On The Front Foot Issue 11

ON THE FRONT FOOT J U LY 2 0 2 0 I S S U E E L E V E N

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Promoting diversity & inclusion in football THE FA’S HEAD OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAMMES, DAL DARROCH TALKS TACKLING DISCRIMINATION

OVERCOMING FINANCIAL HURDLES NEVIN TRUESDALE, GROUP CFO OF THE JOCKEY CLUB

TEAM MANAGEMENT UNDER RESTRICTIONS NEIL MCILROY, TEAM MANAGER AT CLERMONT RUGBY

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L E A D I N G T H E WAY I N E D U C AT I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L AT H L E T E S

LIF SK

LI FE SKI LLS

N E X T G E N E R AT I O N

Premier Sports Network’s Life Skills initiative has become the go-to platform for professional athletes across the world of elite-level sport to access extracurricular education, delivered by our trusted player care partners through online sessions every month, and physical classroom sessions within the heart of a clubs training facilities.

THIS MONTH INTERACTIVE Q&A SESSIONS WITH… LEADERSHIP IN SPORT

Stuart Lancaster Senior coach at Leinster Rugby and former head coach of the English national rugby union team

O U R

O F F I C I A L

TRANSITION FROM ACADEMY TO FIRST TEAM

Alex McLeish Scottish Professional football manager and former player

P L A Y E R

C A R E

HOW CAN SPORT LEARN FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY?

Stuart Worden Principal of The Brit School

P A R T N E R S

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CONTENTS

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Publisher Premier Sports Network Design ShandMedia To send feedback or articles for publication contact Premier Sports Network at: enquiries@ premiersportsnetwork.com To enquire about advertising contact jordan@premiersports.agency On The Front Foot is published by the Premier Sports Network copyright Š2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without permission.

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Promoting diversity & inclusion in football THE FA’S HEAD OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAMMES, DAL DARROCH, TALKS TACKLING DISCRIMINATION AND PROMOTING INCLUSION

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FINANCE IN SPORT

PLAYER CARE

Sponsorship

Team Management under government restrictions 36 Ronaldo emerges as first billionaire footballer 39 From player to Team Manager 40 Rashfords food voucher campaign 42 PFA study reveal racial bias in football commentary 44 NBA players to wear ‘smart ring’ 45 Ferrari target Asia in search of new driver 46 Why are young British football players moving abroad?

48 NBPA to help maximise NBA players personal brands 50 Job Vacancies 51

Extra sponsorship value for PL partners Coca-cola ends MLB sponsorship ICC approves shirt sponsorship Tokyo 2020: Sponsors unsure on continued support 2019 Rugby World Cup delivers records enomic impact

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Governance Paving the way for financial recovery Overcoming horse-racing’s financial hurdles WTO’s Saudi piracy ruling Premiership Rugby slash salary cap Wimbledon Recreated Planning for the unknown Legal motivations behind the Premier League’s return MLS to restart with tournament at Disney World

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Investment AS Roma seek new owners

‘Bidding war’ for stake in Serie A David Beckham invests into esports US Investor plans to recreate CFG style network

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Technology Development of digital passport Dotrmund plan for virtual pre-season tour

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THE FA

PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN FOOTBALL Football is a game that unites like no other. It needs to lead the way not because of its high profile, but because of its unique demographics. Progress has been made by English football in the last 30 years, with The Football Association working hard to reduce discrimination from the pitch and terraces. With teams playing in the Premier League, EFL and the Emirates FA Cup supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign, showing solidarity is a welcome start, but it will be an empty gesture if the sport doesn’t take this opportunity for concrete action.

Premier Sports Network caught up with The FA’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion Programmes, Dal Darroch, to learn more on how football’s leading governing body is tackling discrimination and promoting inclusion.

The FA’s approach to tackling diversity, inclusion, and equality from grassroots to elite level What’s most crucial to us is understanding the people involved and the real issues they may be facing, so you can build that knowledge into improving their outcome, whatever that may be. Any programme or initiative needs to have clear valueadding outcomes.

The FA’s ongoing work in this space is reflected in our three-year equality, diversity and inclusion plan, In Pursuit of Progress, which was introduced in 2018. It’s an ambitious set of targets which aims ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

to increase the diversity of those playing, coaching, watching, refereeing and leading football. Some achievements from the past year which we’re proud of include increasing diversity amongst The FA’s own workforce; creating the Elite Coach Placement Programme; developing programmes to encourage Asian communities to get involved in football; and wide-ranging support for the LGBT+ community.

As English football’s national governing body, our focus is on going out into communities across the country to really understand the needs of all, using this feedback to create programmes that are ➜

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THE FA

meaningful and impactful and working with our regional County FAs to engage on the ground.

The newly launched ‘Tell us, we’ll tackle it’ campaign We launched Tell Us, We’ll Tackle It to encourage all participants and spectators to report any acts of discrimination that they witness within grassroots football.

