Ash’s Sports Talk, your second weekly sports-business wrap-up

The weekly wrap up is back like it never left! This week has been eventful with English football striving for diversity, and the sport continues to push boundaries with Esports. Operation lockdown has proven a demand to get the nation fitter than ever, and basketball is the next sport to return to the spotlight.

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English football raises its efforts to enhance diversification

BBC Sport report The Premier League, the Professional Football Association and the English Football League (EFL) are scheming to increase numbers of BAME coaches. The collaborative program aims to inspire BAME players to transition into full-time coaching roles in professional football. From next season EFL clubs will facilitate for six coaches to undertake a 23-month work experience placement where all PFA members can apply.

Currently, less than 9% of Premier League managers/head coaches are BAME which has been problematic for decades. Ironically, Scoreandchange informs 45% of 2019/20 Premier League shirt sponsors headquarter in Asian territories. This figure is a wake-up call for the Premier League to prioritise its grassroots opportunities as much as its commercial commodities.

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World Athletics and parkrun unite to get the world fitter than ever

According to Statista, an average of 34% of people aged 18+ in the UK have been doing less physical activity during this lockdown period. This figure represents a demand for the UK to get more active. SportBusiness announced Sports Governing Body World Athletics and running event company parkrun would share resources to improve the health of the world. 

Athletics Weekly revealed both parties are to host a suite of events in host cities and countries of upcoming world championships. Some include the World Championships Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023. World Athletics CEO Joe Ridgeon and parkrun CEO Nick Pearson have both noticed more people up taking running during the lockdown. Therefore, they have exploited this fitness activity by pursuing future events orientated towards this exercise to engage global communities. 

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Basketball is willing to learn to dance in the rain

SportBusiness confirms The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) will launch project restart on July 30. Despite the escalating numbers of COVID19 cases in Florida, Commissioner of The NBA Adam Silver believes project restarts strategy demonstrates adaptable qualities. Basketball will undertake necessary procedures such as disallowing fan attendance, controlled player & staff movement alongside daily virus testing.

Basketball fans, don’t worry as The NBA has plans to keep you entertained! CNBC has documented Danish football club Aarhus Gymnastikforening has inspired the NBA to think about hosting a zoom broadcast. The zoom-airing would allow fans to be seen in-court to stay as connected as possible to the sport. This pandemic has proven an opportunity for the sports industry to revitalise its engagement with its consumers through technological advancements.

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Another football and health-based partnership confirmed

SportBusiness issued that Major League Soccer (MLS) club, Inter Miami CF’s MLS & USL League One team and academy have secured a multiyear partnership with South Florida healthcare organisation, Baptist Health. This collaboration will include Baptist Health assisting Inter Miami’s sports medicine provider, hospital system and official medical organisation.

The non-profit organisation will also find themselves as the academies main jersey sponsor for the upcoming season. Therefore, the next generation of players in the academy setup will benefit from prosperous youth development opportunities from Baptist Health’s brand awareness.

The MLS also plans to return to the soccer pitch next week for its ‘MLS is back Tournament’. The US’s top tier soccer league has foreseen 26 positive COVID19 tests as it prepares for its return. Therefore, there is no better time for the sport and health sector to team-up and continue combating the contraction of this unparalleled epidemic.  

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PSG are pushing boundaries to innovate the football industry

French football champions PSG continue their involvement with the Esports industry by agreeing to a 10-year deal with sports merchandiser, Fanatics, SportBusiness reports. This agreement will include the two parties aiming to grow ‘The Parisians’ e-commerce profile over the next 36 months. Paris Saint-Germain will integrate into Fanatics’ database of 45 million committed clients in the clubs key marketplaces across Europe, North America, and Asia.

This initiative could prove to leverage PSG’s merchandising business into a global dominator for the sports industry. Considering Fanatics will be the master licensee for their merchandising portfolio; this will see the US online retailer deal with its largest-ever financial commitment. From this proposal, The Red and Blues has set an ambitious goal to double its licenses in the next 2 years.

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Technology and soccer are inseparable!

This time, SportsProMedia stories Google and the National Women’s Soccer League (NSWL) join forces to provide Women’s soccer fans rich sporting content. This venture began from the NSWL’s restart on the June 27 for the 2020 Challenge Cup competition.

Google plans to support the NWSL through multiple avenues. Sporttechie confirms Exclusive video content is available via Google’s social channels, Google Meet’s social video calling platform will hold ‘virtual cheering sections’ and NWSL match stats will receive an increase in search rankings.

Football continues to leverage its profile with technology to ensure consumers remain entertained despite the restrictions caused by COVID19.

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Now that’s a wrap! Football has dominated this week’s sports business headlines through leveraging its identity with technology and health to contest COVID19’s impact on the industry. It will be interesting to see whether The NBA will experience a peak in viewership upon its anticipated return. Plus, what effect will the unity between World Athletics and parkrun bring to the social value of society?

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