LaLiga Agrees 3-Year Licensing Deal With First Touch Games

First Touch Games (FTG), in partnership with LaLiga have announced the global release of FTG’s mobile football game “Score! Hero 2”, the sequel to the original and renowned hit “Score! Hero” which now features licensed teams from the top Spanish competition, LaLiga Santander.  

The original Score! Hero has been a feature of the mobile games market for more than five years, achieving over 300 million downloads around the world and with millions still playing the game every day.

Score! Hero 2 builds on this legacy with a host of enhancements, the pinnacle of which is the introduction of real teams licensed from the best leagues across Europe.

The three-year partnership with LaLiga will see all 20 clubs from LaLiga Santander included in the game. The inclusion of official kits and team names will be a cornerstone of the game and will provide new opportunities for global fans to discover the clubs of LaLiga.

Charles Chapman, CEO of FTG, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with LaLiga for the launch of Score! Hero 2.  Laliga embodies everything that is special about football, showcasing the highest skill, quality and enjoyment that anyone will see anywhere in the world.  It is the these qualities that we aim to bring to Score! Hero, underpinning its success for many years to come.”

Oscar Mayo, LaLiga’s director of business, marketing and international development added: “Tens of millions of fans around the world have already discovered LaLiga through our digital ecosystem, including our official apps, games, OTT platform and content. Partnering with FTG is an exciting way to broaden this visibility through one of the world’s most popular football games, which will be made even more immersive and engaging as a result of having fully licensed teams.”

AELTC Appoints Gus Henderson As Commercial Director

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which stages The Championships,  Wimbledon announced the appointment of Gus Henderson as Commercial Director, effective 1 August  2021.  

Gus joins the AELTC with over 20 years’ experience working across commercial partnerships and media  distribution in sport, music and entertainment throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Currently based in Singapore, his most recent role was Head of New Business & Brands, South  East Asia & Korea for Universal Music Group. 

As Commercial Director, he will be responsible for driving revenue growth in line with the values, brand vision  and philosophy of the AELTC. This includes continuing to build and foster authentic partnerships, alongside  the commercial exploitation of the marketing and brand vision for Wimbledon. He will work closely together  with Alexandra Willis, who also takes up her role as the AELTC’s Communications & Marketing Director from 1  August.  

Sally Bolton OBE, AELTC Chief Executive, commented: “I am delighted that Gus will be joining us in this  important role, as we look ahead to an exciting period of growth. Gus brings with him a truly global outlook, and a wealth of experience in driving revenue growth through working with brands, rightsholders and athletes”. 

Gus Henderson commented: “I am honoured and excited by the prospect of working with Sally and the team  at AELTC, and to help drive the global vision for The Championships. I also look forward to building on the  success and legacy that Mick and the team have worked so hard to achieve. Wimbledon is one of the most  revered and respected brands on the world stage and one that has always been close to my heart.” 

Prior to joining Universal Music Group in 2017, Gus was Vice President, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific, for WME  / IMG, based in Hong Kong, and before that with WWE as International Sponsorship Director based in  London. 

The appointment concludes the extensive external recruitment process for these two roles further to the  announcement that Mick Desmond, the AELTC’s Commercial & Media Director, will be retiring following the  conclusion of The Championships 2021. The period of handover will begin in late May 2021, alongside the  current team’s broader focus on delivering a successful Championships in 2021 under Desmond’s leadership.  

EFL Strikes Hygiene Partnership With Lifebuoy

The EFL has agreed a multi-year partnership with Unilever brand Lifebuoy, the world’s number  one hygiene soap brand, as the League continues to prepare for the safe return of fans to EFL  fixtures.  

The agreement sees Lifebuoy become the ‘Official Hygiene Partner’ of EFL, with activity commencing  at Sunday’s 2021 Carabao Cup Final. The competition’s showpiece final at Wembley Stadium marks  an important day for the EFL and football, as 8,000 people, including 4,000 club supporters make their  way back through the turnstiles as part of the Government’s Event Research Programme.  

The partnership includes branding at Sunday’s final between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City  alongside perimeter signage, programme advertising and presence of Lifebuoy TVCs on big screens  across all 72 EFL Club grounds. Lifebuoy will also have access to tickets for use in consumer  promotions, extensive digital and social media rights and access to players over the course of a  season. 