It aims to put further emphasis on the importance of reporting incidents of discrimination, reassuring people that it makes a tangible difference and that the process is simple and effective. The updated reporting process and website means all completed online forms will be sent directly to the relevant FA and County FA staff so they can begin any investigation process immediately.

More recently we also launched an online survey as part of our research into better understanding perceptions of discrimination in grassroots football and whether there are barriers which may prevent people from reporting incidents.

We know that experiencing or witnessing any form of discrimination can be very distressing and we are committed to improving the outcomes for victims as well as the reporting process itself. Reaching out directly in this way helps to ensure ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

everybody’s voice is heard, which is the key to any diversity-led initiative and will help shape our thinking when further tackling this issue.

This is all part of our focus on achieving greater equality, diversity, and inclusion across the game at all levels. Only through

2018/19 season we launched the Elite Coach Placement Programme, which is a positive-action programme to provide under-represented groups with short England camp-based coaching opportunities within the men’s and women’s England teams. Our goal is to

“We have also set inclusion targets in the new National Game Strategy for the first time. With this in mind, as of November 2019, we had over 1,500 newly-qualified female coaches and over 2,200 newly-qualified BAME coaches in the previous 12 months.” continuous conversation with these communities can we continue to build on this, create positive diversity and inclusion schemes with clear outcomes.

The impact of The FA’s BAME and female coach initiative aiming to give visibility to further the progression of elite BAME coaches Our initiatives to create better coaching opportunities for BAME people continue to be hugely effective. In the

build a more diverse talent pipeline for elite and national coaching roles.

The men’s programme has included seven active and observational coach roles this season, while the women’s placement programme has seen three coaches from under-represented groups gain experience within the England teams last season.

Part of our commitment to creating better opportunities for BAME people also includes ensuring qualified, diverse

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“We’re committed to removing barriers by changing the ethnicity and gender balance and creating a diverse and inclusive environment both within the organisation and across the sport at all levels.”

candidates are interviewed for England roles. Since we officially adopted the Rooney Rule in 2018, every national team vacancy has seen at least one BAME candidate interviewed, where a suitablyqualified BAME candidate applied.

Meanwhile, we are also providing professional coaching bursaries for BAME people and female grassroots participants, which cover Senior Pro Licences, UEFA ‘A’ Licences, Advanced Youth Award and UEFA ‘B’ Licenses.

We have also set inclusion targets in the new National Game Strategy for the first time. With this in mind, as of November 2019, we had over 1,500 newly-qualified female coaches and over 2,200 newlyqualified BAME coaches in the previous 12 months.

Inclusion initiatives for officials We’re committed to removing barriers by changing the ethnicity and gender balance and creating a diverse and inclusive environment both within the organisation

and across the sport at all levels. Part of this is highlighting that refereeing is a viable career option for everybody, irrespective of background, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Almost 2,000 (9.4%) of currentlyregistered referees in England are from BAME backgrounds. Our County FA network also continues to run a number of initiatives to encourage greater diversity in refereeing at a local level.

These include London FA’s partnership with Hackney Marshes, which has seen a large increase in the diversity of their referees, as well as a pioneering referee course for the Polish community led by Lincolnshire FA. Earlier this year The FA became the first national governing body in English sport to introduce a regional code of governance, which sets a higher precedent than the current gold standard for sport and aims to provide support and guidance to those running the grassroots game up and down the country. Diversity and inclusion are covered within this guidance, which is important as we continue to develop the next generation of officials and ensure those represented are reflective of the communities that watch and love the game.

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SPONSORSHIP

FINANCE IN SPORT SPONSORSHIP • GOVERNANCE • INVESTMENT • TECHNOLOGY

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Premier League partners can expect to receive extra sponsorship value per match With games being played behindclosed-doors, a number of innovations including tunnel cameras and audio from the coin toss have been put in place. Some viewers may also have the option to listen to games with or without artificial crowd noise, though players do not hear the audio effects.

Seats nearest the pitch also have covers designed by each club ‘to improve the environment both visually and acoustically,’ as well as the provision of branding opportunities for clubs and their partners.

This provides clubs with the opportunity to generate revenue through expanded sponsorships, as teams are unable to receive any income from gate receipts.

As a result of fans only being able to watch attentively from the comfort of their own home, viewership has naturally skyrocketed. With all eyes on the broadcast, brands are receiving increased brand exposure.

The lower tiers of stadiums are the most visual assets from TV, streaming services and social media. Analysis conducted

by Nielsen Sports is based on preCovid coverage and viewing behaviours in accordance with their figures. The ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

research finds that Premier League club partners ‘could expect to receive global value between £700,000 and £2 million per match assuming their branding repeats several times across the sidelines and behind goals.’

There are also indications that ‘the zones on either side of the halfway line could generate anywhere from £200,000 to £600,000 per match.’ A figure that is higher than one of the most valuable branded assets in football- the LED boards surrounding the pitch.

