Industry Shorts: Renault F1, Cvc, FA Wsl
Formula 1 team Renault will rebrand as Alpine F1 from the 2021 season.
The Renault-owned motorsport brand Alpine has never had a presence in F1 before, but has taken victories in other prestigious races such as Le Mans 24 Hours and rally.
The move will see the Renault team – which has recently announced the returning Fernando Alonso as a new driver for the 2021 season – also race under a new colour scheme, with the French national colours of red, white and blue replacing the yellow and black of Renault.
CVC Capital Partners has become the ‘latest suitor’ to approach The FA about acquiring a stake in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL) according to reports from Sky News.
The news comes after private equity firm Bridgepoint, the owner of Dorna – which holds the rights to stage MotoGP and World Superbikes – were reported to have approached The FA about a similar deal.
In June, Premier League CEO Richard Masters told a DCMS Select Committee hearing over video conference that he hoped the league would return to talks with The FA about greater involvement with the WSL.
Formula 1 has launched a new mobile racing esports competition in a bid to reach a new audience of fans.
Played solely on the Codemasters-created F1 Mobile Racing, the series will feature no live events of broadcasts, with all events being contested in-game.
The series will be a standalone competition, separate to the F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco, and will feature four months of competition with monthly Qualifications Leagues, where a host of in-game challenges and rewards will be available for players competing, before the season climaxes with the Final in December.
UK Athletics CEO Joanna Coates has confirmed that the loss of broadcast revenue from its deal with the BBC – which runs out this year – could have an impact on its ability to host events, including the two UK Diamond League meets in London and Gateshead.
“We are absolutely looking at our event portfolio, and we’ve got to look at whether they financially make sense to us. And if they don’t, then we potentially might not have two,” she said. “They’re all part of the discussions. It’s a moving landscape. I’m not going to categorically say we would have two.”
CAA Base, the talent management agency formed after global sport agency CAA Sports acquired Base Soccer Agency in 2019, has announced that it will represent Real Madrid star Raphael Varane on and off the pitch.
In 2018 Varane became the fourth player in history to win the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup in the same year, and has been represented by his brother Anthony as his manager since 2017. Anthony will continue in that role as part of the agreement with CAA Base.
AC Milan has announced interactive gaming services company Yabo Sports as an Official Regional Partner across Asia from the start of the 2020/2021 season.
The pair will explore new ways to bring the club and its fans closer together, beginning with AC Milan’s first-of-its-kind Digital Summer Tour of China.
