Shorts: England Boxing, Leeds Utd, ECB
England Boxing has partnered with ethical lottery provider Gatherwell to create the Grassroots Amateur Boxing Lottery (GRAB) Lottery.
England Boxing-affiliated clubs will now have the opportunity to sign up free of charge to the GRAB Lottery, enabling them to run a lottery and create a new, sustainable revenue stream to support their ongoing operations.
Avoen Perryman, the Head of Operations at England Boxing, commented, “It’s not merely about producing professional boxers – it’s about engaging with communities, encouraging fitness, and building confidence, all within a supportive environment.”
“The lottery serves as an ideal avenue for the general public to directly support their local clubs and their sport. There are somewhere between 1.5 to 2 million fans of amateur boxing and professional boxing in the UK. The lottery offers them the opportunity to contribute while having a shot at winning something themselves.”
Phil Wright, General Manager at Gatherwell, added, “Lotteries deliver reliable, recurring income to NGBs and affiliated clubs. It’s a straightforward, dependable means of fundraising through a fun and engaging digital platform.”
“Having their own lottery will contribute to England Boxing’s ability to nurture the champions of the future, and is something we want to enable more sports clubs and organisations to be able to achieve.”
EFL Championship football club Leeds United has agreed a partnership with 12BET as its official betting partner in Asia.
The partnership will provide the sports betting and casino company, which was founded in 2007, with geo-targeted assets, club IP and other promotional material.
Rory Anderson, spokesperson of 12BET, said, “We are pleased to have partnered up with Leeds United and look forward to the exciting journey as the club drives to rejoin the Premier League.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Rob Andrew as Managing Director, Professional Game.
Andrew will join the ECB from Sussex CCC, where he has been Chief Executive since 2017.
Formerly an international rugby union player for England’s men’s side, he was also Director of Rugby at Newcastle Falcons and Director of Professional Rugby at the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The new role succeeds that of Managing Director, County Cricket and will see Andrew assuming responsibility for growing and nurturing both men’s and women’s professional domestic cricket.
Andrew moving into the role will enable Neil Snowball to take on the role of Managing Director of Competitions and Major Events.
Rob Andrew, Managing Director, Professional Game at the ECB, added, “I am delighted to be joining the ECB at such an exciting time for cricket, and in particular such an exciting time for the professional men’s and women’s game.
“We all know the landscape for cricket both domestically and internationally has never been more complex, but equally there has never been more interest in the game and collectively we have the chance to build a sustainable future.
“My seven years at Sussex have given me a great insight into the landscape of professional cricket in this country, both men’s and women’s.
“From a men’s cricket point of view, we must cherish the red-ball game in this country and help all 18 counties develop Test players of the future while also finding the right balance with the demands of white-ball cricket, both here and in the franchise world. Equally, the opportunities to take the women’s game forward are immense and working together with all partners will be critical to getting this right.
“I look forward to working with all ECB partners and stakeholders to build on already strong foundations.” women’s game forward are immense and working together with all partners will be critical to getting this right.
“I look forward to working with all ECB partners and stakeholders to build on already strong foundations.”
Table Tennis England has appointed Nick Donald as its new Chair.
Donald, who takes up the position from 1st November, succeeds Sandra Deaton and brings a wealth of experience with a background in finance, investment banking and sports governance.
Donald commented, “I’m delighted to be joining the board of Table Tennis England and look forward to working with my board colleagues and our CEO, Adrian Christy, in helping to drive the implementation of our Table Tennis United strategy and in delivering a World Championships that we can all be proud of in London in 2026.
“I want to ensure that Table Tennis England is relevant, visible and connected with all our stakeholders and that our sport is accessible to all communities.”
Former FA Women’s Professional Game Director, Kelly Simmons, has joined sports communications agency Run Communications in a consultancy role.
With three decades of experience at the FA she played a pivotal role in advancing women’s and girls’ football, including launching the Women’s Super League (WSL).
Simmons will assist Run in ‘expanding projects in women’s and girls’ football, with a focus on the grassroots and community-level impact.’
Steve Chisholm, Founder, Run Communications, said, “Kelly has without doubt been one of the key driving forces behind the incredible growth of the women and girls’ game, so we are absolutely thrilled to be working with her at such an exciting time for it following the recent game changing achievements of the Lionesses and the ongoing success of the WSL. She shares our passion for what this means at all levels of the game but, in particular, to opening up more opportunities for women and girls to play. Her unrivalled knowledge and expertise will be a huge asset to Run.”
England Netball has renewed deals with three of its sports product partners to span the next four-year cycle.
Harrod Sport will continue as the official post protector supplier for all England netball events at a community and elite level including the upcoming Vitality Netball International Series with South Africa this December and the Netball Super League.
In addition, Physique Management will continue as the official physiotherapy product supplier for the Vitality and Future Roses.
Finally, nutrition supplier OTE Sports will continue to provide the national netball team with its products through international season and supplying the netball community with sports nutrition education and offering members discounts on their products.
The extension of these three partnerships follows the recent news about plans to professionalise the domestic game in the UK in 2025.
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