From the first few rounds of matches, there has been a significant increase in viewership in comparison to the seasons average. On the first day of its return, Sky recorded a peak audience of 2.7 million for the opening fixture between Aston Villa and Sheffield United, while the highly anticipated match between Manchester City and Arsenal peaked at 3.4 million.

The Merseyside Derby then became the most watched Premier League game ever in Britain, with viewership peaking at 5.5 million across Sky channels.

Nielsen concluded that it is ‘too early to sensibly suggest other branding value will increase significantly based on the fact all matches are being broadcast in the UK even though it is one of the most valuable TV and OTT markets.’

‘This is because the dilution of the value per match metric is a real factor in overall value, even though coverage is set to increase significantly.’

‘The real indication of whether this will grow even more is the continued coverage and viewing of all remaining matches internationally. European broadcasters have the rights to increase their coverage (in line with the UK) which in markets such as France, Norway and the Netherlands could provide further value delivered to sponsors.’

Deloitte have predicted that Premier League clubs could face a collective revenue loss of £500 million due to the coronavirus outbreak. This is a result of rebates from broadcasters and commercial partners, due to the lack of matchday revenue to matches being played behind-closed-doors.

The accountancy firm predict 2019/20 club accounts to show a £1 billion loss in revenue. Broadcasting revenue for the games played in June and July will come as some sort of boost to sides in the Premier League whose financial years end on May 31 or June 30, supporting their revenues into their 2020-21 accounts when next season marks the start of a lucrative TV deal.

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Rugby Union 2019 World Cup’s Economic Impact PAGE 15

Nevin Truesdale Overcoming horse racing’s financial hurdles PAGE 18

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David Beckham Former football star makes his move into E-Sports PAGE 28

Head of Deliotte’s sport business group, Dan Jones, has said, “We expect significant revenue reduction and operating losses across European football,” “We forecast that the restart plans for the Premier League and a number of its peers will cause a rapid recovery in financial results as some 2019/20 broadcast revenues are pushed into the 2020/21 financial year, which may result in a bumper revenue year.”

“Much remains uncertain, particularly around the timing and scale of the return of fans to stadiums and the impact on commercial and broadcast partners’ wider businesses.

The football industry will be hopeful that a V-shaped recovery and a return to relative financial normality for the 2021/22 season is possible.”

Jones expects teams to receive 50 per cent of their maximum normal matchday revenue during the 2020/21 season. “That assumes some form of phased opening over time but hopefully by the end of next season being back to having full stadia again. For 201819 we had £680m of Premier League matchday revenue. For 2020/21 we have assumed £350 million.”

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SPONSORSHIP

COCA-COLA ENDS MLB SPONSORSHIP AFTER 3 SEASONS Coca-Cola has ended its sponsorship of Major League Baseball after three seasons, due to budgetary concerns.

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The soft drinks giant and MLB announced a partnership in 2017, which saw Coca-Cola taking over from rival Pepsi in a multi-year deal, having previously held sponsorships deals with 18 of the 30 clubs. PepsiCo Inc. had sponsored MLB from 1997-2016.

“Following a review of all Coca-Cola North America marketing assets at the conclusion of 2019, we made the decision to end our national sponsorship with MLB,” said company spokesman Kate Hartman. “We will continue to support 16 MLB teams at the local level.”

MLB are upping their sponsorship assets in attempt to create additional revenue and the loss of Coca-Cola will mean a significant loss in revenue.

In the latest attempt to start the 2020 season, MLB propose a 76-game regular season to be implemented, instead of the original 162 games normally played.

According to Sport Business Journal, CocaCola ‘will remain open at MLB this season’ due to the current state of ‘the overall economy and the sports economy’.

Earlier this month, it was released that the MLB have been in advanced talks with all the franchises in the league to six new virtual signage positions on and around the field of play. The league is also considering the use of augmented reality (AR) signage to make up for missed marketing deliverables.

The virtual signage is reportedly to be positioned around the pitching mound, foul territory between the first and third-base, coaching boxes and home plate, behind home plate above the traditional rotational signage, on the ‘batter’s eye’, and another outfield position.

The league is also pushing for more physical signs to be used in the stadiums to increase sponsorship and marketing opportunities.

However, the concerned with that is that, exposure is of a result of the broadcasting networks having the sign in shot for viewers back home to see. The league worry because that is out of their control and would not be able to complete their side of the deal.

The proposed 76-game season also will see players earn around 75% of their agreed salary.

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ICC APPROVES SHIRT SPONSORSHIP FOR TEST CRICKET The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved prominent front-ofshirt sponsors during test matches for the first time in its response to the financial impact of Covid-19.

Logos of up to 32 square inches in size on the chest of match shirts and sweaters for the next 12 months. Previously, large logos on the front of shirts were only allowed in one day and T20 international matches, while three smaller and more discreet logos are already permitted.

