IPL 2021 To Be Held In India Behind Closed Doors

The IPL Governing Council has announced the schedule for VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 to be held in India.

After nearly two years, the IPL extravaganza will return home with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata hosting the marquee event.

The season will kickstart on 9th April, 2021 in Chennai with a high octane clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The World’s Largest Cricket Stadium – Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the Playoffs as well as the final on 30th May, 2021 which promises to be a visual spectacle. The newly-built stadium that hosted India’s second Pink Ball fixture at home with great grandeur will host its first ever IPL.  

Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host 8 matches each. One of the highlights of this edition of the VIVO IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at 4 out of 6 venues during the league stage. 

There will be a total of 11 double headers where 6 teams will play three afternoon matches & two teams will play two afternoon matches. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 PM IST start while the evening games will have a 7:30 PM IST start.

After hosting the tournament safely and successfully in the UAE last year with all safety protocols in place, the BCCI is confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount. 

The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk. The VIVO IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament. 

ICC Announces Expansion Of Women’s Cricket Events

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the expansion of women’s cricket events post the 2023 cycle. 

More teams will compete in both the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup from 2026 onwards as part of the ICC’s long-term commitment to growing the game globally and in a sustainable fashion. 

The revised formats will give more teams the chance to compete on the global stage and importantly provides Members with a window to grow the game domestically and to challenge internationally as the changes take place. 

Manu Sawhney, ICC Chief Executive said, “We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women’s game. We have been building momentum around the women’s game for the last four years investing in global broadcast coverage and marketing to drive fan engagement.

“The results speak for themselves with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 attracting record numbers, 1.1 billion video views, making it the most watched women’s cricket event of all time and having 86,174 fans attending the final at the MCG, a record attendance for a women’s cricket event.

“This decision to expand our women’s events builds on these foundations and allows us to give more member countries greater opportunities to compete on a global stage. This means that more teams will also get the opportunity to compete in the qualification pathways for the respective ICC events over the coming years. I am sure these initiatives will go a long way in helping us achieve our strategic goal of continuing to build strength and depth in the women’s game.”

Women’s Sport Gearing Up For Major Post-Pandemic Push

With International Women’s Day coming this Monday, I look at how women’s sport has grown in recent years and whether it’s going to bounce back.

Between 2011 and 2013, women’s sport sponsorship accounted for only 0.4% of total sports sponsorship and the media coverage of women’s sport stood at 7% of total sports coverage.

But things have changed drastically post-2014 as more and more conversation around women’s sport started taking place globally. Its popularity prior to the pandemic was at an all time high, we witnessed the Lionesses winning the 2019 She Believes Cup, Fallon Sherrock’s incredible run at the World Darts Championship and England winning the Cricket World Cup back in 2017. Visa, and others, have announced landmark multi-year partnership with UEFA and is dedicated to women’s football, following the unbundling by UEFA of sponsorship rights from the men’s game.

Vitality sponsors the England netball team, the Vitality Roses and was main sponsor of the Netball World Cup in Liverpool which sold more than 74,000 tickets and was broadcasted on Sky Sports and the BBC.

In 2019, Barclays was unveiled as Women’s Super League sponsor in groundbreaking deal with The Football Association. AIG signed on to a 5-year title sponsorship deal with the LPGA’s British Open.

“2020’s start appeared momentous for women’s sports as the 86,174 attendance at Melbourne Cricket Ground.”

A Nielsen report titled ‘The Rise of Women’s Sports – Identifying and maximising the opportunity’ said, “Almost one in five adults in the United Kingdom would call themselves women’s football fan.”

That represented a 60% increase in the past two years, while the survey also found a rise in occasions where women’s football is discussed by fans in pubs. The report further stated:

  • 45% of the population would consider attending a live women’s sporting event
  • 46% said they would watch more women’s sport if it was broadcast on free-to-air television
  • 84% of general sports fans are interested in women’s sports

It all seemed very positive, and 2020’s start appeared momentous for women’s sports as the 86,174 attendance at Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Women’s World T20 competition broke multiple records. The included the largest for a women’s cricket match, for a women or men’s T20 World Cup final and for a women’s sporting event in Australia.

