Merry Christmas From Sport Industry Group
He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice, and now he’s off – via doping control…
In the sporting world, 2016 could be a tricky year for Santa to know exactly who has been naughty and nice. With political shifts, economic uncertainty, and true greats taken from us, we thought we’d look back on some of the more triumphant moments for sport in the UK to try and help smooth the bumps of a turbulent year going into the festive period…
The term ‘record-breaking’ is a phrase often thrown around in sport, but this Olympic year, the haul is hard to debate. Former hosts Team GB returned from Rio with 67 medals – seeing off the 65 set at London 2012 in the process. The momentum continued in South America, as our Paralympic stars also triumphed across the board, finishing second overall with 147 medals
Excitement’s building at #T5 ready for the #victoRIOus return of @TeamGB share your messages using #greattobeBAck pic.twitter.com/fGxz9gsh8I
— British Airways (@British_Airways) August 23, 2016
Surely the most unlikely star to grace the top of 2016’s sporting tree is Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri – sacked by Greece after a home defeat by the Faroe Islands – who managed to turn the likes of Danny Simpson and Marc Albrighton from 5,000/1 hopefuls to champions, with Jamie Vardy mentioned in the same breath as Messi and co as a Ballon d’Or hopeful. This tweet also ranks amongst one of the top retweeted tweets of all time…
Leicester City. Champions of England. pic.twitter.com/WRwfysTn2N
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 2, 2016
Also delivering knockout blows in 2016 were Britain’s boxers – the UK currently boasts more world champions (13) than any other nation – with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Carl Frampton set for further title fights in early 2017. Katie Taylor, two fights in to her professional career, is also surely set for title territory sooner rather than later.
We done it! #HistoryMakers pic.twitter.com/OfGvxPHaYC
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) July 31, 2016
England Rugby‘s record winning streak saw the Rugby World Cup disappointment turned on its head to remain unbeaten throughout 2016, with NFL also moving in to Twickenham for the first time.
13 from 13
It’s been a year that no England rugby fan will ever forget…#Carrythemhome pic.twitter.com/Resli2zFLp
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) December 3, 2016
Andy Murray wrapped up a year – which had already seen a second Olympic gold medal and a second Wimbledon title added to the mantelpiece – by becoming world number one for the first time, beating rival Novak Djokovic in the final match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Elsewhere, Chris Froome again proved himself Tour de France champion, Danny Willett triumphed on the greens of Augusta, Johanna Konta became the first Briton to make the top ten of the WTA rankings in over 30 years, and Saracens joined the European elite. Nico Rosberg retired from his Formula One career and left one of the greatest love/hate stories in sport, after finally pipping his Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Lewis Hamilton to number one spot.
Congratulations @JoKonta91 who is the first British woman to finish the year in the @WTA Top 10 for 33 years! #BackTheBrits #HistoryMaker pic.twitter.com/Xynz5nTBqX
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) November 3, 2016
Despite disappointment from Sam Allardyce‘s men’s team, Mark Sampson and his Lionesses completed their qualifying campaign for next year’s European Championships unbeaten.
REPORT: @Jodes_14 scores the winner as our #Lionesses end 2016 by extending their unbeaten run to 10 matches: https://t.co/pKHVhA6t7g pic.twitter.com/yNVNQVHayb
— England (@England) November 29, 2016
And there was this…
Sportsmanship at it’s best.
Brothers in arms. @AliBrownleetri @jonny_brownleehttps://t.co/oxrrIlGR4Ypic.twitter.com/6krysvi11l— Team GB (@TeamGB) September 19, 2016
With a list of truly great sporting moments longer than Peter Crouch’s Christmas stocking, it’s impossible to include every moment of a remarkable year in sport. Closer to home, 2016 also saw the first group of Sport Industry NextGen Leaders take on a year-round Leadership Package that formed 28 talented individuals into a network of potential. There are still tickets available to join the 2017 Leaders as they kick off their journey at Sport Industry NextGen: A Celebration on 2nd February, click here to attend.
#SINEXTGEN ANNOUNCEMENT: Meet our Sport Industry NextGen Leaders of 2017: https://t.co/scMarkpmGR pic.twitter.com/f5ukBEBZhg
— Sport Industry Group (@SportIndustry) October 6, 2016
Meanwhile, the BT Sport Industry Awards 2017 closed for entries earlier this month with record entries as agencies, brands, broadcasters, clubs, governing bodies, rights holders, start-ups and more celebrated their own work both at home and internationally. The Official Shortlist will be announced on 10th February with the winners announced at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2017. Confirm your place in the room here.
In a year that has given us everything from AI to VR to plain old WTF, what will 2017 have in store? Well, Havas Sports & Entertainment have had a go on their crystal ball to see if they can tell us here (hint: it’s eSports).
Agree? Disagree? Let us know as the countdown to Christmas reaches the final furlong on Twitter at @SportIndustry.
Finally, Sport Industry Group would like to wish everyone a very merry christmas and a happy new year. The Sport Industry Daily will return on 4th January 2017.