YOUR L HEREOGO

The decision is an effort to provide cricket boards with additional revenue-earning potential as they battle the downturn of business caused by the coronavirus pandemic, either by establishing new partnerships or expanding existing sponsorship deals.

It has been reported that the England team has been in talks about donating the new sponsorship position to the country’s National Health Service (NHS) or Covid-19 linked charities. One of the first test series to feature the new sponsorship positions will be England’s home series against the West Indies, which is scheduled to start on July 8.

The ICC’s Chief Executives Committee (CEC) announced the relaxation on Tuesday alongside a number of other changes, including allowing teams to replace players in their squads that display Covid-19 symptoms during test matches, stopping players from using saliva to shine the ball, as well as allowing the appointment of non-neutral match officials as a result in the increased difficulty of international travel and flying in overseas officials.

Cricket boards have been responding to the pandemic with large budget and salary cuts. The West Indies is cutting player and staff salaries by half. Cricket Australia and its players are in dispute over the depth of cost-cutting by the board. New Zealand Cricket is cutting staff by 15 per cent.

The England and Wales Cricket board has warned it could lose up to £380 million due to match cancellations.

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SPONSORSHIP

TOKYO 2020: TWO THIRDS OF DOMESTIC SPONSORS UNSURE ON CONTINUED SUPPORT

Two thirds of the domestic sponsors of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games are uncertain whether to continue the proposed agreements into the rescheduled 2021 games, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. A poll conducted by the broadcaster, which surveyed 57 of the 78 partners, found that 65 per cent of the sponsors supporting the summer Olympics are hesitant to extend their agreements to the reorganised event taking place between July 23 and August 8, with only around 12 per cent of sponsors planning to extend at this time.

NHK’s survey also uncovered that 68 per cent of those that responded had encountered financial troubles by cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, lending the idea that sponsors could be unwilling to make significant financial decisions during this unprecedented time.

Since the postponement of the games in March, organisers have not been able to re-enter ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

negotiations with the sponsors amid fears that the event could be cancelled altogether if the Covid-19 crisis continues to disrupt event organisers and athletes like has already been witnessed. Officials quickly played down fears of the event not being able to go ahead, however, they have publicly stated that if the Olympics are unable to take place in 2021, then it will be cancelled altogether.

could be required to make larger financial contributions. In this case, the survey disclosed that 14 per cent of sponsors’ decisions on this would depend on the price they would be required to pay.

Tokyo 2020’s sponsorship programme was set out with four clear purposes which included: securing funds for administration and delivery of the games, to enhance the Olympic brand,

“Officials quickly played down fears of the event not being able to go ahead, however, they have publicly stated that if the Olympics are unable to take place in 2021, then it will be cancelled altogether.”

Many sponsors also fear that any promotional activities that had originally been planned in the 2020 event could be impacted by the social distancing rules that may still be actioned late into 2021.

Earlier on this month, it was announced that the Tokyo 2020 planners were outlining ideas for a much “simplified” event next year, which is set to effect local organisers, meaning sponsors

promote the Olympic movement and improve international competitiveness of Japanese athletes. Despite the programme having already generated a record US$3.3 billion in revenue, the 2021 games will still need support from partners in order to fulfil the purposes and goals of the programme and provide the highquality event that Japan would want.

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GOVERNANCE

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2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP DELIVERS RECORD £4.2BN ECONOMIC IMPACT The 2019 Rugby World Cup has been deemed the most economically successful Rugby World ever after generating almost £4.3 billion (US$5.35 billion) economic output, according to the latest report published by EY. Rugby’s pinnacle competition in 2019 was the first to be held in the continent of Asia and ran across 44 days in 12 different cities, adding a total of £2.3 billion (US$2.86 billion) to Japan’s GDP. The report states how the Rugby World Cup had an enhanced experience for consumers attending the event in Japan by spending money on improving the stadiums and relevant infrastructure, which worked in conjunction with local and international spectators spending money at stadiums, fanzones, the cities in which games were being held and other tourist locations that are in Japan.

Overall, the report found that around 242,000 international fans from 178 different countries visited the host nation with an average stay on 17 days. It also found that 60 per cent of these fans were visiting the country for the first time with a daily spend 4.6 times higher than what an average tourist to Japan spent in 2018.

The spending from international visitors made up 54 per cent of the overall

economic spill over, with spending from spectators accumulating to £2.59 billion (US$3.22 billion). The tournament also saw Japan break the record of 99 per cent of tickets sold. This excludes the three games that had to be cancelled as a result of the typhoon. During the tournament, 46,000 jobs were created or sustained and there were 13,000 volunteers at the event too.

Videos produced for the Rugby World Cup or any relating to it were viewed 2.04 billion times across social media, more than five times the figure that England saw in the Rugby World Cup 2015.

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont expressed his delight at the record-breaking numbers that Rugby World Cup in 2019 produced.

