ESL and Intel have announced an extension to their esports partnership and together plan to invest more than $100 million in the sector over the next three years to develop technology, events and tournaments.

In addition to kicking off Season 14 of the Intel Extreme Masters in 2019, the partnership also encompasses support of ESL’s premier live esports circuits, including ESL One powered by Intel® and the $1,000,000 Intel® Grand Slam.

The investment will also introduce eSports to new regions of the globe with the hosting of events in countries in the Aia-Pacific region

“ESL and Intel have worked side by side on growing esports for nearly two decades,” said Ralf Reichert, ESL’s Founder and Co-CEO (he was a speaker at iSportconnect’s Lausanne Summit in 2017).

“We built a number of cornerstones of this industry together and helped many gamers in becoming legends of the sport. The long-term extended partnership with Intel opens even more opportunities for us to take our efforts to a whole different level on a global scale.”

John Bonini, Vice President and General Manager of VR, Gaming and Esports at Intel Corporation, said: “This joint investment with ESL into the ecosystem means that the esports growth and innovation that we’ve led over the past two decades will continue.”

“This partnership will advance the rapid evolution of esports, and Intel is committed to ushering in this new era with technology solutions that place the gaming community and fans first.”

As well as being the biggest in terms of investment, Intel and ESL also have the longest standing partnership in esports, starting with ESL’s first events in Germany.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a five-year agreement with Royal Stag, the Indian whisky manufactured and distributed by Pernod Ricard.

The deal, which runs until 2023, confirms the Indian brand as an official sponsor of the upcoming international cricket’s big-ticket events – the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup and ICC World Test Championship.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson (centre in photo) said: “The ICC is pleased to welcome Royal Stag on board as our Proud Partner. We look forward to working together for the next five years in delivering a meaningful experience to the one billion plus adult cricket fans across ICC global events.”

Guillaume Girard-Reydet, MD, Pernod Ricard India (left in photo), said : “We are delighted to have partnered with the prestigious International Cricket Council for the coming five years. We are looking forward to an action-packed partnership, which includes two events in India. As India gets ready to host these upcoming tournaments, this partnership firmly cements our position in the international sports arena. We continue to stay committed to the sport and cherish the spirit of the game.”

Kartik Mohindra, CMO, Pernod Ricard India, said: “Royal Stag has always stood by its brand philosophy of “Make It Large” – inspiring people to dream large and be the creators of their own destiny. Our journey with cricket started in 2000 and since then we have only strengthened our brand associations with the sport, creating a huge impact on cricket fans across the country.”

Retired soccer star Tony Adams has been named as the 29th President of the Rugby Football League.

The former Arsenal and England captain will succeed the current President, Andy Burnham, from 2019 summer.

Brian Barwick, the RFL Chairman, said: “It is a pleasure to be able to confirm these three excellent additions to our team.

“Tony Adams is known and respected throughout sport and beyond, not only for his outstanding playing career with Arsenal, but more recently for his pioneering work with Sporting Chance.

“The charity has helped more than 400 rugby league players since the RFL entered into an official partnership with Sporting Chance in 2011, and Tony himself delivered seminars at Wigan and Hull earlier this year.

On his appointment, Tony Adams commented: “It will be an honour to become the next President of the RFL. I am passionate about working with everyone in the sport to raise the profile of mental health, wellness and resilience, for players and for everyone in Rugby League.

“I’d like to play my part in championing this brilliant sport on the national stage.”

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Fox Sports and the Big Ten Conference have appointed Francois McGillicuddy, GM of Fox’s Ohio regional sports networks, as president of the Big Ten Network (BTN).

The announcement was made today by and Jim Delany, Commissioner of the Big Ten.

McGillicuddy will assume his new role in early 2019 and take over the day-to-day operations for BTN, which are currently overseen by Mark Silverman. Last January, Silverman was elevated to the position of President, National Networks, Fox Sports.

Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer of Fox Sports, said: “We have a terrific team in place at the network and I am confident that Francois will be an outstanding addition given his strong leadership skills, wealth of experience in our industry and proven ability to work with Fox Sports’ partners.”

