels.

During the term, Ebury will also collaborate with Fulham FC to create engaging content featuring the Men’s First Team players, as well as B2B testimonials and case studies.

Commenting on the partnership, Juan Lobato, Ebury CEO, said: “Today, we are delighted to announce our partnership with Fulham as their official FX transfer partner. This collaboration is a significant step forward for Ebury, as we have the privilege to support them both on and off the field. With Ebury as their official FX transfer partner, we are pleased to provide the necessary financial tools and expertise to help Fulham thrive in all aspects of their global operations. On behalf of our 1,300+ Ebury employees, I’m incredibly excited to announce our unwavering support for Fulham throughout the season.”

Jon Don-Carolis, Commercial Director, added: “It is with great excitement that we welcome such a forward-thinking partner to the Club in Ebury. Ebury’s efforts to help businesses through tech innovation will drive the success of this partnership as we showcase Ebury to our fanbase and partner portfolio.”

The Bottom Line: Dramatic falls across Betting and Gaming while Comcast recovers

This month’s iSportConnect Business Index sees big wins among broadcasters and apparel business and some dramatic losses across the Betting and Gaming sectors. Twice CityAM Analyst of the Year, Ian Whittaker gives his views on what has happened over the last month.

The last four weeks has been dominated by the Q2 results season, which are now pretty much done, as well as the usual macroeconomic signals as investors try to navigate what can seem like conflicting sets of data. Apple shares took a hit as investors digested another quarterly revenue decline and what was seen as mixed guidance. Amazon, on the other hand, benefited from stronger than expected numbers.

The same could be seen across the index, with Comcast benefiting from a recovery in Theme Parks and FIlms, thus helping its results while Netflix was dragged down by continued concerns over long-term growth prospects. In Gaming, Roblox suffered a revenue miss which sent its shares tumbling and Electronic Arts, whilst posting decent Q1 numbers, gave fiscal Q2 guidance that was seen as disappointing.

Across the whole gaming space, concerns over mobile gaming continue to linger and that has impacted Tencent, which also was hit by poorly received results. Perhaps the most sub-sector specific newsflow was in Betting where the Penn-ESPN deal caused other names in the space to fall such as Draft Kings. Flutter, meanwhile was impacted by the lack of an expected upgrade to full year guidance at its numbers as well as weakness in its Australian business. Finally, in apparel, continued uncertainties over the pace of Chinese recovery, has impacted Adidas and Nike, although Puma has shrugged off the concerns

Meet The Member: “With golf, you want to tell the storyline of what’s happening on the leaderboard that impacts the macro view of the competition.”

Overseeing the PGA Tour’s digital product development teams and broadcast technology groups, Gutterman regularly has his hands in pushing the Tour forward with new innovations. He was at the forefront of implementing Every Shot Live for the 2021 Players Championship, which livestreamed every shot from every player for the first time at a pro golf tournament. We caught up with him to know more about his journey and work.

Take us of through your journey in sports.

I first started working at sports back when I was working for an internet company, during the first wave of the internet. I was leading a project in 2000-2001 that involved moving Nascar.com, which is the racing NASCAR Racing League here in the States from ESPN & Starwave to Turner Sports at the time.

And that was the first time I’d worked on a sports property and basically ran a team. That was the beginning of what became Turner Sports, which is a huge sports brand here in the States. It has now rebranded as TNT. I worked with NASCAR for many years and did a bunch of interactive stuff, video gaming and other things after that project. And then I met a friend who worked at the PGA Tour who asked me to come down and take a look. So I came down and took a look and turned out I could play golf.

It was a very small team at the time, maybe 10 or 15 people. It was almost like a start-up so I came down here and started building out the teams. We started out very small and had very different ways of approaching sports. Here the Tour was done in joint ventures so when I first got here we were in two joint ventures and the challenge with being in any joint venture is that you’ve got two parties that have to make decisions about things. And when one of them is not aligned with what the goals are, it creates a lot of conflict.

Also, between 2005 and 2012, we came through the whole period of the iPhone being rolled out in the app stores then Android, social media and YouTube, all came up in that same period. So in 2012, we made the decision to take the digital business fully in-house and move away from joint ventures. That’s when we really started building out a team here. Our team if you count all the vendors and staff at that time, went very quickly from probably 20-30 people at that point in time to upwards to 60-70 people. The digital business became a key component of the broader business and became part of our rights deals and we went on to start a whole live-streaming division.

