The most powerful individuals and innovations in sport
Saudi Public Investment Fund chair Yasir Al-Rumayyan - the most powerful person in sport?
: sailing’s big one and still a magnet for sponsors (and billionaires) of a certain type, plus this time F1 teams keen to diversify and showcase their tech in new ways. Standby for Red Bull (Alinghi Red Bull Racing team) v Mercedes (INEOS Britannia) on the water in Barcelona.
: With the Premier League’s latest UK rights firmed up, attention turns to its next global deals sales cycle. The NBA’s new selection of broadcast partners is equally keenly awaited - expect a mix of network, cable and streaming rights packages to be sold.
World Championship year, and even without holder Magnus Carlsen, this might be the best chance yet for the game to fulfil its rich potential - growing cultural currency and tradition, a massive online following and hefty new backing from Ari Emanuel and Endeavour.
Your move.
: The Professional Fighters League founder finds himself in a fierce combat sports battle. Challenger PFL is Saudi-backed and has just acquired rival Bellator. But TKO, Endeavour’s new company housing UFC and WWE makes for a formidable market leader to unseat.
The end of the line for one of sport’s most enduring brands? Very possibly. Parent Warner Bros. Discovery is set to fold Eurosport into its new TNT Sports operation once its coverage of the Paris Olympic Games is done and dusted.
The membership-based international federation model is creaking. Most have professionalised but are they equipped to maximise commercially in a market that demands it? In many cases, no. The trend: more upstart challengers and more disruption in a host of sports.
Every chance that Euro 2024 will be a huge success as the tournament returns to a single country. In the suites, bigwigs will assemble to debate the shape of European football’s future - Super Leagues, Club World Cup expansion, cross-border leagues, and Saudi Arabia.
February’s brand new team-based tournament in Madrid has secured Andy Murray, Robert Lewandowski and Eva Longoria as team owners. From the investors who dreamt up Formula E, it might prove a breakthrough moment for a rapidly-growing professional padel scene.
Blending physical with digital to create wow-moment fan experiences is becoming essential at the elite end of sport. It’s all theatre. The UFC poised to be first to host sport at the Las Vegas MSG Sphere, and watch the NBA’s recent deal with Cosm. Welcome to a shared reality.
We’re living in the automated but imperfect era of officiating - and not just in football. Tech is enabling new rules, but also interpretations, precedents and loopholes. It’s a similar story with new complex financial regs. Good time to be a sports lawyer.
: Investment in women’s football is coming thick and fast, as its growth spurt continues. Kang has 3 clubs already, while Mercury/13 Founder Victoire Cogevina Reynal has eyes on Europe and South America. Which of the big brand clubs will spin off its women’s team?
: Previews, podcasts, watchalongs, press conferences, pre- and post-game shows - it’s a live game beyond the game. Studio facilities are the new must-have. Teams are tooled up to meet audience demand. Which one will be first to have its own live shopping channel?
Jim Ratcliffe finally has the paperwork done at Manchester United, while Arctos (PSG, Aston Martin F1 etc.) is making minority moves across various sports. The cachet without much of the hassle is proving a hook for a wave of celebrity/athlete investors.
: Top tennis storylines. She’s one of the most interesting athletes on the planet, returning to the WTA Tour after a year away. He’s on his way back for one final flourish - is there one final moment of glory for one of the true sporting greats?
Beyond Paris, plenty to keep an eye on in Olympics circles (rings). President Thomas Bach possibly eyeing another term. Possible successors manoeuvring. Milan-Cortina’s readiness (or otherwise) for the 2026 Winter Games. And is India really on for a 2036 bid?
Cost of living crisis, market forces, less disposable income to go around. Fans feeling the pinch, just as pressure on revenue streams ratchets up. Teams and events finding creative ways to keep getting fans through the doors will be best-placed for these tricky times.
Is the answer a) Ramping up your loyalty schemes? b) More incentives for fans? c) Upping your gamified content? d) All of the above? Points win prizes, more than ever. (Hint: it’s d).
(plus NEOM, Kick, InPost, Sela and Snapdragon: A selection of brands with global outlooks (and potentially healthy marketing budgets) to keep an eye on - and to pitch - in 2024, if sponsorship’s your game.
The centrepiece for what could be a spectacular (but logistically baffling) Olympics opening ceremony. Macron’s big moment, but security, public appetite and Parisian infrastructure will be tested to the max. Also watch for Breaking’s Olympic bow and surfing in Tahiti.
: The chair of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority runs Riyadh Season, and is doling out some of sport’s most lucrative invitations. Boxing’s his passion: Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk will be the first undisputed heavyweight fight this century. Venue: you guessed it.
: The Champions League ‘Swiss model’ new format comes in next season - the biggest change in a generation. 36 clubs, 125 games up to 225 and the potential for heaps more cash for the big clubs. How it lands will be a measure of where the power lies in European football.
: Election year for many around the world, but in the US in particular, watch for leagues, teams, owners, sponsors and athletes get involved - willingly or otherwise - in what’s set to be another deeply polarising campaign. And for stadiums becoming polling/protest sites.
: Three bids with FIFA, decision coming in May. USA and Mexico promising a $3 billion tournament (a year after the men’s version there), but Brazil and a trio of European countries, Holland, Belgium and Germany also making strong cases. Healthy competition.
Some cities to keep an eye on: Brisbane (2032 Olympics); Budapest, (post-World Athletics); Madrid (F1 soon?); Jeddah, Kigali; São Paulo (NFL on the way this year); Nice (where the Tour de France ends while Paris is in Olympics mode); Osaka (2025 World Expo).
Quite simply, now the most influential person in global sport. The Saudi Public Investment Fund chair is changing the models and norms of entire sports, fuelled by billions of dollars and seemingly unlimited ambition. Where does the Saudi and sport story go next? He’ll decide.
(and your fitness regime of choice): Hugely popular and only growing - look for sports leagues, teams and brands trying to figure out credible ways to reach, engage and entice participants. It’ll only work if it’s additive and authentic. Time to get active
