Shorts: New York Jets, Lpga, Sportradar

NFL franchise New York Jets has announced Sportsbreaks.com as its official match break partner.

The agreement marks the sports travel brand’s first partnership with an NFL franchise, building upon its existing relationship with NFL UK where it offers official ticket and hotel breaks to the NFL London games.

This partnership will allow New York Jets fans in the UK to travel over the Atlantic and watch their team at the Jet’s 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium.

Rob Slawson, Managing Director of Sportsbreaks.com, said, “We are proud of our longstanding relationship with the NFL and as the Sportsbreaks.combrand continues to grow, we are excited to develop relationships with its teams, starting with the Jets.

“From the outset, we were excited by the New York Jets plans to engage with and grow their UK fanbase as part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program. We look forward to supporting these plans and providing Jets fans with an opportunity to watch their team at MetLife Stadium in the years to come.

“New York is already one of the world’s most in-demand tourist destinations but throw in the chance to watch the Jets at MetLife Stadium and I can’t think of many better weekends for a football fan.” 

Ian Lasher, Senior Vice President of the New York Jets, added, “We’re excited to partner with Sportsbreaks.com to give our international fans a unique opportunity to enjoy the Jets gameday experience at MetLife Stadium.

“Partnering with Sportsbreaks.com, a business with a wealth of knowledge in the sports travel industry, allows us to continue reaching and impacting our fans across the globe. We pride ourselves in bridging the gap with our passionate fanbase in the United Kingdom, expanding our partnerships worldwide, and giving our fans access to New York Jets experience.”

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) body has unveiled a marketing partnership with US sports conglomerate Fenway Sports Management (FSM).

The partnership will focus on developing the tour’s commercial agreements with brands and aims to ‘create unparalleled opportunities for all stakeholders involved.’

As per the agreement, FSM’s partnerships team will assist in selling LPGA partnership assets across the globe, as it does with other sports properties such as Liverpool FC, baseball’s Boston Red Sox, ice hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and golf’s TGL Boston.

The aim is to assist the LPGA in expanding its commercial reach, and to identify and connect with new commercial partners.

Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Commissioner of the LGPA, said, “By partnering with Fenway Sports, one of the world’s biggest and most successful global sports brands, we are taking a significant step forward as we strive to grow our exposure and drive increased value back to our partners and to our members.

“This novel approach and partnership will provide the LPGA with access to new and unprecedented resources and networks, enabling us to accelerate our trajectory of growth, further strengthening our position as the leader in women’s sports.”

John Henry, Principal Owner of Fenway Sports Group, added, “Through this partnership, FSM will deliver a well-established, turnkey team with experience driving commercial revenue for blue chip companies.

“We look forward to a long collaboration and are excited to help expand the LPGA’s capabilities and capitalize on the immense interest they are seeing from brands looking to invest in one of the world’s longest-running women’s professional sports associations.”

U.S. Soccer has agreed a global, long-term partnership with UK-based Sportradar.

The deal aims to enhance and expand distribution of the federation’s data and content internationally.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sportradar has exclusive rights to collect, license and distribute the U.S Soccer’s official betting and media data to both US and international markets.

In addition, Sportradar has won the exclusive distribution rights for live AV streaming of U.S. Soccer competitions for betting purposes.

U.S. Soccer and Sportradar will also collaborate on the development of bespoke data-driven solutions to ‘help deepen existing fan relationships, attract and engage the next generation of national team supporters.’

The deal covers more than 111 matches per year across U.S. Men’s (USMNT) and Women’s (USWNT) National Team competitions.

Eric Conrad, Executive Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Content at Sportradar, said, “The profile of soccer globally across both the men’s and women’s game is the highest its ever been. At this important moment for the sport, this partnership reflects the shared commitment we have with U.S. Soccer to bring the sport to a larger audience both domestically and on an international level.

“We know that when fans place bets on a game, their interest in the sport intensifies. I am confident that our scale, technology and leadership in the market will position us to effectively monetize these rights with a strong focus on future value creation.”

Ross Moses, Vice President of Business Ventures of U.S. Soccer, added, “The partnership with Sportradar is massive for U.S. Soccer. The incredible youth and diversity that strengthen the USMNT and USWNT are just as evident in our fan bases, and this is an obvious area – not only gaming but technology broadly – to accelerate the growth of our sport and connect new partners to important growth demographics. It’s well recognized that the next four years are an unprecedented opportunity for American soccer, and partnering with an industry leader like Sportradar sets an amazing foundation for U.S. Soccer to protect the integrity of the sport while engaging a competitive and fast-evolving marketplace.”

Former British Triathlon CEO Andy Salmon has stepped down to become CEO of Swim England.

After 6 years at the spearhead of British Triathlon, Salmon will step down from his role at the organisation in early 2024, having joined the organisation in November 2017 from his role as Chair at Triathlon Scotland.

Bill James, Chair of British Triathlon, said, “We are naturally disappointed to be losing Andy in the early part of next year, but he will leave with our thanks and appreciation for all that he has achieved. We wish Andy the best of luck in his new role. With Swim, Bike Run being the cornerstone of our sport we hope Andy will have every success at Swim England. British Triathlon is strongly positioned, with a clear strategy and we have an exciting future ahead.”

Andy Salmon, Chief Executive Officer of British Triathlon, commented, “This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me. It has been an incredible privilege to be the British Triathlon CEO and I am enormously grateful to the Board for the support they have shown me over the past six years. There is so much that I will miss about Triathlon, not least the outstanding team of colleagues. However, the opportunity at Swim England is considerable and I will be very excited to start in that role early next year.”

Italian sportswear brand Kappa Teamsports has appointed Keep Communications to serve as its public relations agency for the UK.

Matt Williams, Director of Keep Communications, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Kappa Teamsports. The brand has a rich history of iconic kits that are recognised and renowned all over the world. As an agency, we look forward to working with all the team to not only celebrate their rich legacy in sport but to implement a comms strategy to bring attention to new offerings and services in the coming years.”

Rich Frost, Marketing Director at Advantage Brands, added, “There is an incredible opportunity ahead of us in the Teamsport sector. Participation figures are returning back to pre-COVID levels, and many more influential powers outside of the traditional sports ecosystem are turning on to the socio-economic importance of growing and serving sports in sustainable ways. Kappa is uniquely positioned to bring its long standing flair for creativity to the growing sports communities. To create uniforms for teams, leagues, officials and crews that provide a wearable platform to shout about self and collective identity.

Advantage Brands have focused on a complete change of operating model for the brand, as well as increasing expertise and experience in the key areas of product, design and, service delivery; so now was the right time to find a Comms partner who can help us tell community and product stories in an authentic and creative way. We’re excited to begin re-energising the Teamsport marketplace with Matt and the team, finding new audiences and platforms for us to connect Kappa and its product to.”

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