In your time with the PGA Tour, how has your role changed?

It really changed from being focused on the development of the products to being very hands-on with it. Even before sports, I came up as a coder, I understood the  architect of systems so I was always very technically oriented. But my responsibilities have more or less evolved from being a technical architect and product manager to being more of a broader leadership position within the organisation.  I probably work with more Tour departments than I ever have while spending time with our executive team more and more, helping them to understand what comes next and where should we go next. So a lot of my time is spent on shaping where we’re headed next. As these other big projects are going on, I’ll work with our teams and get them pointed in the right direction and part of the role is just to empower the teams here to make sure that they are working on whatever they think is a good idea, or an opportunity for the Tour, whether that’s a fan engagement tool, sponsorship or something for our players. That’s kind of my goal now, to make sure that everybody’s got what they need to go accomplish what they wanted.

Broadcast has changed a lot in the last few years with people wanting to feel as close to the action as possible. How are you guys trying to achieve that?

The most notable initiative is our Every Shot Live initiative, which we started back in 2020 at the Players Championship. This is the ultimate goal of us as a sport to be able to show every fan every shot. So doing Every Shot Live is a big initiative because you what people don’t realize is, we’re on 100-150 acres, there are 18 fields of play. There are often three groups on almost every hole. And so the complexity of getting all of that content off of the course is nothing like any other sport really has to do.

We typically have 24 groups going in the morning at an event and another 24 going in the afternoon, and then the first two days, so 48 groups to show all together. The amount of video has increased, the amount of live videos has increased, the amount of video on demand that we serve has increased in the way that we serve, it has diversified. You can get the simple video highlights on our platforms or you can go and get the story-based type of content that you see like in Instagram reels and others. So finding ways to get fans to see a shot, as we moved to in-app video and now there’s an auto-start video that starts when you open our app, you will be able to see the latest and greatest shots from those players. Our goal is to try and bring everybody closer to the action. We’ve also got the linear broadcast, which is going on during the day, we’ve got four streaming channels that happen with our streaming partners, and we’ve got two more par three streams that run all day with our betting partners.

What are some of the challenges that broadcasting Golf has in comparison to other sports?

With golf, you want to tell the storyline of what’s happening on the leaderboard that impacts the macro view of the competition usually in who is leading and who’s moving up the leaderboard. You have people that want to watch it in different ways so if their favourite player or players are all playing together in a group, you want to be able to see all of them in a group. I think our sport has so many different ways to watch it whether you’re streaming or you’re at an event. I think the complexities involved in golf has always been a challenge and kind of always will be. So finding a way to maintain that macro storyline is really important to us because that’s kind of the big key. Enabling people to watch. Even when Tiger plays, many people didn’t get to see his rounds when he was on Thursday or Friday mornings, or even earlier, Saturday or Sunday mornings. We don’t want our fans to miss that.

Has there been a change in the sort of the consumption habits of golf fans in the last few years? And if so, how do you see this evolving, like, move further moving forward?

You could watch golf three hours a day, four days a week in the time that Tiger started playing. Before Tiger started playing you only got to watch golf two days a week for essentially three hours a day, Saturdays and Sundays. When Tiger started playing, they moved it to four days a week. Then we started streaming from a single hole so that was new. And then in the late 90s, we learned about digital websites. And now you could engage with the PGA tour and see what’s going on seven days a week 24/7. So you had that platform to work on and see the diversity that ended up happening there. But then it exploded into 2007-08 when you got mobile apps and it could be shown on all of them, so now you can engage with the tour, you’ve got social media that pops out, you go quickly from two or three social media platforms to a half dozen that you need to deal with. So what’s ended up happening is kind of the decentralisation of consumption.

And really, you have this proliferation of the ways that when those tools become available to people. They use the internet, or the average person starting to say, “well, you know, what, I’m gonna get all my highlights from Twitter” While you had this decentralisation of consumption, which still continues, there’s a broader amount of content that you’ve now had to create. And so I think the challenge is that we learned very early in the social media days that you can’t just replicate the same piece of content on every platform. Different types of content do well on different platforms. So then you end up having to build teams that are dedicated to YouTube or to different social media.

