From Las Vegas to Croke Park: The big sports movers and shakers in 2023
BLUE TOON: Jonjo Shelvey and Newcastle on their winter warm weather camp in Saudi Arabia as they plan for an assault on th4e Premier League top four.
It’ll be another record-smasher of a FIFA Women’s World Cup in July, despite a tricky timezone for Europe. Key issues for women’s football: how much should it replicate the men’s game and how to close the gap between clubs/nations investing heavily and the rest.
Tennis is about to get the Netflix treatment with a behind-the-scenes series, from Box To Box Films. These documentaries have become a must-have piece of the sports content toolkit. But it’s a saturated market. So keep an eye out for leagues/teams turning to scripted original content.
Rising temperatures are set to increasingly impact the global sports calendar over the coming years (see in particular the IOC considering its Winter Olympics options as potential hosts dwindle). Venues/travel/athlete safety will also be under the microscope.
Less of it for many at the very moment when sport is trying to sell more than ever before to fans. Pressures in all parts of the system. Anyone below the very top level complacent about regularly selling out their venue may be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Russian athletes, transgender athletes, national team selection criteria - it’s a time of crafting policies that will hold up in the long-term and taking rapid-fire decisions as situations change and events loom. Who competes in what now is often less than straightforward?
Host of the Rugby World Cup, which, despite having outsize importance in the sports agency world, could be one of the events of the year, and entering the final straight ahead of Paris 2024. The opener on Friday, Sept 8 is France v the All Blacks. The NBA is back in Paris in January too. Ample soft power opportunity for Emmanuel Macron.
Under pressure to find money to fund sport, whilst also digitalising, professionalising, regulating and increasing participation. Their fitness for purpose will be tested more than ever - does the structure still work? Breakaways and carve-ups are possible.
Already delayed by a year, the enormous Asian Games will be the first big multi-nation event in China since its Covid policy changes. It may begin a wave of returning events. But is sport still interested in going to China? And is China still interested in hosting?
Football clubs, T20 cricket franchises, combinations of teams from different sports - new, large ownership webs are being woven across sport, with the aim of pooling resources, driving efficiencies and sharing know-how and talent.
All eyes on the PGA Tour Commissioner as golf learns to live with LIV Golf. A potentially weakened Ryder Cup in Italy will be a litmus test of fan appetite for a fractured sport. As Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy plot new golf formats with TMRW Sports, the LIV/Saudi project seems set to solidify.
We’re deep in the influencer era, and online empires are being built. They fight, they launch brands, they’re high-end media houses, they do events, they have big loyal audiences and they make money. The next team or league owners/sponsors/rights buyers?
Formula 1 hits the Strip in November - a race the series is promoting itself - and the Super Bowl is coming in 2024. But as the city seeks tourism dollars beyond gambling, look out too for the NBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer continuing to consider how and when to put franchises there.
Metaverses, DAOs, Web3 in general, NFTs, anything crypto, AI, AR and anything in between - all emerging, in some cases potentially game-changing tech. Sport is the ideal platform to help promote, showcase, educate (and legitimise). But tread warily.
Two Saudi power projects coming to life. Newcastle United is riding high and may be Champions League-bound as early as next season. Under-construction smart city NEOM may be a future shirt sponsor (as might new Saudi airline RIA) as well as the host of all manner of big events.
Like big tech/media, rights holders are seeking an all-in experience. FIFA, FIBA and the NBA are hoovering up leagues/games/programming from elsewhere to build out their own digi-offerings. World Rugby’s acquisition of Rugby Pass is a case study worth monitoring.
Two new sports making a racket. Qatar-backed Premier Padel and the World Padel Tour, plus Major League Pickleball are spawning new events, stirring celebrity investment and interest. But can they find an audience? And how involved does tennis get in governing the upstarts?
The best research/data minds in the business are busy working out how to put a number on it, as ‘purpose’ - in all its many forms - becomes a key element of every major sponsorship. How to package, sell, measure and justify it will only become important.
Fresh from delivering Todd Boehly to Chelsea, Raine has been tasked with selling some or all of Manchester United this year. Liverpool FC’s owners are exploring a sale too. Buyers? Private equity? Another NFL billionaire? A nation state? A tech/media owner? Or a mix of them all?
The European Super League project is dead - for now. But don’t ignore football politics. A new UEFA Champions League format is set for 2024; FIFA is plotting a 32-team Club World Cup in 2025; and Africa’s FIFA-backed soon-to-be-launched CAF Super League may be the test case to watch.
Boxing’s brightest trailblazer hit America in 2022. Next up, possibly in April or May, could well be an emotional homecoming at Croke Park. If the Serrano rematch happens, it will be one of the hottest tickets in world sport.
The ATP Tour and WTA Tour have come together for a mixed team tournament, as part of the build-up to the Australian Open. Like with golf, more of these mixed events feel vital to the future of tennis. They’re the type of formats which should be part of the Olympics too.
Promoted to replace the retiring Timo Lumme as the International Olympic Committee’s top commercial operator – she’s responsible for delivering the next wave of TOP partner and broadcast contracts as the summer Games head through Paris, LA, Brisbane towards a TBC in 2036. Big job.
The first Women’s Indian Premier League, featuring an initial five franchises, is set to be played in March. It could be a game-changer for women’s cricket, in terms of talent pools and interest, and the latest Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cash cow. Expect major interest from owners and brands.
The Rock, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital have teamed up to give the XFL football league another crack. Kick-off is in February when it goes toe-to-toe with the USFL as an NFL alternative. But is it a brand with enough resonance to be resurrected for a third time?
Longer form platforms trying short form, short form going longer - a blending of copycat features. Throw in UGC, memes, audio, GIFs, filters, plus commercial deliverables. Social sites becoming media production suites - for admins and fans.
The super media/tech/social CEOs don’t think about sports that often - but when they do it has impact and influence, for better or worse. Listen up in 2023.