Lifebuoy will further leverage the community of the EFL’s 72 clubs, with 36.6million people living within  10 miles of an EFL ground, to deliver key hand hygiene messaging and collateral to help ensure a  safe return of fans to stadia across the country. 

Before the pandemic over 18 million supporters made their way through EFL turnstiles and as the  League prepares for their safe return, Lifebuoy will be providing all clubs with vouchers to purchase a  range of sanitising products for fans to utilise when attending fixtures. 

A commitment from Lifebuoy to support the EFL’s ‘Utilita Kids and Girls Cup’ community competitions  will also allow the next generation of players to continue their development under the coaching and  guidance of their local EFL club. 

EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright said: “It remains the number one priority of the EFL to  ensure fans return in full to EFL fixtures as soon as possible, with an important step being made on  Sunday when at the Carabao Cup Final Club supporters are allowed back through our turnstiles for  the first time this year as part of the Government’s Events Research Programme. 

“Part of our ongoing work in this area is ensuring our stadia in England and Wales are ready to safely  welcome back fans and our newly announced partnership with Lifebuoy will provide financial support  and practical assistance to all EFL Clubs who are busy making preparations ahead of season  2021/22.  

“I’d like to thank Unilever and the Lifebouy team for their commitment at this challenging time and the  EFL, alongside its membership, looks forward to working closely together as we emerge from the  pandemic and a return to more familiar matchday operations.”  

Benoit Roger-Machart, Lifebuoy Marketing and Business Development Director, Unilever UK &  Ireland, commented: “With football games being played behind closed doors for nearly a year, fans  are keen to get back to attending live matches. We all need to play our part in keeping people safe  and one of the easiest way to do this is to use hand sanitiser which is why at a time when lower  league clubs have been facing challenges because of the pandemic, we’re proud to provide free  product to allow them to bring their fans back to the terraces in the safest way possible.” 

Formula E Agrees Broadcast Partnership With Star India For Indian Subcontinent

Formula E has announced a new multi-year media partnership with Star India to broadcast the pinnacle of electric motorsport live across the Indian subcontinent.

Star Sports will provide exclusive coverage of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives.

Following coverage of the Rome E-Prix earlier this month, each remaining qualifying and race will be shown on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar, with live races, highlights, preview shows and other programming content also on Star Sports’ television channels.

Disney+ Hotstar will show all of this weekend’s DHL Valencia E-Prix qualifying and race sessions live, including a specific Indian race feed.

The partnership will see Formula E and Star Sports collaborate on bespoke content with a 30-minute live build up show ahead of each race. Star’s linear and digital channels will provide year-round editorial coverage and comprehensive scheduling of non-live programming, telling those stories from across the paddock which are most relevant to Formula E fans across the Indian subcontinent.

With a strong following in the region, the fortunes of India’s Mahindra Racing team will be a natural focus for Star India’s coverage, as the team looks to add to the four race wins and 15 podiums it has achieved since joining Formula E as one of the ten founding teams. It remains the only Indian manufacturer and team in the series.

Red Bull Powertrains Appoints Ben Hodgkinson As Technical Director

Red Bull Powertrains has confirmed the appointment of Ben Hodgkinson as Technical Director.

As Technical Director, Ben will join Red Bull Powertrains in a key leadership role heading up all technical aspects with a key focus on developing Red Bull’s inaugural power unit, to comply with the new Formula One regulations currently planned for 2025.

In the early stages of his career, Ben spent several years developing race engines for the World Rally Championship and designing turbo charged Le Mans engines before joining Ilmor Racing engines, now known as Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. After two decades with the business, Ben will leave his role as Head of Engineering and bring a wealth of experience and expertise to Red Bull Powertrains once the terms of his current contract with HPP are fulfilled.

The formation of the powertrain division represents Red Bull’s single largest investment in F1 since the establishment of Red Bull Racing in 2005 and provides both Red Bull and Scuderia AlphaTauri with sporting autonomy as well as seamless integration of engine and chassis for the first time.

