Industry Shorts: Mesut Ozil, London Irish, Let
Mesut Ozil has sparked controversy in China after an Instagram post speaking out against the alleged persecution of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of the country.
His comments saw Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pull coverage of Arsenal’s game against Manchester City on Sunday, while his club has distanced itself from the former Germany international’s views, posting a statement which said: “Regarding the comments made by Mesut Özil on social media, Arsenal must make a clear statement. The content published is Özil’s personal opinion. As a football club, Arsenal has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics.”
London Irish have partnered with Stubhub UK ahead of the Gallagher Premiership club’s move to the Brentford Community Stadium for the 2020/21 season.
The move marks the first time that the club has had a primary ticketing provider, having been unable to partner with a ticketing platform during the team’s time at the Madejski Stadium.
The Ladies European Tour will head to Saudi Arabia in 2020, marking its first event in the country.
The Saudi International will take place in Jeddah in March and will carry a prize fund of $1 million. It will be hosted at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, which is also the venue for the European Tour’s Saudi International which was first staged in January 2019.
Skoda has extended its partnership with both the Tour of Britain and The Women’s Tour, continuing as the Official Car and the Queen and King of the Mountains Jersey Sponsor of both races.
The car brand’s partnership with SweetSpot, the race organisers, dates back to 2011 and is the longest-running jersey partner of the event.
UK start-up Rabble will represent the UK at Le Tremplin Invest, an international pitch contest which will take place at the inaugural Global Sports Week Paris at the Louvre in February 2020.
The start-up, which transforms HITT workouts into immersive games reminiscent of childhood favourites such as bulldog, won the UK qualifier in London which was run by Sport Tech Hub.
Outdoor brand The North Face has announced the arrival of two-time Overall Freeride World Tour Champion Arianna Tricomi as the newest member of its Global Athlete Team.
The big mountain skier joins Markus Eder and Evelina Nilsson – who participate in the same sport – as well as Freeride World Tour Champions Victor De La Rue and Marion Haerty as representatives of the brand.
