Shorts: AC Milan, Woven, Celtic
AC Milan have entered a strategic partnership with British company Dyson, combining their expertise in both sport and technology.
The collaboration will promote Dyson‘s OnTracTM headphones, which mark the company’s first venture into the audio world.
The headphones feature advanced noise cancellation and high-performance sound, leveraging Dyson’s aero-acoustics research.
Maikel Oettle, Chief Commercial Officer of AC Milan, said, “We are thrilled to announce this collaboration between AC Milan and Dyson, a brand that shares our commitment to excellence and performance.
“ Together, we aim to push beyond the limits of what we can achieve on and off the pitch.”
Jake Dyson, Chief Engineer at Dyson, added, “Dyson has bold ambitions to disrupt the audio industry – as demonstrated by the Dyson OnTrac™ headphones, unveiled this summer.
“To celebrate this launch, we are proud to collaborate with AC Milan.”
AC Milan kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign this evening against Liverpool at the San Siro Stadium.
Former Nike EMEA Communications Director, Richard Glennie, has launched a new creative agency, Woven, which specialises in sport, fashion, design and culture.
Based in Amsterdam, Woven offers consumer-oriented marketing communications, in addition to storytelling across the media landscape.
The company’s Founder and Managing Director, Glennie, brings more than twenty years of industry experience, having previously worked at Nike, Reebok and Tommy Hilfiger in brand and communications roles.
At Nike, Glennie worked with a number of clients, including the football federations of England, France, and Portugal, as well as Liverpool, PSG, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappe.
“The agency model is ripe for disruption. AI and other tools offer a major opportunity, but the goal remains to inspire the human imagination,” Glennie said.
“I’ve founded Woven to offer the sort of agency I valued when I worked in-house. We work with creatives from different disciplines across Europe, to weave stories across all channels and touchpoints.”
Celtic have has made profit for the third year in a row, reporting a post-tax figure of £13.4m for the 2023/24 season.
The Glasgow club’s profit of £17.8m for this year is down from the previous year’s £40.7m, primarily due to a £10m rise in operating expenses.
However, revenue has grown by almost £5m and the year-end cash reserves have increased similarly, reaching £77.2m.
Celtic have reported a £6.6m profit from player sales, compared to the £14.4m made in 2023, with £16.6m spent on player acquisitions. The club signed Luis Palma and Nicolas Kuhn during this period, while winger Liel Abada departed for a reported fee of £8m.
“The decrease in profit before tax, although significant, was in line with expectations,” said Peter Lawwell, Chairman at Celtic.
“However, we cannot and must not be complacent and we must strive for progression as a club as the football industry evolves at a remarkable pace.”
World Athletics President Lord Sebastian Coe is among six other candidates shortlisted to become the next IOC president.
Following Thomas Bach’s announcement of his retirement at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last month, Team GB’s two-time Olympic 1500m champion emerged as a popular favourite to succeed the German after his tenure, which began in 2013.
Despite hitting a setback due to the new IOC age limit, Coe has been named as one of seven confirmed candidates, running against Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, France’s David Lappartient, Zimbabw’s Kirsty Coventry, Japan’s Morinari Watanabe, Sweden’s Johan Eliasch and Jordan’s Prince Feisal al Hussein.
All candidates will make their presentations to the full IOC membership in Switzerland in January.
The new IOC president will be elected in ancient Olympia in March 2025, before taking over in June.
Under the current IOC rules, Coe would not be eligible to serve the full eight-year first term of office, as he reaches the IOC age limit of 70 in two years’ time. However, the former Olympian bypassed similar restrictions when he became President of World Athletics.
Scottish Rugby has introduced a new pilot national academy programme designed to support the growth of emerging male players across the country.
This initiative, led by Scotland’s Head Coach Gregor Townsend and his coaching staff, focuses on identifying and nurturing the best young talent.
A group of 45 players, aged 17-20, have been selected from Scottish Rugby’s regional academies, as well as the Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby Senior Academies to partake in the programme, which will comprise four intensive training camps, each lasting two days, and will run until the end of the year.
The programme will culminate with the Scotland U23s match against Italy in December.
“The creation of a new National Academy has the potential to be game changing in accelerating the development of the next generation of our best young players,” Townsend said.
“There are many players with outstanding ability within Scotland and as a coaching group we are determined to do what we can to enhance the alignment from the regional academies into our professional sides – with the overall goal of producing more players that could represent Scotland at Test level.”
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced the launch of Inside Lord’s, a digital platform offering exclusive access to the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Launching on 1st October, Inside Lord’s will allow fans to experience the best of Lord’s and the MCC through a range of digital content and in-person benefits, including priority access to international matches, discounts and online masterclasses by cricket legends.
Andy Muggleton, Commercial Director at MCC said: “It’s a key priority of the Club to advance our digital offering and give greater access via innovative and easy to use platforms.
“As of 1st October, you can digitally go behind the scenes at Lord’s like never before and we’re excited to welcome our UK and global cricket fans to the Home of Cricket in this new way.”
Consultancy services firm WSBSport has partnered with Padel Ventures in order to enter the UK market.
Padel Ventures and WSBSport will provide planning, consulting, and development services for individuals, businesses and organisations looking to expand or establish padel facilities in the UK.
To mark its expansion into the UK, WSBSport will sponsor the upcoming Property + Padel event at Padium, Canary Wharf, on October 9th.
This event will showcase the merging of padel and property development, reinforcing padel’s role in the UK’s sports and lifestyle landscape.
Pierfrancesco Iazeolla, CEO of WSBSport said “We can help from start to finish. WSBSport has a unique and distinct role to play in the development of the UK padel market, having pioneered and been part of this industry since the beginning.”
Gareth Evans, Founder of Padel Ventures added, “Together, we aim to fill a void in the British market by offering unmatched consulting services that help our clients succeed in the padel industry.”
IMG, has selected Saudi production specialist Alamiya Media to provide additional services and facilities for its coverage of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) and Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) events until 2030.
This partnership enhances IMG’s recent promise to deliver world-class production across the Roshn Saudi League, Saudi Super Cup, and King’s Cup, elevating the fan experience both domestically and internationally.
IMG additionally produces content for the Premier League, Major League Soccer on Apple TV, as well as CBS’ UEFA Champions League and Europa League coverage.
James Clement, Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations at IMG said, “As broadcaster demand and excitement around the Saudi Pro League grows, the opportunities for production innovation grow too.
“We’re looking forward bringing the league’s stories to life through an even higher production quality.”
Stay up to date with the world of sports business by subscribing to the Sport Industry Daily.
