Sports Ticker 109: Wimbledon esports, Euro 2024 sustainability and renaming Old Trafford – a speed read of commercial updates from the sports world
In a fortnight which saw Southgate step down as England manager after the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain, Alcaraz and Krejcikova win the Wimbledon's singles tournaments, and Tadej Pogačar lead the Tour de France, we bring you updates on a new Wimbledon esports tournament, Old Trafford naming rights and UEFA's sustainability goals.
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The Open goes a fairway into the future
Golfing championship event, The Open, which is being held on the Old Course at Royal Troon, is due a technological upgrade with international IT company NTT Data providing an app intended to revolutionise the fan experience at The Open. The app will implement digital twin technology called ShotView, offering fans an interactive, true-to-life virtual replica of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Continuously updated with live data, spectators will have full freedom to explore the digital course, analyse ball trajectories through a dynamic path visualiser, and review player histories and statistics. The intention is that the companion app will create highly personalised fan experiences to drive engagement and attendance. As explained in Sports Ticker #107, Formula 1 has recently partnered with an international software development company to develop a race day app which also aims to improve fan experience.
Who will be champs at the eChamps?
Wimbledon has announced its first ever official esports tournament. The eChamps will begin with open qualifiers, allowing eligible players an opportunity to compete for qualification to the live in-person finals, which will be held at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in September. The qualifiers started on 6 July, giving players across the world a chance of winning the inaugural event. The eChamps will be the first tennis esports tournament to use TopSpin 2K25, a revival of a beloved tennis simulation video game series. Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing and Commercial Director for the All England Club commented "Wimbledon has witnessed many historic firsts. The arrival of TopSpin 2K25 provided the perfect opportunity for us to create this exciting esports tournament and we cannot wait to welcome the qualifiers to Wimbledon in September." The Wimbledon eChamps is being run by BLAST, the esports producer behind some of the world's largest tournaments.
Manchester United is reportedly considering selling the naming rights to a refurbished Old Trafford or a newly constructed stadium. Part-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, aims to increase revenue to fund the redevelopment project, which could cost several billions of pounds. Manchester United's ground has been named Old Trafford for 114 years, meaning the potential naming rights deal would be the first of its kind for the club. The club may choose to retain the stadium's name if it decides to refurbish Old Trafford and adopt an associated stadium partner, similarly to Barcelona's Spotify Camp Nou and Wembley Stadium (which reportedly generates £10 million per year in revenue from its partnership with EE). Alternatively, it may choose to sell the name in its entirety if it opts to build a new stadium. Due to the club's performance and tighter financial fair play restrictions imposed by the Premier League and UEFA, increasing revenue is a top priority for the club.
MotoGP has extended its media rights agreement with Dutch broadcaster, Ziggo Sport, by another five years, granting motorcycle racing fans in the Netherlands access to exclusive live coverage of practices, qualifiers and Grand Prix races. The Dutch audience has seen strong year-on-year growth in 2024, driven partially by MotoGP witnessing its closest season of all time (with the winning gap hovering at around one second) and the success of Dutch rider, Collin Veijer, in Moto3. Dan Rossomondo, CCO of Dorna Sports (MotoGP rights holder) said "With Ziggo Sport, we have a forward-thinking partner with extensive knowledge and expertise, offering top-quality MotoGP content on the various Ziggo Sport platforms." The extension follows talk of a potential Formula 1 expansion into Southeast Asia, driven in part by the success of Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu. Read about that in Sports Ticker #108.
UEFA has stated its aim of making Euro 2024 "The most sustainable European Championship of all time." Sustainability formed a key part of the 2018 bidding process, with its strategy focused on the three pillars in ESG. The sustainability conversation around Euro 2024 is not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but about raising awareness of sustainability by leveraging football's popularity. The tournament's sustainability strategy has been backed by an investment of £27 million and will focus on: using renewable energy in grounds and headquarters; clustering fixtures geographically to limit travel; public transport grants to ticketholders; more environmentally responsible sponsorship (effectively banning gas, oil and utilities companies as commercial partners); and reducing water consumption and non-recyclable packaging. Dr Hartmut Stahl, who worked on an environmental impact study for the tournament, said "It's important that organisers of these events realise sustainability planning is part of organising a sporting event."
Extra time...
...and finally, last month FIFA updated maternity protocols for players and coaches, further protecting female footballers and coaches during and after pregnancy. This includes the addition of a minimum of 14 weeks paid maternity leave for coaches, which had previously only been in place for players. Those choosing to adopt will be granted a period of leave based on the child's age, and family leave has been made available to parents who are not the child's biological mother. There are also changes to player registration, allowing clubs to sign players more flexibly in the event of maternity, adoption or family leave. Finally, players will be entitled to request absence from training or matches because of menstrual health reasons, while still receiving full pay. Former USA head coach, Jill Ellis, said the changes were about providing "the opportunity for professional players to have the chance to be mums."
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