“The outcomes of this comprehensive EY report reaffirm Japan 2019’s status as one of the great Rugby World Cups on and off the field. It is also good news for France 2023 and interested nations and unions wishing to host in the future.

“It reflects Rugby World Cup’s status as one of the best-loved and most prestigious major sports events to host, while highlighting the significant social and economic benefits that make the tournament such an attractive low-risk, high return on investment hosting proposition for governments and unions alike.”

President Shigetaka Mori of the Japan Rugby Football Union was also pleased with the economic results of the tournament and hopes that this will serve to improve Japan’s chances of hosting Rugby World Cup events in the future.

“I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to everyone involved in the success of Rugby World Cup 2019,” started President Mori.

“I am forever grateful that the Rugby World Cup was held in Japan, resulting in the increasing popularity of the game and more people than ever becoming familiar with the beauty of our beloved sport.

“With enthusiastic cheers from all over Japan, the Japan national team made history by powering their way to the quarter finals, the highest Rugby World Cup finish they have ever achieved.

“We are determined to make sure that the valuable legacy left by this immeasurably successful tournament will live on, and we will continue to strive to make rugby a well-loved national sport in our country. If the opportunity arose again, we would be eager to demonstrate our intention to bid for future Rugby World Cups and make the Japan national team the world’s best team.”

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GOVERNANCE

Paving the way to financial recovery As lockdown measures gradually begin to ease and the sporting world kicks off again, Paul Atkinson, restructuring partner at specialist business advisory firm FRP explains why sports club directors should make sure they’re ready to take advantage of opportunities and more effectively manage risks.

From major club and international football to golf and tennis tours, the coronavirus crisis has truly decimated the sporting calendar.

The long list of postponements and cancellations - football’s Euro 2020, the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo and cricket’s The Hundred, has been a miserable consequence of the pandemic for all sports fans.

But with the Premier League back under way after a 100-day hiatus, there is plenty to look forward to. A mind-boggling 92 games of football are scheduled to be packed into 40 days.

And even though matches are being played behind closed doors, footie fans in their droves are already glued to their TV screens to watch the rebirth of the beautiful game.

And with the gradual lifting of lockdown measures that have consumed all our lives recently, this brings about some important considerations for club directors. Most sports clubs have rightly focused on stabilising cashflow, but they now need to widen their attention to consider what risks and opportunities they will face in the upturn.

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Scenario planning The estimated global value of the sports industry was $471 billion in 2018, an increase of 45 per cent since 2011. And before coronavirus stopped play, the only trajectory seemed to be upwards.

But the crisis has upended all areas of life. Current projections suggest that it could take the UK economy three years to fully recover from the fallout of the pandemic, and the sporting world is no exception.

Club directors need to evaluate what their own path to recovery could look like. It is worth considering how your cost base can be reduced or made

more flexible if this becomes necessary.

For example, whether any furloughed staff are due to return to work, are they all still going to be required? These are difficult decisions to face, so it’s worth having some prior planning and a strategy in place.

Consider preparing a base plan and a twelve-month forecast, together with different scenarios, showing the impact on trading results and cashflows to stress test and identify contingency plans. Depending on the size of the potential funding requirements from downside scenarios, if it cannot be managed, then a club may also need to consider alternative options such as a sale or restructuring.

Cashflow is king The current climate is moving quickly, so club directors need to have a firm grasp on their finances.

Start with a thirteen-week rolling cash flow plan, as this allows the most important finances to be captured, such as weekly and monthly receipts and payments, quarterly VAT payments, as well as rent and interest charges.

Forecasts need to be constantly updated as we emerge from lockdown,

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bearing in mind that during the height of the crisis, cash inflows and outflows may have been significantly reduced.

Diligence is key. Club directors need to take account of recovering sales, current trading terms, agreements in respect of deferred payments during lockdown and financing arrangements. Once these are factored into the cashflow, it is worth identifying the weekly low points and requirements and consider how these can be more effectively managed – whether this is internally, or with support from key stakeholders.

In the early days of the recovery, cashflow will continue to be tight and clubs will naturally be concerned regarding the strength of customers and suppliers. Consequently, they may not

be able to fund the same credit terms as before and only make sales on short credit terms or a proforma basis until confidence and headroom is restored.

Stakeholder management Proactive engage with their key stakeholders is imperative. Whether this is for employees, suppliers, spectators, shareholders, lenders, landlords or pension fund trustees, club directors need to understand their objectives and information requirements, maintain strong relationships and build trust with them, in case further support is required in the future.

A good example can be found in the numerous sports clubs that use invoice finance to fund working capital.

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Using the business plan and thirteenweek cash forecast, clubs need to work closely with their lenders in the initial stages of the recovery to help deal with any funding gap that can’t be managed.

In addition, invoice finance facilities typically have 90-day approval limits and, if debtors have not been paid through the lockdown, businesses may be at their funding limits when they need it most.

