Shorts: Bpa, Talksport, Sport England
Former Great Britain blind football captain Dave Clarke has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association (BPA).
He will succeed Mike Sharrock who steps down in February after more than four years in the role.
Clarke represented his country 144 times in blind football scoring a record 128 goals in the process. He competed for ParalympicsGB at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games and also in Goalball at Atlanta 1996.
Clarke will also bring experience of a career in banking before he turned his attention to the charitable sector and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, where he was most recently Chief Operating Officer.
Clarke commented, “I am thrilled to be appointed as Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, an organisation that is close to my heart. It is an honour to join at such an exciting time, as we build momentum towards Paris 2024 and strive to deliver greater social impact to challenge perceptions and break down barriers for all disabled people in the UK.”
UK radio station talkSPORT has announced it has secured the exclusive broadcasting rights for England’s next three cricket tours of New Zealand.
The tour dates include a two Test series with England on the 16th-20th and the 23rd-28th February 2023, a three Test series in December 2024, and a white ball tour ahead of the Ashes in 2025.
talkSPORT’s roster of commentators and pundits including double-Ashes winner Steve Harmison, former England captain Mike Atherton, and former Kiwi all-rounders Jacob Oram and Frankie Mackay, as well as commentators Neil Manthorp, Jon Norman, Daniel McHardy and Jarrod Kimber.
talkSPORT cricket also continues its long-term partnership with cricket intelligence platform CricViz, which provides instant statistical input throughout play.
Head of talkSPORT, Liam Fisher said, “Just as England reach new heights with their series win in Pakistan, so will talkSPORT’s coverage across the next three years in New Zealand. It’s a huge honour for us to win these exclusive rights and our dedicated coverage of every ball from every game means cricket fans won’t miss a second of the action.”
Sport England has announced the appointment of Lizzie Hanna as its new Chief Finance Officer.
Lizzie, who will start the role in March, joins from the National Citizen Service Trust where she held responsibility for its full suite of corporate services including finance and commercial and
Sport England Chief Executive, Tim Hollingsworth, said,“This is an important appointment from what was a very competitive recruitment process. I know that Lizzie will come in and do an excellent job as part of our senior leadership team.
“We take our role as investors of public money extremely seriously and the CFO position will not only play a key role in the delivery of all our financial responsibilities and our corporate services, but also ensure that how and what we invest is helping us to meet the goals of our ambitious strategy Uniting the movement.”
Guild Esports, a global teams organisation and lifestyle brand, has announced three senior management hires.
Luke Jones has been appointed Director of Esports and Gaming at Guild Esports, Jones has considerable experience in the esports sector, previously working as Senior Gaming and Esports Manager at Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing and at Red Bull Technology.
Nick Westwood has been appointed Senior Vice President of Creative and Strategy at Guild Esports. Westwood has joined Guild on a permanent basis following a period of providing creative consultancy, and joins from RYFX Media.
Georgia Morison will assume the role of Head of Events and HQ at Guild Esports. Morison has a background in events management, gained from her experience as Head of Premium Services at the O2 Arena in London for Levy UK and as Logistics Co-ordinator at brand experience agency Jack Morton Worldwide.
