Industry Shorts: Efl, Slingsby Gin, Bmw Pga Championship

The EFL announced a new £117.5 million funding package for Championship clubs, in a deal agreed with MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife Inc. 

The news follows the December 2020 announcement of a £50 million package for League One and Two clubs, made available by the Premier League, which has also provided a payment commitment of up to £15m in support of the EFL securing the loan facility from MetLife.  

The EFL says the loans will go to support Championship clubs in meeting PAYE liabilities, and will provide immediate funding, with the £117.5 million amount representing the figure requested by the clubs themselves.

BMW PGA Championship partner Slingsby Gin has launched a new celebrity Golf Academy campaign ahead of the event’s Pro-Am.

The initiative will see singer-songwriter Fleur East, TV presenter Helen Skelton, Sky Sports Formula 1 presenter Natalie Pinkham, and broadcaster Bela Shah take weekly one-on-one lessons with their partner PGA Professional in a bid to learn how to play the sport before competing against each other in a play-off to qualify for the BMW PGA Championship Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday 8th September. In addition, the winner will also receive a £5,000 bonus cheque from Slingsby to donate to a charity of their choice. 

The initiative, supported by Callaway Europe, ultimately aims to encourage more women to take up the sport. 

Legendary music manager Bill Curbishley and Golfing4Life founder, Jimmy Byers, have launched a new sports management company, Trinifold Sports Management (TSM). 

The venture sees Curbishley – who managed the careers of the likes of The Who, Judas Priest, UB40, Robert Plant, and Jimmy Page – join up with the Golfing4Life founder in a bid to support a group of young athletes and provide sporting and life opportunities.

TSM launches with 12 young golfers, including 2019 Walker Cup players Tom Plumb & Tom Sloman, MENA Tour winner David Langley, and Portuguese amateur champion Harry Goddard, as well as 2021 Curtis Cup, Walker Cup and NCAA collegiate players/

Sportsbet.io, Main Club Partner to Premier League side Southampton, has donated its shirt sponsorship for the team’s Easter Sunday clash against Burnley, as well as £10,000 to club charity the Saints Foundation.

The Saints Foundation logo will be displayed across the first team’s shirts during the match at St Mary’s in a bid to raise awareness and funds for the charity. Shirts worn by the players will also be auctioned off to raise further money for the foundation.
 
The Saints Foundation will also ask fans to make a £10 donation to the charity in place of the money they would usually spend on a match ticket, while Sportsbet.io will match the first 1,000 donations made by fans up to a total of £10,000.

Digital bank QNTMPAY has confirmed that Sports and Entertainment marketing agency The Space Between will activate and manage its multi-year Formula 1 partnership with McLaren Racing. 

The agency’s broad-remit brief will see it assist QNTMPAY in launching to market in mid-2021, as well as creating a global campaign, strategic partnership planning, rights holder management, communication support, and marketing activation. 

The news sees The Space Between add QNTMPAY to its existing clients, including Mitsubishi Motors, Vitality. and Principality Building Society.

The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) has appointed Sportradar Integrity Services to monitor and safeguard the integrity of its domestic football competitions.

Under the agreement, Sportradar will monitor over 2,000 matches from the Swedish Ettan, Division 2, U21 Allsvenskan, U19 Allsvenskan, and club friendlies involving Swedish teams during the 2021 season, using its market leading bet monitoring solution, the Fraud Detection System (FDS). 

Sportradar has previously supported the SvFF with its ongoing investigation into a former Allsvenskan player, and under this agreement, the SvFF will again be able to call upon Sportradar’s Intelligence and Investigation Services during the term of the partnership.

Sports travel provider Sportsbreaks.com has been appointed Official Hospitality Partner for Britain’s leading professional cycling events, the Tour of Britain, the Women’s Tour, and the Tour Series. 
 
As part of a five-year partnership with event organisers SweetSpot, Sportsbreaks.com will gain exclusive rights to sell distinctive hospitality packages for all three of this year’s events, as well as for coming years. 

Gloucester Rugby has appointed ticketing engagement platform SecuTix as its Ticketing Technology Partner after a competitive pitch.

The Gallagher Premiership club says the deal is part of a broader digital transformation taking place across the club, and will see SecuTix focus on growing Gloucester Rugby’s fan base, increasing ticketing revenue and providing the best fan experience. 

Gloucester will use the SecuTix 360 platform in a bid to understand their fans better and deliver personalised, targeted marketing campaigns.

British Cycling has announced Plymouth’s Newnham Park as the host venue for the 2021 HSBC UK | National Cross-Country Championships.

The event will take place on 24th and 25th July, and will combine with the Exposure Lights TwentyFour12 Festival to create a nine-day long celebration of mountain biking.