Shorts: The R&a, Sportradar, Fuse

The R&A has announced a partnership with private aviation company NetJets.

The multi-year deal will see UK-based NetJets become the official private jet provider to the Open Championship which takes place at Royal Troon from 14^th to 21^st July and allows NetJets to provide its clients with invitations to the iconic golf tournament.

NetJets has long-standing ties to golf, with last year’s winner of the Open, Brian Harman, being an ambassador to the brand.

Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer at The R&A, said, “NetJets has a renowned reputation worldwide for its leadership in aviation, and its long-standing support for golf aligns with our own vision of ensuring that the sport is thriving in the future. We look forward to working with NetJets as we begin a new partnership that will deliver value to players competing in The Open.”

Sportradar has appointed Behshad Behzadi as its new Chief Technology Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. 

Behzadi joins Sportradar from Google where he spent two decades, playing a role in Google’s AI-first strategy as a co-founder of numerous Google products. 

In his new role, Behzadi will ‘drive Sportsradar’s own usage of AI and other advanced technologies to enhance its product offerings’.  

Behzadi said, “Sportradar is an exceptional company and category leader operating at the global intersection of sports, technology and digital content. I am very excited to join an organization that pushes the boundaries on technology and puts a premium on innovation. I look forward to working alongside Carsten, the rest of the executive management team and their talented group of creators to continue Sportradar’s history of innovation as the company enters its next exciting chapter.” 

London-based sports technology business Sportable has secured a £3m investment from Guiness Ventures. 

The investment is set to support Sportable’s game insights and analytics and advanced ball and player tracking technology across several sports, including football, Australian Rules football, American football and rugby. 

Adam Barker, Senior Associate at Guinness Ventures, said, “With this investment, we believe that Sportable is exceptionally well positioned to expand its global presence further, building on its impressive growth to date. Sportable’s existing commercial success across a range of sports not only demonstrates the powerful impact of its data capture and analytics capabilities but highlights its unique market positioning. We look forward to working with the team over the coming years as they continue to execute their strategic vision”  

Sports and entertainment agency Fuse has announced the launch of its new office in São Paulo, Brazil.

London-based Fuse, which is part of Omnicom Media Group, has said that the new office will ‘further cement Fuse’s presence in the LatAm market, enabling it to capitalise on the region’s fastest growing sports sponsorship market.’

The new division will be led by Luiz Fiorese, Head of Fuse Brazil. Fiorese has previously held the position of Marketing Director at São Paulo Futebol Clube, and most recently headed up the sports division at media agency Outpromo, OMG Brazil.

The new office officially opened with a roster of clients that includes insurance company Ezze Seguros, gambling businesses, KTO and F12Bet, online sticker shop, Panini, Comite Olimpico Brasileiro (Brazilian Olympic Committee) payment e-wallet company, Pay 4 Fun and brewing business, Heineken.

Louise Johnson, CEO at Fuse, said, “The momentum in sport in Brazil is very exciting and we’re very proud to be able to bring Fuse’s expertise in sports and entertainment to a new region. We are delighted to welcome Luiz into the Fuse global family, particularly at this pivotal time of growth for the market.”

Loughborough University has partnered with nutrition brand Science in Sport (SiS).

The initial three-year deal will see SiS ‘embedded across Loughborough’s sporting ecosystem’, with the brand offering placement opportunities to Loughborough students and collaborating with the university on research projects.

The campus-wide partnership will also see SiS’s nutrition products stocked in retailers on site.

Rich Ellis, Head of Commercial Partnerships and Sports Facilities, Loughborough University, said, “This exciting partnership with SiS will enable us to provide our athletes with the very best nutritional support to reach peak performance.

“We’re incredibly proud to be leading the way for sport in the higher education sector and working alongside such a well-respected and established brand will only enhance our wider sporting offer.”

Global esports organisation Heroic has announced a partnership with Scottish streaming personality Xenos.

The deal sees Heroic, which competes in Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Fortnite and PUBG Mobile, seal its first-ever long-term content partner.

Alexander Johansson, CMO Heroic, said, “We recently completed the signing of popular Scottish streamer and content creator, Xenos to our organisation as part of our first proper venture into the content creation sphere. We’re very excited to partner with one of the fastest-growing streamers in Europe. His crazy plays and his even crazier raps are a great fit with our style and we can’t wait to work together more – watch this space!”