Based in the state-of-the-art, purpose-built power unit facility which is currently under construction at the heart of the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, Ben will lead the powertrain group with full integration into the chassis team to deliver future power units that enable Red Bull to compete for world championships.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ben to Red Bull Powertrains as Technical Director. He comes to this hugely exciting project as a proven race winner and as an innovator capable of leading a like-minded team of highly skilled engineers. When Red Bull announced the creation of Red Bull Powertrains it was also announcing a new phase of the company’s ambition in Formula One – to bring every aspect of car design in-house and to put our destiny in our own hands. The ultimate expression of that is the development of a Red Bull power unit to meet the next generation of Formula One engine regulations. Ben’s appointment signals our long-term intent and we will support him and his team with every available resource required in order to succeed.”

Ben Hodgkinson added: “I’m extremely excited to be joining Red Bull Powertrains as Technical Director. It was not easy to make the decision to leave HPP after almost 20 years but the opportunity to take on such a far-reaching and important project is a great honour. Red Bull is a serious player in Formula One and have been our biggest rival in the hybrid era, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in this new phase of the company’s journey.”

Serie A Club Parma Calcio Strikes Partnership With Stats Perform

Stats Perform, the sports tech leader in data and AI, announced a deal with Italian football club Parma Calcio, recently purchased by Iowa-based Krause Group, which will see the Serie A side become the first club worldwide to access the innovative Edge Recruitment platform, the industry’s most sophisticated player identification tool.

Since the emergence of technical scouting during the mid-2000s, recruitment analysts have been using data to assess prospects through the lens of traditional on-field position labels. Launched earlier this season, Edge Recruitment introduces a new method of assessing players, applying multiple AI-powered models to profile players based on their role in a team.

At the heart of Edge Recruitment is Role Discovery, a model which detects 18 different types of role all over the pitch based on a player’s spatial tendencies, contributions to different phases of play, possession involvement, distribution and shooting tendencies.

Through applying Role Discovery, recruitment analysts can directly compare players who fit the parameters of each role within their game model more objectively. This can streamline the scouting process to ensure that players, who play in the same position on the field, are not assessed like-for-like but instead are analysed in the context of the role they fulfil. Edge Recruitment then enables clubs to benchmark players and compare prospects profiling in the same role across key recruitment markets.

Tommaso Refini, Business Development Manager Italy at Stats Perform, commented: “We are delighted to be enhancing existing processes in place at Parma Calcio and supporting them with access to innovative unique insights. It is going to be a new exciting AI-driven approach to their scouting activity and, thanks to Oliver Krause and his team, we are looking forward to being a part of this journey.”

Oliver Krause, Director of Analytics at Parma Calcio, said: “When we acquired Parma Calcio, one of our pillars for the club is to become a European leader in analytics. Our first step was to find an innovative way to optimize our scouting and recruitment methods. After working with Stats Perform during the final stages of their creation of Edge Recruitment, I was extremely impressed with what I saw and eager to be the first club to use the revolutionary AI tool.

We have already seen the benefits available by identifying young players from unconventional markets who fit the roles we need and can contribute in Serie A. We are looking forward to expanding our use of the data provided by Stats Perform and creating even more value from the partnership.”

Matchroom Acquires Streaming Company Loop

Matchroom is delighted to announce the acquisition of Loop Streaming and Productions Limited, the live streaming and production specialists, with the company becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Matchroom Media Limited.

Loop have played an integral part already at Matchroom through the years working across an array of sports producing streams for both Matchroom’s OTT platform Matchroom.Live, Social Channels and Broadcasters around the globe.

Matchroom Media was formed earlier this year utilising over 40 years of experience in producing and globally distributing live sporting events and is headed up by Director of Programming and Chief Executive Katie Hearn with the division home to production of live events, original documentaries and shoulder programming for all broadcast platforms.

Loop have led the way in pioneering in the latest live production technology; combining cutting edge technology, innovative workflow and strategic multi-skilled staff, with traditional broadcasting techniques and an eagerness to push boundaries in sport production that has ensured high-quality shows for fans all over the world.