BTN covers over 1,000 sporting events each year, including football, basketball, Olympic sports and championship events, and carries original programming, in-depth studio analysis and classic games.

BTN is available on multiple platforms, including BTN2Go, BTN’s digital extension delivering live games and on-demand programming to BTN customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets.

Former NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been appointed as President of the NBA G League, the league’s official minor league organisation.

Currently NBA Vice President of Basketball Operations, he will replace Malcolm Turner from January 11, 2019.

In his new role, Abdur-Rahim will be responsible for all aspects of the G League’s business and basketball operations, including the implementation of the newly formed professional path, ongoing testing of experimental rules and league-wide expansion efforts.

The former player  previously worked five years with the Sacramento Kings, serving as an assistant general manager and spent the 2013-14 season as General Manager of the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns (now known as the Stockton Kings).

“I am thrilled to have this extraordinary opportunity with the NBA G League,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I’ve seen firsthand the NBA G League’s remarkable growth under Malcolm’s leadership, and I look forward to working with the players, teams and my colleagues to take the league to even greater heights.”

Under Turner’s four-year era, the NBA G League expanded by 10 teams (from 18 during the 2014-15 season to 28 for the 2019-20 season).

The name was changed from the NBA Development League to the NBA G League as part of a first-of-its-kind naming partnership with Gatorade.

Bayern Munich has announced the introduction of an Apple system for payment and ticketing at the Allianz Arena.

People attending games at the reigning Bundesliga champions’ home stadium in Munich will no longer need to bring any credit card, as the Apple Pay system allows contactless payment.

Fans with an iPhone or an Apple Watch can use their devices at all kiosks and in the fan shops, beginning with the next home game against RB Leipzig on December 19.

“We are very proud to offer this forward-looking payment option using cell phones in the Allianz Arena in conjunction with our partner Apple,” said FC Bayern Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“Continuous modernisation and innovation are hallmarks of FC Bayern München. We are continually investing in new technologies to keep the Allianz Arena current with the state of the art.”

In cooperation with Apple, FC Bayern will be the first member of the Bundesliga to offer its fans a digital ticket solution. Beginning immediately, visitors to the stadium can load their tickets into their Apple Wallets, and only need to hold their iPhone/Apple Watch to the ticket scanner at stadium access points.

Rummenigge said: “Our goal is to process ticketing using only digital technology so that in the future we can phase out paper tickets entirely. In addition to maximising user-friendliness, this step represents a valuable contribution to environmental protection and is thus a further measure in our sustainability strategy.”

“Even in our 14th year of operating the Allianz Arena, we continue to improve the stadium,” said Jürgen Muth, Managing Director of Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH. “User-friendliness is very important to us. I am therefore particularly excited that we can offer an even more effective payment service.”

Dorna Sports has announced a contract renewal to keep Argentina’s Termas de Rio Hondo racetrack on the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship calendar until 2021.

“We have announced the sixth consecutive Argentina Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo and we’ve signed a contract extension for 2020 and 2021,” said Gerardo Zamora, Governor of Santiago del Estero.

“Dorna Sports has invested in us once again. We’re proud because a lot of passionate people have worked to achieve this. Work on the public infrastructure alongside private investment. And we’re happy because, at each race weekend, the amount of fans has increased, having a positive and specific impact on sport in the Termas de Rio Hondo economy and, more indirectly, in the region.”

“For the first time there has been continuity, because we’ve all worked on this a lot since 2014 when it began,” said Carles Jorba, Dorna’s Director of Operations.

“This extension allows us to continue the work that has been done so far and to do that enthusiastically given the incredible importance of the Latin American market for MotoGP. The riders, the teams and partners feel that Termas de Rio Hondo is now well established, they like the track and the improvements made have been continuous and are always positive.”

The Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina has been held at the track in Santiago del Estero since 2014, before which there were ten Grands Prix held near Buenos Aires, with the first having taken place in 1961.

The sixth MotoGP™ event at Termas de Rio Hondo will take place from March 29-31, 2019.