Shorts: Exeter Chiefs, Newcastle Eagles, Remedy

Exeter Rugby has appointed Mongoose Sport & Entertainment to recruit new commercial partners for the rugby union club.

The initiative will see Mongoose work to secure a new front-of-shirt sponsor for both Exeter Chiefs and Exeter Chiefs Women, as well as naming rights for the club’s home, Sandy Park.

Chris O’Donoghue, Chief Executive Officer of Mongoose Sport & Entertainment, added, “We are very excited to be working with Exeter Rugby Club, they are a team who are at the forefront of the game and we couldn’t be happier to be starting this project with them.”

British Basketball League (BBL) club Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles has partnered with Newcastle International Airport as the club’s official airport partner.

“This is another fantastic collaboration that underlines where we’re going as a club. Partnering with Newcastle Airport has — quite literally — helped our Eagles men fly into a new era of European competition. The team has taken to the skies in three European North Basketball League (ENBL) away games already this season and the assistance and support from the Airport has been a huge help.”

“We’re incredibly grateful to the team at Newcastle and it’s great to see them come on board as our official airport partner. We look forward to welcoming the Airport’s staff and their families to our men’s and women’s games through the remainder of the 2023/24 season.”

Sport Industry NextGen alumni Luke Southall has launched Remedy, a new venture dedicated to building fundraising capacity in sport.

Southall, who was in the 2017 cohort of the NextGen programme, has launched Remedy following 15 years as Managing Director of Oaks Consultancy.

The new venture is co-founded with Rahul Bissoonauth – formerly Chief Commercial Officer at Yunus Sports hub.

The pair aim to allow community sport organisations to “access the vital business support services they need to realise their full potential, build crucial internal capacity and develop long-term financial resilience.”

Luke Southall, Co-Founder at Remedy, said, “Remedy is the realisation – from years of experience of working with and supporting sport organisations of all shapes and sizes – that there is a real and genuine dearth of fundraising and business development expertise, capacity and leadership within the sector.

“We believe that to secure the necessary resources and achieve our collective mission of using sport as a catalyst for social change, community sport organisations around the world must prioritise and develop robust fundraising skills. These skills are not a luxury; they are essential for the survival and growth of organisations in this sector.” 

Premier Padel, and Wilson Sporting Goods Co., have announced a sponsorship agreement for Wilson to be the official Premier Padel ball for the upcoming seasons.

Wilson has developed two types of ball exclusively for Premier Padel tournaments.

Eno Polo, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Padel, said, “We are pleased to welcome Wilson to the Premier Padel family as our official ball supplier. This collaboration, designed for the long term, is based on our shared values of elite performance, innovation and the growth of padel worldwide. We are delighted that the players have been part of the design team for the official balls, as we place the players at the heart of our project. This sponsorship supports our ambitions to take the sport to the next level as we continue to build a fully international, athlete-first professional tour.”

Jason Collins, Global General Manager of Wilson Racket Sports, added, “We look forward to working with Premier Padel as we come together to deliver high-quality products for one of the most exciting tours in global sport. It has been a long term objective of Wilson to increase the international profile of padel and to bring the sport to new markets, and this sponsorship supports our vision and commitment.”

Ireland’s bid to host the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2026 or 2027 has been withdrawn.

Catherine Martin, the Irish Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sports and Media and former Northern Ireland Economy Minister Gordon Lyons, had submitted a desire to host to the tour organisers.

However, the Department for the Economy (DfE) said it could not progress to the formal bidding process because of “funding reductions this year and a lack of certainty about the budget position in future years”.

In a statement the DfE, said, “Unfortunately, due to funding reductions this year and a lack of certainty about the budget position in future years, the Department for the Economy had to take the decision that it could not progress to the development of a feasibility study for the all-island bid to host the Tour De France, Le Grand Depart in 2026 or 2027.

“The Department does not rule out taking part in a future feasibility assessment of co-hosting this event, should the opportunity arise.”

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