Clubs that engage with their funding providers proactively on their plans and viability are more likely to obtain some flexibility from funders around the approval and prepayment limits, to help them get through the initial weeks and months.

ABOUT FRP FRP Advisory Trading Limited, which is a whole owned subsidiary of FRP Advisory Group plc, provides a professional and considered approach to problem solving. With 50 partners and more than 360 staff operating from 18 offices across England and Scotland, FRP is one of the UK’s largest independent business advisory firms specialising in corporate restructuring, corporate finance, forensic services, pensions advisory and debt advisory. It has a strong reputation and track record for creating, preserving, and recovering value across a range of complex situations. Its advisers work at board level, with investors, lenders, government and regulatory bodies, plus other professionals and individuals requiring professional support. FRP provides a wide range of services, as well as specialist industry experience to enable the delivery of sector specific solutions. http://www.frpadvisory.com ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

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GOVERNANCE

OVERCOMING FINANCIAL HURDLES

With British Horseracing returning in June with Royal Ascot, following the cancellation of a number of major events, including Aintree’s annual festival featuring the Grand National, Premier Sports Network spoke with Nevin Truesdale, Group Chief Financial Officer of The Jockey Club, to find out what impact the lay-off and the continued restrictions have had.

Can you tell us where the horse racing industry is in terms of returning to normality?

We have now resumed racing without spectators from June 1, which was the first day the Government approved the return of elite UK sport, under careful safety guidance. This was the result of a lot of hard work from both our racecourse teams and wider stakeholders across the industry to put appropriate measures in place at all relevant venues, including online education modules, pre-testing and changes to both site infrastructure and practices to ensure social distancing is observed at all times.

You will have seen these in action during the excellent ITV coverage of the racing in the last few weeks, which started with a real bang at the Qipco Guineas at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

in the first weekend in June and has continued through Royal Ascot last week. We have a great summer of flat racing to look forward to now and hope to be welcoming back crowds in the coming months when it is safe and appropriate to do so. Focus is now on the measures we will need to have in place to accommodate that, with horse owners likely to be among the first group to come back onto racecourses.

How have you adapted in the shortterm to manage any cash flow challenges?

As you can imagine, this has been one of our biggest challenges. With no revenue

coming in while our venues were not functioning, we had to make some very significant changes to the business in a short space of time. These included the suspension of ongoing capital projects, elimination of all discretionary spend across marketing, communications, grounds, operations and maintenance and the use of the government’s Job Retention Scheme. We had to take these decisions quickly and communicate them to our people and wider stakeholders in a timely and sensitive way, ensuring that they understood the rationale and that those who were furloughed were helping the business’ cashflow position.

We have also made changes to expenditure sign-off levels to ensure that everything that is being spent is totally justified. Now that we are racing again, in some form at least, we have revenue lines from remote streaming and betting shops flowing again, but we are racing, on some days, at close to break even and the business will continue to run at a loss until we have crowds back at a sustainable level. It is therefore critical that we continue to manage our cash position very carefully, but our lenders have been very flexible with us and offered strong support throughout.

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NEVIN TRUESDALE, GROUP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER THE JOCKEY CLUB

What areas of the business are you looking to invest in that could help to generate future revenue?

We are looking at a number of areas in the context of the constraints we now face and having to make some difficult choices. We will, of course, continue to invest in the quality and infrastructure of our venues to deliver the quality that customers, both racegoers and owners / trainers have come to expect from us and which we have demonstrated we can deliver over a sustained period. However, we are also looking across our wider portfolio – as a consumer-facing leisure business, how we communicate with and market to our existing and new customers is vital and we are looking to invest in improved marketing and CRM capability, in particular in the digital space.

In addition, we are looking at initiatives which will help boost horse ownership, a critical driver for the long term success of our industry – specifically, this will involve investment in areas which make ownership more accessible, improve the digital preraceday experience and also the on-course experience and the thrill of seeing your horse run at one of our major fixtures.

Our sport has recently been described by a well-known Hollywood actor as “spine tingling”! We obviously agree with him and we aim to build on that.

What are the key impacts long-term of staging races behind-closed-doors, and how sustainable is this for the industry?

We are racing behind closed doors in line with the government advice and guidance on social distancing and will continue in that vein until it is safe to move to the next stage. In the long term, however, this model is not a sustainable one for the sport as we have no revenue coming in from key streams such as admissions, corporate hospitality and consumer on spends to areas such as food and beverage and on course betting. We are completely reliant on media and betting base revenues from online streaming, betting shops and Pay and terrestrial TV rights. This will inevitably have knock-on impacts to the levels of prize money we are able to offer at our fixtures.

The biggest hidden impact is also on the horse ownership experience - it has been frustrating as an owner in not being able to attend to watch your horse race in the flesh and I’m very pleased to say that the BHA have now announced that owners will be allowed to attend race fixtures once again. If owners had continued to be prevented from attending, it is likely that this would have impacted on ownership numbers in the longer term and it was critical to avoid that.