The acquisition will take Matchroom’s vast experience and Loop’s world leading live production innovations to new levels delivering content for some of Matchroom’s pillar stones including Boxing, PDC Darts, Matchroom Pool, World Snooker Tour and a host of Matchroom Multi Sport events. Recent productions from Loop have included WST Home Nations and European Series broadcast coverage, all Matchroom Boxing’s Fight Week Activity, Matchroom Multi Sport’s Championship League Pool and the Professional Darts Corporation’s Super Series.

Nick Oldfield, current Head of Production at Loop will become Managing Director: “Katie and Matchroom’s plans to grow its in-house production arm is very exciting. Loop prides itself on its innovative, aggressive and streamlined production workflows. Couple this with Matchroom’s ever growing array of new live OTT and broadcast events, makes for a refreshing move in the industry. Myself and rest of the team can’t wait to get started!”

Katie Hearn: “After many years working alongside Loop, we’re delighted that they will now be a part of the Matchroom Group and look forward to joining forces to grow our production services. We have always been impressed by their progressive approach to producing quality live productions for both OTT and linear platforms and are excited to push on together with more broadcasts.”

Leicestershire County Cricket Club Names energetics-energy As Official Partner

Leicestershire County Cricket Club has announced energetics-energy as a new Official Partner for 2021 and beyond.

The female led energy consultancy business is fully focused on sustainability and zero carbon for businesses and organisations across the UK.

They provide a range of services including green energy procurement and management alongside a comprehensive portfolio of energy reducing technologies offering funding options wherever possible.

To cement the partnership, energetics energy are offering a reduced rate to fans, Members and supporters of Leicestershire CCC who use their switching service and have committed to investing commission back into the Club. For more information as to how to take advantage of this opportunity, please visit www.energetics-energy.co.uk.

Leicestershire CCC Commercial Manager, Tracey Branson said: “It is fantastic to welcome energetics-energy to the Running Foxes this season. The partnership we’ve developed will directly benefit fans, members, sponsors, partners of the club and the wider ranging community as we promote energy efficiency together.”

energetics-energy’s Partnerships Director, Kirstie Wallace said: “We are delighted to be proud partners of Leicestershire CCC, an iconic brand in the sport and their community. We have spent a lot of time working behind the scenes with the Commercial Team and CEO, Sean Jarvis, to create a mutually beneficial partnership encompassing the club and the whole community attached to it.”

Rory Stewart-Richardson, CEO of Connexi, “Two great clients coming together. Firstly, it is great to see energetics-energy, breaking the mould of the energy sector. Led by two females, and focusing on transparency, community whilst achieving mutually benefit partnerships for clubs and fans, I am super excited to see how this unfolds.”

Sportrecs Now Boasts Of 1000 Sports Right Holders

Sportrecs has reached yet another milestone – now our service is home to more than 1000 sports right holders.

Sportrecs is an ultimate video platform for sports enthusiasts and fans. They gather best content from around the globe on a single web site and provide fans with the interactive experience they are craving for.

This is an impressive number, and we believe that it demonstrates the demand for our services in the market, the trust of sports organizations in our mission to create the best streaming service in the world. We would like to thank our partners – we won’t fail, but will continue to further develop Sportrecs to best serve the needs of our industry»,- commented Anatoly Vorontsov, CEO of Sportrecs .

BWF Inks Equipment Deals With Yonex And Victor

Infront, the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) exclusive media and marketing partner, has signed up VICTOR and Yonex as the Official Equipment Partners for the BWF Major Championships 2022-2025.

VICTOR, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of badminton-specific equipment, will become the Official Equipment Partner of the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2022 (Thailand) and 2024 (China), as well as the BWF Sudirman Cup 2023 (India) and 2025 (China).

Yonex will continue in its role as Official Equipment Partner of the BWF World Championships in 2022 (Japan), 2023 (Denmark) and 2025 (France).

Julien Ternisien, Senior Vice President Summer Sports said: “BWF events enjoy a global following and serve as an ideal platform for sponsors. We are delighted to welcome VICTOR as new equipment supplier and look forward to continuing our work with Yonex for another four years. The two global brands will benefit from huge exposure at some of the world’s most popular badminton tournaments.”

BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said: “We are extremely excited to partner with two established equipment suppliers for our Major Championships for the next four years. We look forward to forging strong partnerships with both well-known global manufacturers to help us showcase world-class badminton tournaments across the world.”