However, the pandemic has slowed the momentum for the women’s sports significantly. With no live matches and consequently, no revenue, the scenario has been grim. Tyrrells ended its sponsorship of the Women’s Premier 15s league in August last year, and numerous major tournaments were postponed including the FIFA U-17 WWC and the Olympics.

There is hope though. The Women’s EHF EURO 2020 held behind the closed doors was the most engaging online in the tournament’s history, celebrating a 56 percent increase in social media engagements and 166 percent growth in followers after Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, and the European Handball Federation (EHF) successfully delivered a full scope digital strategy.

Brownie points to Verizon for partnering with NWSL who courageously went on to play the tournament behind closed doors. NWSL final garnered a record audience of 653,000 viewers on CBS.

Also, recently N+1 Singer was named as Chelsea FC Women’s first ever shorts partner and the only exclusive partner of the women’s team who are currently Barclays FA Women’s Super League, FA Continental Cup and FA Community Shield winners.

The government too has stepped in to support women’s sports in the UK. The UK government has earmarked a multi-million-pound winter survival package for women’s sports which is set to boost the finances of netball, soccer, badminton and basketball.

“Although women’s sport has suffered and slowed down due to the pandemic, it hasn’t stopped.”

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) announced that netball will receive 4.2 million pounds ($5.89 million) which will help the Netball Superleague restart its 2021 season.

Furthermore, the IOC announced that 100% gender equality in quotas will be reached at Paris 2024. While women in sport globally have had a strong year, with Annika Sörenstam being elected to lead the International Golf Federation, Kim Ng became the first women in MLB history to be named as the general manager of the Miami Marlins and Becky Hammon became the first woman to serve as head coach in an NBA game.

Olympic gold medal winners Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Simone Manuel, and Chloe Kim have further teamed up to launch a digital media and commerce company called Togethxr that will elevate the stories of women across culture, activism, lifestyle and sports.

Although women’s sport has suffered and slowed down due to the pandemic, it hasn’t stopped. The Indian women’s cricket team is set to play an ODI series with South Africa in India this Sunday and permission for 10% of spectators entry has been granted. With vaccination process happening globally, the women’s sport is prepared to make a very strong comeback.

NBA Signs Bally’s Corporation As An Authorised Sports Betting Operator

Bally’s Corporation, a leading U.S. provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment has announced the formation of a multiyear strategic partnership designating Bally’s as an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

This deal represents Bally’s second sports betting partnership with a professional sports league, following its previously announced official sports betting partnership with the National Hockey League.

The partnership will provide Bally’s with access to official league data, as well as rights to use official NBA marks and logos across the Company’s expanding portfolio of online sports betting products.

“Partnering with the NBA is an exceptional opportunity for Bally’s, adding to our ongoing momentum with professional sports leagues,” said George Papanier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally’s Corporation. “Together with the NBA, we will unlock significant opportunities to provide a greater population of NBA fans with new, creative and engaging sports betting products and services.”

Bally’s and the NBA will also work together on best-in-class practices to protect the integrity of NBA games.

Last year, Bally’s announced a strategic partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group whose 19 regional sports networks account for more than half of the U.S. NBA teams.

World Sailing Signs Musto As Official Clothing Partner Until 2025

World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport has announced Musto as its Official Clothing Partner through to 2025.

The partnership will enable collaboration between World Sailing and Musto to cement Musto’s position as the number one performance sailing brand in the world.


Musto is a brand synonymous with sailing. Steeped in a rich heritage, Musto continue to bring innovative, game changing products to the sailing community to improve performance on the water.

The brand of choice for Olympians, Paralympians, national teams and record-breakers around the world, Musto are pioneers and share World Sailing’s vision for a world in which millions more fall in love with sailing.

As part of the World Sailing and Musto partnership, the community of International Race Officials, responsible for governing the sport on the water at global events, will wear Musto clothing at World Sailing events. In addition, the World Sailing Team will wear Musto at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

World Sailing Chief Executive Officer, David Graham, said, “Musto was an obvious choice for World Sailing’s Official Clothing Partner due to their long and successful legacy in sailing. We are delighted to be partnering with them.

“Their pace of change and innovation is impressive. As our sport evolves with faster, more dynamic boats it puts a greater demand on the kit we wear. Musto have ensured their kit stands up to the harshest of conditions and environments to enable sailors to succeed.

