Global

Related Story

News of Roger Federer's retirement "caused a manic scramble for tickets to his final competitive appearance at next week's Laver Cup," with prices skyrocketing to as much as £23,900 ($27,419). Federer's retirement news "was not completely unexpected due to his age -- 41 -- and recent knee injuries, but the confirmation sent shockwaves across the sport." It has also his final appearance at the Laver Cup, at London's O2 Arena next week, the "hottest ticket in world sport."Less than an hour after Federer's announcement, the ticket site was "already experiencing lengthy queues for the few tickets still remaining." Even before Federer's retirement news, the Laver Cup "was set to be groundbreaking this year as the so-called Big Three -- Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal -- plus three-time major champion Andy Murray all signed up to represent Team Europe together for the first time" (London TELEGRAPH, 9/15).

Manchester City announced plans to expand the Etihad Stadium's capacity to "hold around 60,000 spectators." The Premier League club wants to add at least an extra 5,000 seats to make Etihad the league's third-biggest stadium and qualify to host a Champions League final in the future by reaching UEFA's strict capacity quota. City's stadium currently holds over 55,000, but the club has "had planning permission to carry out the work since adding an extra tier to their South Stand in 2015." There is "no set time-frame in which the work needs to be completed" and with construction of the adjacent Co-op Live Arena ongoing, City is "keen to wait until the culmination of that project, set for December 2023." Several options have been suggested for how to increase the capacity, including "joining together the two ends behind both goals" (London DAILY MAIL, 9/15).

FIA named Natalie Robyn its first CEO in "a boost to the governing body’s management structure." Following his election as FIA president last December, Mohammed Ben Sulayem "set out a plan to reform much of the management structure" at the organization, as well as "pursuing a new governance structure." Robyn will take up the role of CEO "in the near future." She has more than 15 years of experience in the automotive industry, previously serving as the CEO of Volvo in Switzerland since 2017, as well has holding management positions at Nissan and DaimlerChrysler. Robyn will be charged with developing "new commercial growth plans to increase and diversify the FIA's revenue streams." Ben Sulayem hailed the appointment of Robyn as a "transformative moment for our federation" (MOTORSPORT.com, 9/15).

Red Bull Racing signed a long-term partnership with British brand Castore, which will become a long-term partner of Red Bull from the 2023 season onwards, meaning current World Champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez will wear the Castore logo on their racing suits. The deal is arguably Castore's "biggest yet," following its partnerships with McLaren F1 and Auto. As part of the deal, Castore will take on Oracle Red Bull Racing’s licensed merchandise program. The Castore x Oracle Red Bull Racing collections "will be available to purchase on both Red Bull’s and Castore’s websites as well as via trackside retail." Castore’s portfolio of partnerships includes England Cricket, Premier League sides Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Scottish Premiership side Rangers FC, La Liga side Sevilla FC and Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen (FASHION NETWORK, 9/15).

Serie A has received an offer worth €138M ($137M) to host the next six editions of the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia "under a new format." This year’s Super Cup match between AC Milan and Inter will be held in Saudi Arabia. It will be the first time the game has been held outside Italy since the COVID-19 outbreak. According to reports in Italy, there could be more editions played in the country after Saudi Arabia bid €138M to hold the Supercoppa in Riyadh for the next six years. That would mean €23M ($22.9M) net per season, plus travel and accommodations paid by the host country. That is three times more than what Serie A receives under the current agreement worth €8M ($7.9M) for one match (CALCIO E FINANZA, 9/15).

The NFL and Germany's Bundesliga announced an agreement on Thursday that will "see two of the world's most successful sporting operations collaborate to help grow business in their respective markets." Having been informally sharing expertise in various areas since the start of the pandemic, the NFL and Bundesliga said that they will "increase collaboration in production, broadcast and programming, digital innovation and marketing." Germany will host one regular-season NFL game in each of the next four years, alternating between Munich and Frankfurt. The Bundesliga has also "courted the U.S. market, opening an office in New York in 2018, and many of the league's teams tour North American in the offseason" (REUTERS, 9/15).

Meanwhile, on Friday, a record-breaking Frauen Bundesliga (Women's Bundesliga) crowd "is expected to greet Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich when they meet at Frankfurt's Waldstadion." It is also "not to be overlooked that the season's opening match is taking place at Frankfurt's men's arena -- a signal of the continued growth and progression of the women's game within Germany." At the German national team's homecoming from Euro 2022 in Frankfurt in August, coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg spoke of "the desire to use the impetus of the international team's successful Euros campaign to accelerate change within the domestic game" (DEUTSCHE WELLE, 9/15).

B.League COO  Ken Tamoi  recognizes that in order for Japan's top basketball league to carry out its "Vision 2026," it will require "stronger business results from all 38 teams." Tamoi, speaking at the  AXS Sports Facilities & Franchises and Ticketing Symposium  alongside AXS Senior VP of Strategy Blaine Legere  on Wednesday, discussed the B.League's third year as an international partner of AXS and what that means for the league.  Legere: "They've got a plan to plant the seeds, to build the buildings, to attract the consumers and the fans, to grow the league, to grow the team, to grow basketball in Japan."

