Shorts: Nse, ECB, Bristol City

National Student Esports (NSE) has announced a new partnership with student platform UNiDAYS.

Under terms of the agreement, UNiDAYS becomes an official partner of the British University Esports Championship and will also directly support the Games Innovation Challenge.

With over 2,200 teams and 111 universities competing across 15,000 matches, the British University Esports championship is the focal point of the university esports ecosystem and as a partner, UNiDAYS will be a driving force that supports and empowers the student gaming community.

The Games Innovation Challenge is a game jam competition for students at colleges and universities across the UK. Previous iterations of the competition have seen support from the games industry, with the likes of Epic Games, Unity and Ubisoft involved in the judging process for the competition.

UNiDAYS joins Intel, Monster Energy, DrayTek, Pringles and publishers such as Nintendo and Riot Games working with NSE in its mission to support a thriving esports environment within universities.

Alex Coulson, Managing Director of NSE, said, “This partnership is a natural fit with huge potential and is an exciting step for both organisations. Obviously UNiDAYS is very well known by students already but we are looking forward to helping UNiDAYS form deeper relationships with the NSE community, plus we are excited about the value they will bring to the students too. Ultimately this means lots more support and opportunities for our thriving esports and gaming community which is core to what we do at NSE.”

Juandre Bekker, Industry Leader (Tech) at UNiADAYS, added, “We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey alongside NSE to level up student life. This partnership not only empowers students to excel in their passion for esports and game development, but also enriches their overall university experience by offering them access to the brands they love through UNiDAYS. We can’t wait to see what this year brings!”

The ECB and Initial have extended their period dignity campaign across recreational cricket.

The expanded partnership will see in-cubicle period dignity dispensers provided to all grassroots clubs with girls’ sections across England and Wales.

The roll-out is a nationwide extension of the pilot programme that has been run across Derbyshire with the support of the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation.

Tessa Whieldon, Head of Female Participation at the ECB, said, “We’re delighted to be extending this offer to all cricket clubs with a girls’ section across England and Wales.

“The pilot programme in Derby has been successful, and it’s important for the game that we make our facilities and environments as inclusive as possible to allow people to feel that cricket is a game for them.

“Bringing period dignity to grassroots cricket is one step of many towards becoming a more diverse and inclusive sport and we’re proud to work alongside Initial on that journey.”

Bristol City’s Chief Executive Officer, Phil Alexander, has stepped down from the role.

Jon Lansdown, Chairman of Bristol City, said, “On behalf of the board I’d like to thank Phil for his contribution to the club, which included overseeing the end of the January transfer window and managing the recent summer window, and we wish him well for the future.”

Phil Alexander, former Chief Executive Officer of Bristol City, added, “I’ve really enjoyed my time with Bristol City and the opportunity to be its CEO. The team is in safe hands under the leadership of Nigel Pearson and Brian Tinnion and I look forward to watching the progress over the coming season.”

Northampton Town Women has announced a new partnership with the University of Northampton (UON).

The partnership will see UON become the sleeve sponsor of the Northampton Town Women’s side.

UON has been Northampton Town Football Club’s principal club partner for more than a decade. After previously being the back of shorts sponsor, a relationship which will continue, the university will further support the women’s first team this season under an expanded deal.

Charlene Ward-Greef, Women & Girls Development Officer at Northampton Town FC, said, “We are extremely grateful for the fantastic relationship we have built up with the UON, both their support and the input from their highly skilled staff has really helped continue to drive our female football programmes this season.

“We have developed our female pathways even further and hope to continue to build this relationship long into the future to benefit not only those younger players coming through but to help us with our progress within the aspirational Women’s teams.

“Our players will proudly display the UON logo on their sleeves and add to the great commitment UON are showing to drive the equality of female sports across grassroots and the elite game.”

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