Industry Shorts: Al-khelaifi, Sport Relief, Everton
The Attorney General of Switzerland has charged Nasser Al-Khelaifi, President of Paris Saint-Germain and beIN Sports and a member of UEFA’s Executive Committee, in connection with an ongoing investigation into the sale of FIFA World Cup TV rights.
The alleged offences include inciting former UEFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement. It is alleged that Valcke received ‘undue advantanges’ in exchange for TV rights, with accusations that he accepted rent-free accomodation at an Italian villa bought by Al-Khelaifi.
Khelaifi will not face an additional charge of bribery, however, after FIFA agreed to drop its criminal complaint relating to the awarding of the 2026 and 2030 World Cup TV rights to beIN Sports. READ MORE
Sport Relief’s new ‘Game Raising’ campaign has launched, and calls on gamers to raise money for the charity.
‘Game Raisers’ can set up their own fundraising page and are encouraged to get creative with their money-raising efforts, with the charity suggesting gaming-themed bake sales, cosplay competitions or pay-to-play board game tournaments.
Sport Relief is also engaging with the esports community by encouraging gamers to take part in streaming marathons on platforms like Twitch, YouTube or Mixer and allowing fans to donate money to tackle issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health stigma, and child poverty.
Premiership Rugby has announced two new senior hires as it expands its executive leadership team.
The league has announced former BBC Studios Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Zoë Clapp as its new Chief Marketing Officer, while former Sports Rights Management CEO Mark Brittain takes up the role of Chief Commercial Officer. READ MORE
Everton have appointed Laing O’Rourke as its preferred contractor to deliver its new 52,000 stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
The club says a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) is due to be signed after a procurement process, and that both parties will work in partnership to develop a detailed and robust design and delivery programme.
Discovery has unveiled PURE ETCR, a new Electric Touring Car Racing championship, which will be promoted by Eurosport Events and will make its full season debut in 2021.
The series, which will host showcase events in 2020, will highlight the performance of electric vehicles.
At launch, the series also announced Goodyear as founding partner and official tyre supplier.
Arsenal says it will celebrate saving 500,000 single-use cups from going to landfill when the Premier League side faces Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Last season, Arsenal introduced a reusable cup scheme in partnership with local company Camden Town Brewery. The club says that programme now saves approximately 20,000 cups per game.
In addition to saving half a million cups – which the club says would wrap around the Emirates Stadium 91 times – Arsenal also says it is able to recycle 80% of matchday waste, with all of the collected food waste sent to an anaerobic digestion plant.
Eurosport has extended its rights to screen the Tour de France and La Vuelta a Espana until 2025.
The extension follows an agreement with the Amaury Sport Organisation and Eurovision Sport, and will see Eurosport continue to broadcast cycling’s flagship events across 38 markets in Europe, including the UK.
Italian football club AS Roma says it will talk to other European teams in a bid to broaden the reach of its work with charity Missing Children.
The club has been using its social media transfer announcements to raise awareness of children who have been reported missing, and says it hopes other clubs will also promote International Missing Children’s Day on 25 May.
Rory McIlroy has said he will not compete in the proposed Premier League Golf competition.
The breakaway tournament has been proposed by British-based World Golf Group and would include 18 Grand Prix style golf tournaments featuring the world’s top 48 players.
AC Milan says it has attained a 7.5% increase in ticket sales since partnering with UK digital marketing agency WePlay.
The Serie A club has worked with the agency to drive the growth of the club’s social audience, mobile app and direct-to-consumer revenue streams, and says 25% of the jump in ticket sales has come from a purely new audience.