Tamoi touched on the many visits he has made to U.S. arenas and his impression of the ticketing systems at those venues, saying, "We would like to try to replicate them, the single solution to knowing everyone that are attending our events -- an identity-based platform."

Tamoi has overseen the development, planning and operations of the B.League’s unified system of infrastructure. He is considered a "key player" in spearheading the B.League's "Vision 2026." Tamoi said he was brought into the B.League in 2016 to “solve a major problem" the league was having with promotion and relegation. To fix that, he said that all clubs must have the "best team possible," by hiring the "best coaches," and recruiting the "best players." He laughed and added, "What 'Vision 2026' is setting out to do is say, 'Yes, winning's important, but don't spend all your money on the best coaches and the best players at this phase. Focus more on planting the seeds for the growth of B.League.'"

The B.League has yet to catch up in terms of popularity and market size to the J.League (soccer) and Nippon Professional Baseball, but Tamoi believes it is on the road to do so. He wants the league to have state of art venues across Japan and "require" VIP hospitality.

Spain's top women's soccer league, Liga F, "will begin this weekend after a referees strike that saw the postponement to last week's opening matchday was resolved." Ahead of the scheduled start of the season last weekend, the referees and assistant referees for the five matches announced they would not take to the field. The officials, who continue to work for the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), came to an agreement on Wednesday evening with the LPFF with the assistance of the Spanish Sports Council (CSD). The agreement "signifies a ceasefire in the apparent battle for control of the league. Liga F has agreed to increase match fees for referees from €300 to €1,666 ($300 to $1,666) and for assistant referees from €166 to €1,066 ($166 to $1,066) -- far below the €21,000 ($21,000) per match the LPFF has originally asked for. Confirming the agreement, "the LPFF put out a statement strongly condemning the boycotting of last week's games" (DEUTSCHE WELLE, 9/15). LPFF referees will earn annual salaries of €34,000 ($33,994), despite "initially demanding" salaries of €50,000 ($49,991) (PALCO23, 9/15).

The NBA and Al Mana Fashion Group announced a multi-year collaboration to open the first brick-and-mortar NBA Store at the Yas Mall on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and the league’s first e-commerce site dedicated to fans in the Middle East. The store will open this fall in conjunction with the NBA’s Abu Dhabi Games 2022 featuring the Bucks and Hawks on October 6 and October 8 (NBA).

EPL side Wolverhampton owner Fosun International's shares "have lost nearly one-fifth of their value this month since the announcement of the divestment of a core unit." The company's Hong Kong-listed shares "closed at their lowest point since December 2012 on Wednesday" after losing 18% since September 2, when it announced the partial divestment of a core Chinese pharmaceutical unit (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/15).

Yorkshire County Cricket Club will pay up to £1.9M ($2.2M) in compensation to the staff they sacked in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, having admitted the dismissals were "procedurally unfair" (LONDON TIMES, 9/15).

FIFA appointed Marcos Picalló to a role within its new professional club subdivision. Picalló, who joins FIFA from Barcelona, will work with Ornella Desirée Bellia in FIFA's professional football relations & development department (2PLAYBOOK, 9/14).

Real Madrid is naming Amancio Amaro honorary president, replacing Paco Gento in the role. The club is expected to confirm his appointment on October 2 (AS, 9/15).

Dick Littlejohn, a former New Zealand Rugby "stalwart who was instrumental in launching the Rugby World Cup," has died at the age of 91 (STUFF, 9/15).

Premier League club West Ham United has announced a partnership with fulfilment provider Huboo Technologies, which will see the firm become the team’s official logistics and fulfilment partner (West Ham).

Almost "three quarters of football fans across 15 countries" would support FIFA using World Cup revenue to "compensate migrant workers who have suffered in preparation for Qatar 2022," a new Amnesty International poll has revealed (London INDEPENDENT, 9/15).

"All these purists of the sport have no problem when it comes to playing the Carabao Cup. I mean, how many tournaments do you need? ... It is an idea, don’t negate ideas, don’t be that person" -- ESPN's Herculez Gomez, on the criticism of Chelsea Owner Todd Boehly's proposal of a Premier League All-Star Game ( "Futbol Americas," ESPN2, 9/14).

"Total lack of respect for the athlete. This kind of thing can't happen. I take the yellow for simply not having done anything and I continue to be harmed" -- PSG F Neymar, on receiving a yellow card for his celebration during his team's 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League on Wednesday (ESPN.com, 9/15).

"We’re sorry – we got this one wrong" -- British Cycling in a social media post, after they were heavily criticized for their recommendation that people do not use their bikes on the day of Queen Elizabeth's funeral (London GUARDIAN, 9/15).

ESPN.com's Gabriele Marcotti reacts to Chelsea Owner Todd Boehly's comments this week about his plans for the club, writing that "Boehly's blunders make headlines, but his message and vision is solid, if unimaginative."

The London Guardian's Max Rushden writes that the silence over soccer's "links with sexual and domestic violence is deafening."

The Athletic's Steve Madeley examines  the "simplicity, controversy and global recognition" of Premier League side Wolves' badge.