Sports Ticker #116: Football Governance Bill, Ashes series and Sela shirts

In a fortnight which saw Barcelona strike a record €1.7bn kit deal with Nike (ending the 'will they / won't they' debate on Barcelona producing their own kit), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell set his sights on Ireland for an international game and Ferrari sign a multi-year F1 partnership with IBM, we bring you updates on the revived Football Governance Bill, the 2024/25 Women's Sport Investment Accelerator scheme and Sela Sound Shirts for football fans with hearing impairments.

As always, if there are any issues on which you'd like more information (or if you have any questions or feedback), please do let us know or get in touch with your usual contact at RPC.

Football Governance Bill off the bench

 A refreshed version of the Football Governance Bill was introduced to the House of Lords at the end of October and is currently working its way through Parliament to become law. The original Bill was tabled in March pending the outcome of the general election but has since been revived by the Labour government. It aims to establish an independent football regulator with the power to apparently "tackle rogue owners and directors," oversee club finances, and ensure fair distribution of money throughout the English football pyramid. One of the "major changes" to the newly proposed legislation includes the regulator's power to approve club takeovers without considering the government's "foreign and trade policy objectives". This appears to be in response to UEFA's "reminder" of the need to avoid so-called government "interference". The Bill also imposes a requirement on clubs to implement adequate and effective means of engaging with fans on various issues including changes to predominant home shirt colours, club crests and team names. A final standout proposal is that clubs must be transparent and publish what action they are taking to improve equality, diversity and inclusion. The Bill remains in the early stages of the legislative process so watch this space for updates over the coming months.

Pedal to the floor for women's sport investment

 Following a successful pilot in 2023, the UK Government has launched the 2024/25 Women's Sport Investment Accelerator scheme with the aim of attracting more private investment into women's sport and driving growth in the sector. Deloitte are supporting the government in delivering the scheme and providing over 20 elite leagues, competitions and teams across nine different sports with market insights, seminars, connections, and networking opportunities. Poppy Gustafsson, the Investment Minister, hopes that the scheme will capitalise on the recent rapid growth in the industry and looks forward to "speaking to investors and clubs, leagues and teams today about how the Accelerator can drive this growth even further.” More generally, the 2024/25 Women's Sport Investment Accelerator scheme will contribute to delivering on the Government's manifesto commitments whilst also building on the existing support for growing women's sport which includes the £30 million Lionesses Future Fund. 

Kangaroos set to hop back to the UK for Ashes series 

 The Rugby Football League have confirmed that initial conversations have been held with the Australian Rugby League Commission for a three-Test rugby league Ashes series to be held in the UK in 2025. The Ashes series began in 1908 as a best-of-three set of matches between Australia and Great Britain and subsequently saw 39 contests take place before the last full series in 2003 where England lost 3-0. A revival of the tour was set to take place in 2020 but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, it was officially announced that a revamped Test series would take place in Australia, representing the first event in over 20 years, however the Kangaroos are now set to travel to England for the tour. Commenting on the story, RL Commercial, the commercial arm of the Rugby Football League, expressed excitement about "the possibility of bringing the Kangaroos to these shores". England last played Australia at home as part of the Four Nations Tournament in 2016 but suffered a defeat of 36-18, making the Ashes series a highly anticipated rematch. England's head coach, Shaun Wane, stated that facing Australia in a home Ashes series would be the pinnacle of his coaching career.

Paris Saint-Germain challenge Mbappé to court standoff 

 Following a ruling by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), French football heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are set to escalate a wage dispute with their all-time top scorer. Last week the LFP, who act as the governing body of French professional football, upheld a decision ordering that the Ligue One champions pay Kylian Mbappé more than €55 million in unpaid salary and bonuses following his departure to Real Madrid in June 2024. The Les Bleus captain, who previously refused an invitation to mediate the dispute with his former employers, successfully argued that he was owed the sum pursuant to his final contract with the club. Representatives for PSG posited otherwise, suggesting that the La Liga forward's claims were in "bad faith" due to alleged verbal agreements to legally amend his contract last year. The club has yet to issue a full statement following the LFP's ruling but has confirmed that it regards the decision as "non-binding", and that should Mbappé attempt to enforce it, it will be "forced to bring the case before the competent courts."

UFC and KICK agree knockout partnership 

UFC recently announced a global marketing partnership with KICK, the community-driven streaming platform which has previously partnered with brands including Everton FC, Stake F1 Team, and Kick Sauber. The collaboration will result in a UFC-dedicated channel featuring fights, press conferences and behind-the-scenes footage with the aim of enabling fans to connect more deeply with their favourite athletes. In return, KICK will be named as an Official Partner of UFC and benefit from the visibility offered by the 700 million fans spanning across 170 countries and the estimated 975 million households that receive UFC's broadcasts. The partnership debuted on 26 October 2024 at UFC 308: TOPURIA vs Holloway with KICK's logo prominently featuring on the octagon canvas in Abu Dhabi. Nicholas Smith, Vice President of Global Partnerships for TKO, stated "We’re looking forward to our KICK channel becoming a strong, reliable platform to drive awareness for all our live UFC events, while enhancing the UFC live experience with unique, compelling content for UFC fans around the world."

Extra time...

…and finally, Newcastle United have partnered with Sela and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) to kickstart their campaign to offer football fans with hearing impairments the opportunity to try out their new cutting-edge haptic shirt technology at St James' Park throughout the 2024/25 season. Introduced as part of Sela's Unsilence the Crowd campaign in honour of Deaf Awareness Week 2024, these shirts transform stadium noise into live touch sensation, using microphones installed throughout the stadium and vibrating sensors integrated into the fabric of the shirts to immerse fans in the electrifying stadium atmosphere. Newcastle United Season Ticket Holders and Members with a registered hearing impairment may submit an application for a Sela shirt which will then be processed using a ballot system ahead of the season. Teri Devine, RNID's Director for Inclusion, noted that the technology could have "a real and lasting impact" on how fans with hearing impairments experience live sports.