What key lessons have you learnt during this period and what changes will you put in place going forward to minimise the financial impact?

Above all, we have learned that we can challenge almost all of what we had come to see as ‘normal’. We have had to look at the provisions of all our key contracts, our approach to raceday planning and operations, how we allocate and execute our key marketing and digital initiatives and the way in which we deploy our capital expenditure. It has also given us the impetus to challenge areas of duplication of activity across the business including how we set up our supplier relationships and maximise value from these, both for ourselves and the supplier partner.

It has also brought real focus on the value of our media rights, which we have grown significantly in recent years but which will become even more important to us as we move forward, given the possibility of future crowd restrictions even after we reach the ‘new normal.’

Given all of this, our business structure and our cost base are likely to look quite different when we come out the other side of this, but we firmly believe the business will be stronger and healthier for it in the long term, so we can look forward with optimism.

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WTO PIRACY RULING PLACES FRESH PRESSURES ON PREMIER LEAGUE TO REJECT SAUDI TAKEOVER OF NEWCASTLE The proposed £300 million Saudi-Arabian-led takeover of Newcastle United FC faces renewed examination after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that the Gulf Kingdom was responsible for television piracy of the English Premier League. The league now faces increased pressure to reject the controversial bid, with both FIFA and UEFA heavily criticising Saudi Arabia for supporting pirate sport service beoutQ. The WTO deal with the global laws of trade between nations and has insisted that Saudi Arabia’s attempt to prevent piracy has been inadequate. In addition to a concerning human rights record, WTO issued a report on June 16 claiming a breach of international piracy laws.

Qatar initially brought the case to the WTO, claiming that beoutQ was streaming content that was rightfully owned by Doha-based broadcaster beIN Sports that has paid billions for exclusive rights to a number of major sporting events. They have reportedly paid in the region of £400 million over a three-year period for Premier League rights alone.

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“Those seeking to follow beoutQ’s example should be in no doubt that UEFA will go to great lengths to protect its property and support its partners, whose investment in football helps it to remain the world’s most popular sport from grassroots to elite level...”

Saudi Arabia have always denied supporting beoutQ to broadcast sporting events, claiming there is no link between the government and piracy. Although, the WTO’s report has found Saudi Arabia to be a facilitator to beoutQ, stating Saudi Arabi have ‘acted in a manner inconsistent’ with international law.

The WTO report states that ‘prominent Saudi nationals’ promoted the use of illegal broadcasts by the pirate network.

The £300 million bid to takeover Newcastle United has been tabled by Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF). 80 per cent of the deal will be financed by the PIF, whose chairman is Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The deal is currently awaiting approval from the Premier League as the deal has to pass the Premier League’s owners and directors’ test. A process which involves investigating the background of the potentially new owners. An aspect of the test analyses the prospect of any alleged involvement in criminality. Something Premier League lawyers have been analysing in the past two months.

Yousef al-Obaidly, chief executive of BeIN Sport has so far informed Premier League executives warning them against the Newcastle takeover. He has even written to Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters calling for a full investigation into the piracy claims.

Masters has said he is aware of the human rights concerns coming out of Saudi Arabia.

European football governing body, UEFA said that they ‘welcome’ the report and its findings, while FIFA ‘agreed’ with WTO’s

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recommendations adding that ‘piracy of football matches is an illegal activity and will not be tolerated on any level.’

“Those seeking to follow beoutQ’s example should be in no doubt that UEFA will go to great lengths to protect its property and support its partners, whose investment in football helps it to remain the world’s most popular sport from grassroots to elite level,” said UEFA. “Piracy not only threatens that investment but also the existence of professional sport as we know it.”

In a statement, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged a crackdown on broadcast piracy after the investigation found the state had not done enough to tackle beoutQ. An initiative from the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) unveiled plans to eliminate piracy and shut down 231 illicit platforms in the Middle Eastern country. The campaign is intended to stop ‘websites and platforms that violates intellectual property laws including sites broadcast from outside the Kingdom.’

The statement insists that ‘SAIP recently monitored, examined, and analysed 231 websites that violates

Intellectual property law to prevent it from being browsed from the Kingdom.’

‘Those detected sites included a group of violations, which are downloading and watching movies and series, directly broadcasting sites of encrypted sports channels, downloading books in PDF format sites, downloading and listening to music sites and all been done without obtaining a prior license or authorization from the right holder.’

‘SAIP has also detected websites that are selling subscriptions for encrypted TV channels through software’s or illicit streaming devices (ISD) to break barriers for the purpose of displaying materials in illegal ways.’

SAIP added that it ‘will not tolerate the accountability of all those who violate the laws and regulations, nor will it condone these violations.’

The government have also announced that a fine of up to 250,000 Saudi riyals (£54,000), could be a consequence of a breach of copyright protection law, finding those responsible jailed for no longer than six months.

