Shorts: Leicester City, Northampton Saints, Wolves
Premier League football club Leicester City’s £194m debts to parent company King Power International have been written off.
Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, whose family have owned the club since 2010, has converted the existing debt into equity.
The Srivaddhanaprabha family made a similar move when they took over Leicester City, when they wrote off £103m of loans with an equity conversion.
A statement from the club read, “The conversion is further evidence of King Power International’s commitment to supporting Leicester City’s long-term sustainability.”
Gallagher Premiership rugby union club Northampton Saints has partnered with UK law firm HCR Hewitsons.
HCR Hewitsons has become the club’s official legal partner and will provide the Saints with expert legal advice to help it deliver commercial and community initiatives.
Ulundi Makhanya, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Saints, said, “The road to growing a modern professional sports club can often be a labyrinth.”
“Potential risks to the club’s success can come from several different directions at any one time, but with HCR Hewitsons’ wealth of expertise, Saints can navigate any issues knowing we are being advised by the best in the business.
“Both HCR Hewitsons and Northampton Saints share a number of values with each other, so we look forward to working with them for the foreseeable future.”
The TTP Cambridge Half Marathon has announced a new partnership with resource management and waste recycling business Countrystyle Recycling.
From the 2023 race onwards, the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon will eliminate up to 50,000 single-use water bottles and instead switch to compostable products.
Adam Moffat, Event Director of the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon, said, “The TTP Cambridge Half Marathon is an event with sustainability at its core. We are very proud of the beautiful Cambridgeshire scenery and want to do our bit to protect it. By using Vegware products, the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon 2023 will ensure it continues to care for the beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside.
“This is a major step forward for the event and it takes us closer to being totally single use plastic free – which is the ultimate ambition. We’ll continue to work with partners and suppliers to ensure a path of being completely single use plastic free in the future.”
The 2023 edition of the race will take place on Sunday 5th March.
Sports metaverse company LootMogul has partnered with London-based sports marketing and commercial rights agency Six Sport.
The new agreement will see Six Sport support LootMogul’s strategic growth plans and ‘expedite the adoption of blockchain gaming for sports organizations and athletes’.
LootMogul offers athletes, sports teams and brands the ability to create virtual ‘sport cities’ to engage with fans, as well as offering in-real-life rewards.
Working with Six Sport, LootMogul aims to expand the web3 community by bringing gamers and sports fans to the metaverse and create ‘long-term, sustainable meta strategies’ for sports rights holders.
Raj Rajkotia, CEO of LootMogul, said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Six Sport, who share our vision on how we can transform sports fan experiences through blockchain technologies. Their expertise, connections and deep understanding of the sports business landscape not only in Europe but also major developed nations, will prove invaluable as we accelerate our growth plans for the sports metaverse”.
Manchester-based sports travel group Destination Sport has announced the next step of its strategic global expansion with the creation of Destination Sport China.
Destination Sport China will provide a destination management service for professional sports organisations throughout mainland China, and support for organisations seeking to expand their presence within the region.
The division will be led by Kris Van Goethem, a sport travel industry expert, who most recently worked as Managing Director MICE, Leisure and Sport for Thomas Cook China.
Van Goethem, commented, “As China re-opens, plenty of opportunities will return to our market. The aim is for our experienced team to make a meaningful contribution in delivering sport event logistics in the region, providing a passionate and reliable service to clients across a variety of sports.”
Sree Varma has stepped down as CEO of iSportConnect and will take up the role of Chairman, with former Chief Strategy Officer Sandy Case filling his role.
Case commented, “It’s an exciting new dawn for iSportConnect as we make some important changes. After 12 years at the helm, Sree Varma has decided to step down as CEO and move ‘upstairs’ as Chairman and as a result it’s a huge honour to step into his pioneering shoes to lead the business forward.
“Those of you who know Sree will know that he co-founded the business with Michael Cunnah back in 2010, but 12 years is a long time for any founder to remain as CEO and this transition allows the team to build on what he has created.”
Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers has launched its One Pack, One Planet commitments to environmental sustainability.
Announced on 1st February 2023, the pledges form foundations for the club to launch and deliver a new phase of its sustainability ambitions. They include becoming a net zero football club by 2040, minimising waste and maximising reuse, and educating and communicating around sustainability.
The launch is a culmination of a year-long partnership with Football For Future (FFF). Senior leaders across Wolves have been working in partnership with FFF to deliver a range of sustainable activity.
Molly Reynolds has left her role as Project Manager at Sport Industry Group, and joined the DP World Tour as a Championship Services Executive.
