Shorts: Scottish Fa, Twickenham, Fisher
The Scottish Football Association has agreed a long-term partnership with event technology service Secutix.
London-based Secutix will become the national governing body for Scottish football’s official ticketing partner for events at Hampden Park.
The partnership will include the introduction of a digital-first ticket approach for Scotland’s 51,866 capacity stadium, with a new Scottish FA-branded ticketing app.
The Secutix technology will enable fans attending Hampden Park to easily download and transfer digital tickets.
Anton Fagan, Head of Stadium Operations for the Scottish FA, said, “We saw for ourselves how good Secutix can be when Hampden Park acted as a host venue for EURO 2020 where Secutix successfully managed all the tournament tickets.
“They are leaders in ticketing technology and share our vision for Hampden Park as a multi-use venue. I’m confident this partnership will help us improve the experience for all fans and add real value to the organisation at an exciting time for us, with our role as a EURO 2028 host venue on the horizon.”
David Hornby, Managing Director of Secutix UK and Ireland, added, “We’re thrilled to be working with Anton and his team. Our ambition is to bring fans a better ticketing experience – protecting them from bots and scalpers – and use innovation and fan data to really advance the Scottish FA’s goal of elevating the fan experience for all those attending events at Hampden Park.”
The Twickenham Stadium hotel will be transitioning to a new hotel provider.
Following a tender, with the guidance of the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) official property consultancy and advisor CBRE, the Aimbridge Hospitality company will take over as the operator of the hotel from April 1st 2024.
A refurbishment will be made to rebrand the hotel to a Radisson RED property.
Mark Lynch, Executive Director of Venue at the RFU, said, “Firstly, I would like to thank everyone involved with creating and maintaining a good working relationship between the Rugby Football Union and our current operator since the opening of the hotel back in 2009.
“We are very excited to start a new chapter with Aimbridge Hospitality and Radisson Hotel Group and look forward to the hotel becoming a Radisson RED hotel.
“Both Aimbridge Hospitality and Radisson RED align with the visions and aspirations of the RFU for the Twickenham Stadium hotel, so it’s a relationship that I’m sure will prosper over the coming years.”
European Tour professional golfer Oliver Fisher has joined Integral Sports Management (ISM).
The 35-year-old British golfer has most recently played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Oliver Fisher, said, “I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the team at Integral Sports Management. Their values fully align with my own, and their vision for influencing athletes younger, and with wider expertise on and off the course, is game-changing.
“I was fortunate enough to have time to develop from a young age, inspired by the likes of Nick Faldo. And my intention through this partnership, is to be able to support a new generation of golfers, utilising my learnings, challenges, and successes, to offer guidance and counsel in all areas of their career. ISM has a brilliant team of people, from finance and property, right through to marketing and brand building. Covering all the pieces of the puzzle that a professional athlete needs to succeed today.”
British sportswear brand Castore has appointed former Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at JD Sports Stuart Paddy as its new Investment Director.
Paddy, who has worked at JD Sports since 2016, said, “Delighted to be starting my new role as Investment Director at Castore today. Looking forward to working with Tom, Phil and the team on the next stage of growth.”
Loughborough University’s men’s performance football team has renewed its partnership with Aldi.
Aldi is entering its fourth consecutive season supporting Loughborough.
Richard Wheater, Director of Sport, Loughborough University, said, “We are immensely proud of how our partnership with Aldi UK has evolved over the past three years. We believe strongly in developing our students to be the very best through sport and academic studies and Aldi UK offers an attractive proposition upon graduation.
Kelly Stokes, Recruitment Director at Aldi UK, added, “We are delighted to be working with Loughborough University for the fourth year running.
“Our continued growth means we are always on the lookout for talented, driven and collaborative individuals, and partnerships like this are incredibly valuable in helping us find new potential members of our team to help provide the everyday amazing experience our customers know and love.”
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