Shorts: Todd Boehly, Entourage, TMRW Sports
Todd Boehly, the co-owner of Premier League football club Chelsea FC, is considering a bid for Ligue 1 team Racing Club Strasbourg, according to French sports media outlet L’Equipe.
The report reveals that Boehly has held talks with RC Strasbourg President Marc Keller over acquiring the club, as he looks to build out his European football portfolio.
Boehly and his consortium – that includes US private equity firm Clearlake Capital – are interested in buying a 100% of RC Strasbourg, with the potential of building a multi-club ownership model that is similar to the City Football Group.
Boehly bought Chelsea last May for a fee of £2.5bn, with a further £1.75bn committed to invest into Stamford Bridge.
Entourage Sport & Entertainment has announced Lee Garratty, a former Commercial Director at Soccerex, as its new Talent & Image Rights Agent.
The London-based sponsorship and talent management agency, known for their strategic partnerships across football and other sports, has recruited Garratty to be responsible for commercialising Entourage talent and working closely with brands, sponsors, and agencies on talent procurement and brand partnerships.
Garratty will be bring experience from his thirteen years at Soccerex as Commercial Director where he led the company’s expansion into new global markets.
Garratty commented,“I am delighted to be working with Entourage. As a leading agency in the sports industry, I’m looking forward to imparting my skills and experience from my time in sports sponsorship and talent management. The strategic thinking and approach to each project is clear to see and I look forward to showcasing many successful campaigns in the near future”.
TMRW Sports, the golf technology business recently co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has announced a wave of new hires.
The appointments include Robin Eletto, Chief People Officer; Ross Berlin, Senior Vice President, Player Relations; Wendell Haskins, Strategic Advisor, Social Impact & Community Relations; and Ken Aagaard, Vice President, Broadcast Technology.
Mike McCarley, CEO and Co-Founder of TMRW Sports, said “Additions of proven leaders from across the sports and entertainment industries bolsters the foundation of TMRW Sports as we continue to grow.”
“Robin, Ross, Wendell and Ken bring a wealth of experience from their respective backgrounds with some of the most recognizable companies in sports and entertainment and each of them is already contributing to the success of TGL.”
TMRW Sports recently announced the company’s first project, TGL, ‘a tech-infused, primetime golf league’ launching in early 2024.
Decyfr Sport has appointed former Sportradar Head of Global Strategic Partnerships Steve Byrd and former Head of Sport at Canal+ Digital Sébastien Audoux to its Advisory Board.
The pair join Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds, KPMG’s former Global Director of Sports Tech, Ryan McCumber, and ex-VP of Corporate Partnerships at the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Rod Nenner, on the Advisory Board for the NFL-focused content business.
Decyfr Sport CEO Sid Kohli, commented, “Securing the signatures of Steve and Sébastien will further consolidate our position as a truly global platform for sports fans in traditionally non-endemic markets – as we look to diversify our operations beyond just the NFL and position ourselves as a multi-sport, multi-language offering.
“Steve’s expertise in the US rights-holders space and his network are second to none, whilst Sébastien is a rare content-commercial hybrid, possessing a unique combination of skills that will undoubtedly push Decyfr forward.”
UK-based sports media business River Media Partners has appointed Scott Watson as its new Head of Business Development and Miles Watson as Head of Rights and New Business.
Scott Watson joins the company from Umbro, where he most recently worked as Head of Marketing.
Miles Watson has recently held the position of Commercial Executive from sports broadcast technology provider Deltatre.
