iSportconnect, the world’s largest private network for sport business professionals, hosted the most successful Directors’ Club in London to date yesterday evening, with real issues in sport sparking enthusiastic debate.

Panellists for the Question Time style discussion were Ian Ayre, Managing Director of Liverpool FC, Garry Cook, Vice President and Managing Director of UFC EMEA, Bill Sweeney, CEO of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and Nick Caplin, Director of Communications for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (PlayStation).

The Directors’ Club is exclusive events where a specially invited audience can offer questions to speakers through a ‘Question Time’ style panel, followed by a networking dinner. The event follows Chatham House rules which allows the conversation to flow and for delegates and panellists to become heavily involved in the debate.

The evening started with a welcome speech from Michael Cunnah, iSportconnect Chairman, where he announced iSportconnect’s latest partnership with Radiant Studios, the creative design agency who has provided their services to sports clubs such as Cheslea FC.

The panel discussion followed, with topical issues in sport being debated between the panel and room of delegates. Last night’s event delved into the future of sport across the world and real insight was offered from the panel and delegates who came from a range of different sectors.

Sree Varma, CEO and Founder of iSportconnect said: “I am absolutely thrilled with tonight’s Directors’ Club. The aim is to provide an evening of real interaction, debate and insights between the panel and delegates and I think we achieved this tonight. I hope everyone had a great evening and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.”

After the panel discussion, delegates were invited to a networking dinner in a relaxed environment.

The iSportconnect Directors’ Club started in London and has now expanded across the world. After a successful inaugural event in Paris last year, the Directors’ Club will visit Milan on May 16^th, with future conferences planned for Moscow and New York.

Follow us on @iSportconnect and continue the debate through #iSCDirectorsClub

Picture highlights below

(Panellists Garry Cook and Ian Ayre catch up with David Dein and Phil Alexander)

(L-R Mike Foster of the Premier League, London Irish Commercial Director Jim O’Toole and Mike Strachan of Force India  F1)

(Phil Alexander, Chief Executive of Premier League club Crystal Palace)

(David Dein, former vice-Chairman of Arsenal Football Club)

(Roger Maslin of Wembley Stadium networks with Alexandra Goldschmidt of the NFL)

(Oliver Weingarten, former Formula 1 Teams’ Association Secretary General)

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The stadium that will be used for athletics during the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in  2016 will remain closed for a further 18 months after work began on the damaged roof.

The Joao Havelange stadium was closed in March over safety concerns that the roof could collapse in high winds.

Reports suggest that a committee of engineers said they had found a number of problems including broken and twisted supports.

Sebastiao Andrade, a professor of engineering at Rio de Janeiro’s Cathloci University (PUC) who contributed to the study said: “It is a flaw which is related to the way the project was conceived.

“There is a need to reinforce the roof’s structure so the stadium can be used, taking into consideration the proper requirements of safety.”

The stadium was opened six years ago, costing around £128m ($200m) and was seen as a legacy project for the city.

Alexandre Pinto, the city’s official in charge of public constructions, also admitted there had been ‘several mistakes in this project.’

A tragedy

“To close a stadium so soon after it was opened is a tragedy, is a shame,” he said.

Organisers from the Games however said they were ‘satisfied’ the venue would be ready for 2016.

The stadium is named after the former head of FIFA, who was recently embroiled in the bribery scam.

A bid had been placed to rename the stadium, something the authorities in the city were taking under consideration.

Location: Los Angeles, prostate USA

Closing Date: 7th October

Overview:

The Director, price Business Intelligence will be responsible for the enhancement of our data and analytics strategies and increase the use of data to make key business decisions across the LA Kings and other AEG Sports properties. This individual will work as a conduit between all departments to leverage data including recognizing ways to use models tools to help grow revenues or improve efficiency.

Essential Functions:

• – Work with VP, Digital Strategy & Analytics to develop and implement the AEG Sports data strategies
• – Manage data warehouse provider to ensure all data is aggregated appropriately, data quality standards are maintained, all ETL processes are monitored and reports are
• – Design and execute analytics business plan, lead analytics staff and develop new ways to improve the use of data within our organization
• – Manage overall CRM strategy, including staff members, with a focus on staff training, feature development and reporting
• – Work on the development of customer segmentation strategies
• – Gather and document requirements for new database systems, enhancements to existing systems and vendor identification
• – Work with analytics team to improve lead scoring, engagement and retention models
• – Perform detailed data exploration and validation to identify trends, tendencies and anomalies
• – Develop methods and strategies to assist sales teams in maximizing ticketing revenues
• – Assist in developing and maintaining effective team work within departments and offices of AEG worldwide
• – Undertake other duties as requested by the VP, Digital Strategy & Analytics

Skills required

– The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

• – Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal and proven ability to form effective working relationships with all levels of staff
• – Team player who enjoys working in a high achieving and innovative environment, with a commitment to be top of class in sports
• – Structured, organized thinker, with a commitment to quality, who is proven to problem solving and critical thinking skills

Education:

• – College degree required
• – College degree with a technical focus, with an advanced degree preferred

Experience:

• – 5+ years’ experience with administration and development of CRM platform such as MS CRM, Salesforce or Onyx
• – 5+ years’ database design and structuring experience
• – 5+ years’ experience with writing queries in SQL, creating stored procedures, maintenance plans and database performance optimization
• – Knowledge and experience of automated data import and export processes
• – Experience with working with ticketing or transactional data
• – Experience with statistical software and model building
• – Experience with data warehouses, with AWS and Redshift is preferred
• – Experience in professional sports
• – Experience with SAS, SPSS, R or other statistical software
• – Familiarity with technologies like PostgreSQL, Apache Spark, Mongo or Hive a plaus
• – Prior experience managing a staff required
• – Familiarity with email marketing platforms like Adobe Campaign, Exact Target or Eloqua
• How to Apply
• Click to apply HERE

Major League Soccer (MLS) club Orlando City SC has signed a multi-year local broadcast partnership with Cox Media Group.

The deal will see Orlando’s WRDQ TV 27, symptoms part of the Cox Media Group, become the exclusive English-language broadcast home of Orlando City.

More info HERE.

Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president has stepped down from his role on FIFA’s Executive Committee, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) confirmed.

Del Nero finally decided to resign following months of pressure for him to do so as part of the current FIFA crisis.

Read more HERE.