“Our partnership covers the depth and breadth of our sport and will support our joint ambition of growing sailing internationally.”

Among them were some of the sport’s biggest names including: Tokyo Olympic Games team members John Gimson and Anna Burnet of the British Sailing Team, Charlie Enright of 11th Hour Racing Team, and French offshore sailor, Clarisse Crémer – who recently finished 12th in this year’s Vendée Globe.

Scott Over, Commercial Director at World Sailing, added, “The partnership between World Sailing and Musto will enable both parties to work hand in hand to bring innovative and high-performance clothing to the global sailing community. We value the work our Race Officials deliver and look forward to providing them with the kit to allow them to deliver their work on and off the water as well as providing them with an online portal for supplementary items.”

“Our partnership with World Sailing is the umbrella under which everything sits, allowing us to create brand advocacy by engaging the global sailing community from grassroots to Olympic level.” explained Nick Houchin, Musto’s Head of Marketing.

“This partnership cements our position as the sailing world’s leading performance clothing brand and will support our global growth ambitions. Now we are the Official Clothing Partner of sailing’s governing body, we are looking forward to communicating and working with a truly global audience. It is something we are immensely excited about and proud to be a part of.”

Pittsburgh Pirates Renews PNC Park Partnership For 10 Years

The Pittsburgh Pirates and PNC Bank announced a 10-year extension to their current agreement, the centerpiece of which is the continued naming rights of PNC Park.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

PNC has maintained long-standing support of the Pirates for decades, and the bank was instrumental in the success of PNC Park from its inception. With the original 20-year naming rights agreement set to expire prior to the 2021 season, the two Pittsburgh institutions agreed to further extend the relationship and ensure that the ballpark keeps the name of its locally-headquartered, Main Street bank.

“Simply put, the Pittsburgh Pirates are our hometown baseball team, and as Pittsburgh’s hometown bank, we believe the opportunity to renew our agreement makes a great deal of sense,” said Lou Cestello, head of Regional Markets and regional president for PNC in Pittsburgh. “Our relationship with the Pirates is a natural fit, as our two organizations share a focus on providing opportunities for those in our community to succeed, especially young children and families.”

“It is an honor for us to begin the next chapter with PNC. We have long been proud of the relationship between our two brands, and are pleased that PNC shares our optimism in the new course we have set as an organization,” said Pirates President Travis Williams. “The spirit of this agreement reaches well beyond the ballpark. PNC’s shared pride in our city and commitment to make a difference in our community remains an important aspect of our work together.”

Both organizations will continue their ongoing commitment to making a meaningful impact in the community by supporting programs and initiatives aimed at improving the lives of others, especially youth throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Premier Partnerships, which consults with the Pirates organization on their commercial strategy, served as advisors to the Pirates on the the PNC Park naming rights renewal.

The Pirates and PNC broke ground for the ballpark on April 7, 1999, and PNC Park officially opened its gates April 9, 2001. Regarded by many as the best ballpark ever built, PNC Park is an intimate, two-level structure, which offers all fans dramatic views of the downtown skyline and offers players a natural grass playing surface.

Eurosports Claims 30mn Audience For Its Digital Platforms

Eurosport claims its biggest digital audience and engagement since Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018.

In excess of 30 million unique users visited Eurosport’s digital platforms in February, the most since February 2018 when the Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang were being held. This was supported by a host of world-class events screened on its digital and linear platforms including the Australian Open, winter sports World Championship events and snooker tournaments.

Record-breaking audiences were reported for Eurosport’s streaming service, via the Eurosport App, during the Australian Open, with a 36% increase in video starts versus 2020 and an 84% uplift in minutes watched versus 2020

Sizeable increases in unique visitors for Eurosport’s digital platforms during the Australian Open (+61 vs 2020) with significant growth registered in the UK (+244% vs 2020), Italy (+90%), Germany (+53%) and Spain (+25%).

Eurosport’s localised websites registered a significant year-on-year uplift in monthly media starts (+6% vs 2020) and monthly minutes viewed (+28% vs 2020).

Eurosport streaming figures from the Australian Open contributed to triple-digit figure year-on-year growth in sports viewing across Discovery’s streaming platforms for the month of February (+124% vs 2020).

