Industry Shorts; The Fa, Gallagher Premiership, Extreme E

The FA has confirmed that the 2020 FA Community Shield will be a double header game, featuring both the men’s and women’s editions of the competition.

The traditional curtain-raiser of the new season will take place behind closed doors at Wembley on 29th August, and will see the men’s FA Community Shield supported by McDonalds between FA Cup winners Arsenal and Premier League champions Liverpool, followed by the first Women’s Community Shield since 2008.

Barclays FA Women’s Super League Champions Chelsea will face current Women’s FA Cup holders Manchester City at 12:30pm, live on the BBC, before the men’s competition kicks off at 4:30pm, live on BT Sport.

All of the Gallagher Premiership clubs will show support for the Black Lives Matter movement when season resumes this weekend.

Each club will show its support in its own way, with some players taking the knee before kick off, and others taking a different approach.

Wasps, Harlequins and Leicester Tigers have all committed to kneeling, while players from other clubs will all unite as a team against racism in different ways before matches: the Bristol Bears, for example, will stand in a heart-shaped ring.

Saracens, meanwhile, will wear shirts with anti-racism messages.

Badminton England, England Netball, Basketball England, Volleyball England and Table Tennis England have collectively called on the government to incentivise the reopening of indoor facilities.

The NGBs have called on the government to intervene after coronavirus restrictions have seen indoor sports lose playing spaces almost entirely, with leisure facilities having to prioritise sports halls to accommodate gyms and group exercise due to social distancing. Many other regular venues, such as schools or universities, are also closed.

The group says it expects that thirds of indoor facilities will remain unusable into the Autumn for the 2.4 million people who play indoor sports regularly.

Extreme E has announced that Neat Burger, the plant-based sustainable burger chain backed by Lewis Hamilton, will become its Official Plant-based Partner.

Neat Burger is a collaboration between Hamilton, hospitality organisation The Cream Group, and UNICEF Ambassador and early backer of Beyond Meat, Tommaso Chiabra. 

The partnership will see the chain develop a dedicated burger for each Extreme E race, which will be tailored to the unique flavours and heritage of each host country. The special edition menu will be available for order and delivery from Neat Burger restaurants each month throughout Season 1 of the championship

The Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management partner with Veloce Esports to launch a new esports outfit, YAS HEAT ESPORTS.

YAS HEAT launches with the aim of discovering and developing UAE gaming talent, setting up a new recruitment programme designed to create the leading esports brand in the Middle East. 

The team will first appear in the inaugural season of the V10 R-League, part of the Global Racing Series, competing against motorsport teams such as such as Williams Esports, BWT Racing Point Esports Team, Ford’s Fordzilla team and JAESA TEAM SUZUKI.

Sport travel provider, Clarity Sports, and its supporter travel brand Sportsbreaks, have announced a new deals which will see the brand become Official Match Breaks Supplier to Premier League champions Liverpool and Official Team, Business and Supporter Travel Partner to Scottish Rugby.

The deal with Liverpool will see Sportsbreaks supply supporters with Code Lounge Hospitality Match Breaks at Anfield, which will be available to fans return to stadiums.

The agreement with Scottish Rugby, meanwhile, sees Clarity Sports provide team and business travel for the union, while Sportbreaks will handle supporter away travel and match break packages for BT Murrayfield matches up to the end of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations. 

The World Rowing Federation, FISA, has signed long-term partnership with Sotic in a bid to reinvent its online presence.

The agreement, which was secured after a competitive tendering process, will see the Cardiff based digital Sports agency work on a new website for FISA, which is set to go live in January 2021, enabling the federation to host its own OTT platform.

The London Marathon Charitable Trust has announced a grant of £1million to Transport for Greater Manchester to support its ambition to get more people active through walking and cycling.

According to the Trust, its £1million grant will go towards supporting 10,000 people in up to 60 communities across Greater Manchester to get active and travel sustainably, with a particular emphasis on women, children and BAME groups.