Shorts: Ascot, Arsenal, Jill Scott

Ascot Racecourse has announced BetMGM UK as the new sponsor of the Clarence House Chase Raceday on Saturday 20th January.

The agreement includes headline sponsorship of the feature contest on the day, the £175,000 Grade 1 BetMGM Clarence House Chase.

Total prize money on offer at the BetMGM Clarence House Chase Raceday in 2024 will be a record £415,000 across the seven races, up 13% from the £366,400 on offer in 2022.

The online betting brand will also sponsor five other races on the card including the £60,000 Grade 2 BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle.

Sam Behar, UK Director of BetMGM, said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Ascot for such a prestigious fixture. It’s a proud moment for BetMGM to be title sponsor for this huge event in the racing calendar, further solidifying our commitment to horse racing. Now we just can’t wait to watch the action, hopefully with a fantastic battle between Jonbon and El Fabiolo!”

Felicity Barnard, Commercial Director and Deputy CEO at Ascot Racecourse, added, “We are thrilled to welcome BetMGM on board as raceday sponsors at Ascot and look forward to working with them across the BetMGM Clarence House Chase Raceday. We are excited about growing this relationship with them and their support is crucial in helping us to deliver record-breaking prize money for the day.

The BetMGM Clarence House Chase is always one of the highlights of the season and it is shaping up to be another high-class running of the race.”

Arsenal FC has partnered with London-based sports marketing agency InCrowd.

As per the deal, InCrowd will introduce a combination of data and supporter activation technologies to develop Arsenal’s existing supporter engagement capabilities.

This includes InCrowd’s Fan Data Platform (FDP), which will aim to segment the Gunners’ supporter audiences and deliver better-targeted and more relevant content, activations, and messaging. 

Juliet Slot, Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal, said, “Everything we do at Arsenal has the supporter at its heart. They are the key to our success, and guide our activity across the whole club. I’m delighted to work with InCrowd on introducing new technology and techniques that will help us deepen the connection we have with our supporters around the world, and how we can use that to better serve them.”

Aidan Cooney, Chief Executive Officer of InCrowd, said, “The selection of several leading InCrowd products marks the start of an innovative and collaborative initiative to create a truly connected digital environment. This will become the absolute pinnacle in engagement and experience; InCrowd is proud to assist Arsenal FC’s bold and forward thinking team in bringing this vision to life.”

British Cycling has announced a new partnership with adaptive cycle manufacturer Ice Trikes.

The partnership aims to ‘support the growth of the limitless disability and para-cycling programme and further widen access to the sport.’

The two organisations will collaborate on the Limitless programme which provides clubs with support and funding to deliver activities for disabled riders.

Lyndsey Hollands, National Disability Manager at British Cycling, said, “This is an exciting step in our long-term ambition to break down the barriers which disabled people when accessing cycling. It’s the first time British Cycling has partnered with an adaptive cycling manufacturer, and will have an incredibly positive impact on our Limitless programme and the ability of clubs to create more opportunities for riders.”

British Basketball League (BBL) club London Lions has partnered with charity Greenhouse Sports.

Numerous initiatives will be launched as part of the new relationship, with focus on engaging primary schools, establishing secondary student leagues, promoting girls’ participation, granting young athletes’ elite-level access, and enhancing coaching delivery.

Vanja Cernivec, General Manager of the London Lions women’s team, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Greenhouse Sports to bring to life the vision we have for basketball in the UK. We believe the sport has the power to be at the forefront of tackling youth inactivity, and promoting physical and mental benefits.

Moreover, we believe this partnership has tremendous potential to help improve outcomes for children in some of the most deprived areas across London by providing a clear pathway to careers within the sport. We look forward to hopefully seeing some of the next generation of London Lions stars coming from programmes just like this.”

Former Lioness Jill Scott MBE has been announced as a speaker for Active Uprising 2024.

Scott will share her story and views during an on-stage conversation with Professor Greg Whyte OBE, in front of more than 700 delegates from across the worlds of health, fitness, sport and politics.

Scott was recently announced as a member of the Government’s new National Physical Activity Taskforce.

Jill Scott, said, “I’m a huge believer in the power of sport and physical activity to improve the health and opportunities of people of all ages, and it’s such an important challenge for our nation to take on.

“I’m delighted to be speaking at Active Uprising and I’m looking forward to discussing my own motivations for helping to create a country where more people can access sport and activity in their daily lives.”

Table Tennis England and GB Table Tennis is set to open a new elite training centre for British table tennis in Sheffield.

The 18-month search for the preferred training centre ended when a partnership was agreed with Sheffield City Trust and Sheffield City Council to relocate its performance programme to the English Institute of Sport Sheffield (EISS).

Adrian Christy, Chief Executive Officer of Table Tennis England, said, “[It’s]a huge step forward towards our ambition to deliver that historic first ever Olympic medal for GB table tennis”. 

The Elite Training Centre will be a dedicated, exclusive space with a clear focus on delivering a world-class training environment.

“We want to make this one of the best elite training facilities in Europe and open our doors to players from across the world to train with our athletes – and for our athletes to know they can get the best possible practice and preparation without having to leave these shores.”

IRIS Sport Media has announced the appointment of Graham Wallace as Chief Corporate and Financial Officer.

Wallace has experience operating in senior positions with Viacom Inc, MTV, and IMG Media.

Graham also has experience in the football industry after working as Chief Financial & Operating Officer at Manchester City FC and Chief Executive Officer at Rangers FC. 

A statement from IRIS Sport Media, said, “We are excited to include Graham in our rapidly growing team, and have no doubt that his experience and broad skillsets will deliver added value to both IRIS and its clients.”

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