I think between generative AI and personalization, you’re going to see an even more pronounced decentralization of consumption. Because I think what’s already happening now is the devices that you carry with you every day, right now your phone, is getting smart enough to know what you want when you want. So you’re interested in golf, so you can sign up for push notifications for your favourite players on our app, which push the alerts directly to your phone. Now you don’t have to go in and open an app to see where Rory McIlroy is on the day. You can just look at your phone, you’ll get an alert when it happens.

The next steps are things that are happening around live activities. Now I can say that, my favourite golfers are these three golfers and on my phone all day, while those three golfers are playing, I can just look at my phone and see how those three golfers are different. Or I can look at the live dynamic on the leaderboard or other things. So I think you’re going to see a kind of just detachment from the athlete.

With generative AI coming up the way it has with Siri and Google, Google Home and everything else it’s going to get more productive and smarter so that I could turn to Alexa or I can turn to Siri and just ask them things. It’s going to know the things I want. It’s going to project things on the screen for me, be that on my phone or set of glasses or something eventually down the road. I think now the particular challenge, is what does that world look like? What does that world look like when somebody’s not in the app? How does that impact the way that we give exposure to players that you may not already know? How do you see the whole leaderboard? Where do you access things? I don’t know yet how it’s going impact sponsorships and value but we have plenty of sponsors, so when you look at a screen, there’s a three-and-a-half-inch screen you’re can’t have a whole lot of sponsorship. And the same thing with generative AI when I ask a question of the PGA Tour, the chatbot or other. Over the next 3-5 years you are going to see this slow erosion which will accelerate as people are getting more and more into generative AI and more and more personalization. It will be interesting to see how sponsorship and personalisation work together.

18 holes Augusta or where?

I have had the opportunity to be in Augusta but not play golf. If I had a choice to play 18 holes anywhere right now, it’d be Cyprus on the west coast. It’s a beautiful private course that runs right along the Pacific just near Pebble Beach. And so that’s a place that I’ve never had the opportunity to be at or play so that’s definitely right up there and then of course 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass Stadium course, which is where I do get beaten up.

World Triathlon and the Professional Triathletes Organisation join forces to drive innovation

World Triathlon and the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) have inked a new partnership that will recognise the PTO Tour as the official World Championship Tour of long distance triathlon, using the ‘made for TV’ 100km distance.

The ground-breaking agreement will see the two organisations working closely to create a compelling season-long narrative for the world’s leading triathletes, as the long distance equivalent of World Triathlon’s successful World Triathlon Championship Series, that will include championship racing opportunities for both Professionals and Age Groupers.

The key points of the new partnership include:

1) A points-based competition with Professional men’s and women’s World Championship titles awarded at the end of a season-long tour, as well as the planned creation of up to five Continental Championships at one-off races, including: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

2) All events as non-drafting over the 100km distance (2km Swim, 80km Bike, 18km Run) and operating under World Triathlon rules.

3) Qualification for the Age Group Championships to follow the existing World Triathlon process of National Federations’ selection, with Age Groupers eligible to race in each of the six Championship events, including World and the five Continental Championships.[1]

4) World Triathlon working together with the PTO and its membership on a number of services, including Anti-Doping, Competition Jury appeals, Safeguarding and Manipulation of sport competition guidelines, Technical support with a Technical Delegate from World Triathlon at all events and an extensive Marketing and Commercial collaboration between both organisations.

Commenting on the partnership, World Triathlon President, Marisol Casado, said: “Today marks a significant milestone as World Triathlon proudly announces this ground-breaking agreement with the PTO. This collaboration signifies a powerful alliance that underscores our shared commitment to elevating the sport of triathlon to new heights. By joining forces, we harness the collective passion, expertise and dedication of both organisations to drive positive change and innovation within the triathlon community. Together, we have the opportunity to create a more inclusive, fair, competitive and sustainable landscape for athletes, fans and stakeholders alike. This partnership exemplifies the immense potential that emerges when organisations align their visions and resources, ultimately fostering a thriving environment for the sport we all cherish. As we embark on this journey together, we are resolute in our belief that by working hand in hand, we can steer triathlon towards a brighter, more exciting future.”