Sam Lyon, VP Content, Eurosport Digital said: “Our mission is to unlock the power of sport; for our audiences, this means having access to all the action as well as premium cross-sport reporting, data, discussion and storytelling, wherever they are.

“Driven by our teams across 18 territories and 13 languages, we take fans to the heart of it all – be that with Novak Djokovic in the Cube at the Australian Open, Kylian Mbappe’s virtuoso performance in PSG’s Champions League win over Barcelona, the Serena Williams story as portrayed in our new Trailblazers series or Bradley Wiggins’ inside take on the world of cycling – informing, entertaining and connecting sports fans is at the heart of everything we do.”

Lyon added: “That commitment to our audiences stands us in fantastic stead ahead of a huge year of sport for us that includes a raft of exciting cross-platform content plans for the Tokyo Olympics that we cannot wait to deliver.”

Baltimore-Maryland 26 Bid Committee Showcases Transformative Hosting Plans

The Baltimore-Maryland 2026 Bid Committee showcased the city’s transformative hosting plans to the FIFA and U.S. Soccer 2026 FIFA World Cup Host City selection delegation during a successful Infrastructure Workshop.

Alongside representatives from the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Baltimore Ravens, President of the Baltimore-Maryland 2026 Bid, Terrance Hasseltine, highlighted the outstanding stadium and infrastructure capabilities, the super-compact city plan and the bid’s priority mission to deliver a FIFA World Cup 2026 experience perfect for teams, fans and FIFA.

Baltimore-Maryland presented the award-winning M&T Bank Stadium, home to the iconic Baltimore Ravens NFL team, as the epicenter of the city’s celebration of football. Benefiting from recent upgrades totalling USD $140 million, the world-class M&T Bank Stadium ranks as a top ten venue in the US in terms of capacity – with the ability to welcome 71,000 fans on a match day.

With an ideal downtown location and excellent domestic and international travel connectivity, M&T Bank Stadium will allow fans to be at the heart of the football festival quickly and conveniently. Situated just 10 miles from the BWI Marshall International Airport and with more than 10,000 hotel rooms within walking distance, the stadium and city plans are also consistently praised for offering a great fan experience and generating a real sports-mad city buzz.

The bid team also explained how the venue was the first outdoor professional stadium in the U.S. to earn a LEED Gold rating for sustainability practices, is equipped with excellent technology – including 4K Ultra HD boards and displays totalling 28,000 sq ft – and fully fulfils FIFA’s natural grass turf requirements.

The bid confirmed that all levels of city and state government fully support the campaign and believe Baltimore-Maryland’s approved urban transformation development – accelerated by FIFA World Cup 2026 participation – will help create a real, tangible community legacy for the city and beyond. In addition to the economic and social boost of staging matches, Baltimore-Maryland will open up the city for greater sporting and recreational use with more green spaces, improved sports facilities and new football development initiatives.

Maryland Lt. Governor, Boyd Rutherford, said: “Maryland is united behind our bid to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to Baltimore. We are fully committed to Baltimore as a great Host City that offers not only quality venues for competition, but a rich history and love of sport that brings people together.

“Baltimore’s diverse communities, public institutions, and business communities are working hand-in-hand and looking forward to providing teams and fans from all over the world with the best FIFA World Cup experience possible. We appreciate the helpful insights provided by FIFA and U.S. Soccer during today’s workshop.”

Terrance Hasseltine, President of Baltimore-Maryland 2026 and Executive Director of Maryland Sports Commission, said: “On behalf of Baltimore-Maryland 2026, we thank FIFA and U.S. Soccer for their leadership and counsel. It was a very positive infrastructure workshop and we’re delighted with the way our campaign is progressing. We were thrilled to present our world-class M&T Bank Stadium and our transformative and compact hosting plans. We are also incredibly proud that our proposed concept offers an unbeatable tournament experience for visiting teams, fans and officials from across the world.

“As a new domestic market for the FIFA World Cup, Baltimore-Maryland is an opportunity for FIFA and U.S. Soccer to capture the attention of more fans and accelerate the overall development of football in the U.S. FIFA World Cup 2026 in Baltimore will provide a great social and economic boost, inspire a new generation of football lovers and create a tangible legacy for all.”

UFC And DraftKings Sign A $350m Betting Deal

DraftKings and UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced a groundbreaking agreement that marks one of the most significant partnerships in UFC history.

