Shorts: Newcastle United, Sportradar, Bottas
The owners of Premier League football club Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing a takeover of Belgian side KV Oostende.
According to Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, figures from the Magpies Saudi ownership group were at the Ostend stadium and training complex on Monday (17th April), with ‘concrete’ interest in buying the club.
Fellow Premier League side Manchester City, which is also run by a Middle-Eastern ownership group, has one of the most successful multi-club models and the Magpies are expected to follow suit.
The report claims that Newcastle will face competition with the owners of Wolves and Bournemouth also showing an interest.
KV Oostende recently ended a ten-year stint the Pro League, Belgium’s top flight, after the club was relegated.
Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team The Delhi Capitals has partnered with Sportradar.
The three-year agreement sees the global sport technology company become an official technology partner of the Delhi Capitals Academy.
Sportradar will provide FrogBox, a live-streaming technology solution, to the Delhi Capitals Academy and franchises. The agreement also includes the deployment of an electronic scoring app and a mobile-responsive match centre to host live streams and highlights of fixtures as well as live scores, scorecards and results.
Additionally, the Delhi Capitals Academy will be provided Lilypad, Sportradar’s fan engagement and coaching application to curate highlights from streamed matches to be compiled into playlists and shared with academy students for coaching purposes or on social media to promote the academy to a wider audience.
Dhiraj Malhotra, CEO, Delhi Capitals, commented, “This is a key milestone as Delhi Capitals Academy has become the first academy in India to partner with Sportradar and leverage their innovative video technology to develop talent in cricket. This partnership adds value in several ways including enriching local talent and boosting engagement with our fans. We look forward to working with Sportradar to help grow the game.”
Link My Ride, a social cycling app, has acquired investment from a range of names from across sport, including Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas and professional cyclists Daryl Impey, Tiffany Cromwell and Ryan Gibbons.
The new wave of investment in Link My Ride will ‘help to secure the next phases of development’ whilst also adding to the leadership board with the experience and network the new investors will bring.
Speaking of his investment, Bottas commented, “The potential of Link My Ride is huge and when I first learned about the app, I wanted to find out more as I’m keen to explore business opportunities that excite me personally. It connects people on the bike in such a simple way, saving time when organising rides and finding new routes. I’ve organised several rides on the app now, both public and private, and everyone’s always really happy to ride together.”