PTO Executive Chairman, Chris Kermode, who has previously held a number of leadership positions in tennis, rising to the role of Executive Chairman and President of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), said: “When new formats and organisations emerge in sport, they often have the unintended impact of fragmenting the very sport they aim to promote. In contrast, by uniting together the professional athlete body of the PTO with the international federation of World Triathlon, this partnership has the opportunity to unite the sport under the common goal of growing triathlon – which is essential for the sport to become mainstream.”

PTO CEO, Sam Renouf, himself a former international triathlete and then senior executive at The Active Network, a global leader in growing sports participation businesses, added: “Given the importance of the Olympics and short course racing on the traditional federation funding model, long distance triathlon has largely been left to the ‘private sector’ of for-profit promoters; leading to a fragmented and uncoordinated calendar for both athletes and fans. In partnering together to recognise the PTO Tour as the official tour of long distance triathlon, the PTO and World Triathlon are both elevating long distance triathlon and bringing this part of the sport back into the fold of the World Triathlon family.”

“On the Age Group side, we jointly recognise the uniqueness in triathlon that athletes of any age can strive for and qualify to represent their country in an officially recognised World Championship. The inclusion of Age Group Championship racing throughout the PTO Tour will provide ‘bucket list’ racing opportunities for the global Age Group community, much as the World Marathon Majors have united the global running community.”

Current PTO Athlete Board member and PTO World #6, Paula Findlay, highlighted the importance of the agreement from an athlete perspective:

“As an athlete who’s represented their country at both the Olympics and World Triathlon Championship Series, if you compete and win at the pinnacle of your sport, you want that achievement to be recognised as it is at other distances in triathlon and in all other sports – by calling yourself a world champion. Through the eyes of the professional athletes who set up and co-own the PTO, it is a significant step forward.”

This partnership is not only focused on the launch a new tour of long distance in triathlon, but also on a series of services that World Triathlon and the PTO will be working on together to make the events fairer, more competitive and sustainable. This includes a newly expanded anti-doping program for long distance racing, further details of which will be announced soon.

The Competition Jury appeals will be delivered through the World Triathlon system, including going to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) when needed. World Triathlon will also provide an extensive athlete support system and will implement the guidelines on Safeguarding as well as technical support, including a World Triathlon Technical Delegate on each stop of the new tour. Plus marketing and commercial collaborations between the organisations.

Former PTO Athlete Board member and current IOC Athletes’ Commission member, Alistair Brownlee, who has competed on the PTO Tour over the last two seasons, underlined the importance of the partnership in bringing the sport together to move forward:

“I want to see more people watching top level long distance triathlon, being inspired by seeing the top athletes racing. It’s crucial that the PTO Tour succeeds and I’m convinced that the PTO Tour’s success is triathlon’s success. It’s tough to create something new but ultimately it will benefit every triathlete, so having the PTO join forces with World Triathlon to also add important support services and work more closely together keeps things moving in the right direction.”

Manchester United renews Paul Smith partnership with new campaign

Paul Smith has unveiled a new campaign featuring the Manchester United team, at the start of the new Premier League season, to mark their official partnership as official tailoring partner.

The partnership will see all United players, coaches and team training staff outfitted in Paul Smith’s Modern Working Wardrobe tailoring for matches, special events and official appearances.

The new campaign features several of first-team stars, including Christian Eriksen, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot and Facundo Pellistri.


To reflect the ever-evolving tailoring landscape, Paul Smith has fitted the players with a fresh take on the relaxed suit, namely the brand’s A Suit To Travel In – a lightweight, breathable suit designed for superior crease resistance and ease of movement.

Comprising a classic canvassed jacket in lightweight, breathable construction and a pair of drawstring tailored trousers to allow for freedom of movement, the suit retains Paul Smith’s signature sense of contemporary refinement while focusing on the comfort of the players. Each suit is styled with pieces from the Paul Smith Modern Working Wardrobe edit, including striped knitwear and more.

In recognition of the long-standing partnership and the new season starting, United have launched a limited-edition Paul Smith x United scarf on United Direct.

This season, as part of its ongoing commitment to the team and community, Paul Smith will once again collaborate with Manchester United Foundation, the club’s charitable arm, to offer and fit suits for young graduates of its traineeship programme who are just entering the workforce.