DraftKings will become UFC’s first-ever “Official Sportsbook and Daily Fantasy Partner” in the United States and Canada. The sports technology and entertainment company will now be able to offer in-game promotions, activations, in-broadcast odds integrations and UFC branding across its daily fantasy and betting products and will possess rights to use official UFC marks and logos.

On a weekly basis, DraftKings will also provide fans with free-to-play UFC games as well as enhanced prop bets and other innovative sportsbook opportunities. Ahead of UFC 259 on March 6th, DraftKings has launched a free-to-play UFC pool with $10K in prizing, available for fans to enter and compete nationwide.

“This is a massive deal that will benefit UFC, DraftKings, and most of all the fans,” said UFC President Dana White. “DraftKings is the best at what they do in the betting and daily fantasy space, and unlike other sports, UFC has no off season. The action will be non-stop for fans of UFC and DraftKings. This is the most important deal we’ve ever done to increase engagement with our fans and reach new ones, and I’m looking forward to all the exciting things we’re going to do with DraftKings over the next few years.”

“Combat sports, and UFC in particular, have scaled significantly across both our sportsbook and daily fantasy verticals, evolving from a niche offering to a high-demand category that we believe will only grow further as we innovate,” said Jason Robins, DraftKings co-founder, CEO and executive chairman. “While DraftKings and UFC have previously collaborated on specific events, we are proud to become official partners and explore even more impactful integrations that prioritize the fan experience.”

OFFICIAL SPORTSBOOK AND DAILY FANTASY PARTNER


In 2020, both UFC daily fantasy and sports betting saw substantial growth on DraftKings, setting new company records on multiple fronts. For the first time, DraftKings offered customers two MMA Millionaire contests to keep up with the critical mass of customer interest and has plans to offer several additional contests in 2021.

UFC FIGHT CLOCK


DraftKings will also become the presenting partner of the UFC Fight Clock, UFC’s new, proprietary, and innovative time-keeping system. The UFC Fight Clock utilizes state-of-the-art technology, including the most flexible high-definition screens in the world, to provide fighters and fans with the most accurate time-keeping system in combat sports. The UFC Fight Clock is integrated directly into UFC’s production technology, allowing athletes, fans, and officials in the arena to see the same countdown clock per round as viewers watching the broadcast.

There will be up to four UFC Fight Clocks displayed on UFC’s world-famous Octagon, giving fighters a view of at least one clock from any vantage point.

ADDITIONAL BRANDED INTEGRATIONS


The agreement with UFC also provides DraftKings with a branded presence on the Octagon canvas at select UFC events and during Dana White’s Contender Series. In addition, DraftKings will have numerous sponsorship integrations within UFC content on both linear and digital platforms, including live broadcasts and pay-per-views, social media assets, and programming on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading streaming service for combat sports.

Fnatic Renews Partnership With LeTou

Fnatic, London-based esports organisation has announced its partnership renewal with global online gaming entertainment service, LeTou.

Since the start of the official partnership in 2019, LeTou has served as official sponsor of Fnatic’s Dota 2, the multiplayer online battle arena game that sees teams compete against each other in a fantasy environment.

The South East Asia based team is currently competing in the Dota Pro Circuit Season 1 in SEA and is working to qualify for The International, hosted later this year by Valve.

“At Fnatic, we strive to empower our fans and gamers alike. We’re thrilled to expand upon our successful partnership with LeTou and continue to bring unique social and video content to our fans,” said Sam Mathews, Founder and CEO of Fnatic. “We look forward to collaborating on a larger scale with LeTou over the next year.”

As part of the year-long partnership extension, the new LeTou logo will be prominently featured across the chest of Fnatic Dota 2 team jerseys. This collaboration sees the continuation of exclusive co-branded content across social media platforms and in-game competitions. LeTou will also continue with its in-game naming rights for the Fnatic Dota 2 team.

“Fnatic are one of the biggest names in esports and we thoroughly look forward to continuing our partnership for the next 12 months as we watch the team continue their quest to qualify for the International and ultimately challenge for the title,” said Paul Fox, CEO of LeTou. “This partnership has gone from strength to strength in the promotion of our Letou brand and we look forward to the exciting content to come in 2021.”