Before the takeover was ever a possibility, the Premier League, FIFA, UEFA, La Liga and the Bundesliga have

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all attempted to bring proceedings into Saudi courts but have been denied access by the government. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has acknowledged it has a ‘responsibility’ to help fight broadcasting piracy. In a letter by SAFF president Yasser Hassan Almisehal, which was sent to bodies including UEFA and The English Premier League, the governing body insists it “understands the need to protect and respect intellectual property rights.”

Yasser added, “Copyright piracy is a global issue that impacts many sports and rights-holders in many sports and rights-holders in many territories. It holds no place in sport and as a member association of the world FIFA, we fully understand the need to protect and respect intellectual property rights.”

Saudi Arabia have also been accused of ‘sportwashing’. A term used to describe when countries try to boost their reputation by hosting and investing in major sporting events to cover their corrupt flaws and authoritarian regimes.

Piracy, which remains a major threat to broadcasters’ revenue, has surged during the Covid-19 lockdown, with viewers seeking more content than ever before.

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PREMIERSHIP RUGBY CLUBS AGREE TO SLASH SALARY CAP BY £1M Premiership Rugby sides have unanimously agreed to cut the salary cap by £1 million for the 2021-22 season.

The deduction is a result of the coronavirus pandemic designed to help clubs overcome financial difficulties they have faced during the virus. Other significant changes have occurred which will reduce the number of ‘marquee’ players from two to one in the 2022-23 season and onwards, as they are not included in the overall salary cap.

An increasing number of clubs have called for the current salary cap to be reduced by as much as 25 per cent, in addition to scrapping the ‘marquee’ players who are exempt from the rule.

Harlequins chief executive Laurie Dalrymple said the lockdown had exposed the financial fragility of the sport and said it’s important to introduce appropriate measures and reductions to be included in the restructuring process.

Dalrymple said: “We knew before Covid that financially the structure of rugby is by and large fractured, it’s not working.

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“It’s incredibly difficult for us at the moment. We haven’t entirely switched off our revenue streams... but it’s a huge amount of pressure on us.”

“There might be one or two clubs who are an exception but virtually all clubs are losing more money than they are bringing in.

“Something has to change, so we would be supportive of how the salary cap could change. I genuinely don’t think it should be the only discussion point, but it is a very important one.

“I think it has to be lowered in keeping with what’s then going to make the club sustainable, but we have to be cognisant of the fact that when we do get our sport

operating commercially, then we have to raise it.”

He added: “It’s incredibly difficult for us at the moment. We haven’t entirely switched off our revenue streams... but it’s a huge amount of pressure on us.

“It’s going to take us probably longer than we thought to come through this, and it’s going to be a long road ahead to get anywhere near the level of financial and commercial income that we had, on a financial programme that was already fairly fragile before the pandemic.”

Premiership clubs return to training this week as clubs are adopting a phased approach, similar to the one football and other sports are currently performing, were training will be carried out in small groups with no-contact taking place. No timeframe has yet been confirmed when phase two will be introduced, allowing contact training to proceed. The Premiership Rugby League announced last week that the season will provisionally resume on August 15.

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AELTC bringing tennis community for ‘Wimbledon Recreated’

As the gates of Wimbledon will remain closed to fans due to this year’s event being forced to be cancelled, the AELTC have launched ‘Wimbledon Recreated’. A new campaign to celebrate the fortnight from June 28 to July 11.

No live tennis will take place on the hallowed turf of SW19 as The Championships is cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it has been announced that The Championships will promote a campaign to maintain interest in the grass court grand slam and to remind everyone of what they are unfortunately missing out on.

Tournament organisers aim to provide a ‘Wimbledon Experience’ as it goes through each round, telling a significant story of some of the greatest Wimbledon matches. The recreation will be available on TV, digital and social media.

Richard Lewis, AELTC’s Chief Executive has said, “It won’t be as good as the real thing, but we hope it will be an opportunity for us to come together even though we are apart, to demonstrate that Wimbledon is for everyone, in any way you choose to celebrate it – playing tennis, eating strawberries, or just a really good picnic.”

“It is the passion of our fans for The Championships that has shaped our event over the years and will continue to do so.

We will all be feeling the absence of The

Championships this year, but we hope, through Wimbledon Recreated, to go some small way to filling the gap.”

The campaign includes stars such as, five-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic. Filmed in his garden re-enacting his ‘trademark’ celebration, kneeling down to take a blade of grass to eat which he done after winning The Championships. Simona Halep, recreating the notorious walk through the Wimbledon clubhouse to Centre Court dressed in full tennis attire. It also aims to include fans to produce their own recreation of their greatest moments of Wimbledon to be shared.

The BBC will be producing daily shows throughout the fortnight by screening ‘The Greatest Championships’ by re-telling some of Wimbledon’s greatest matches through IBM facilities. The campaign will also feature “a gaming experiment” on Facebook around a special version of retro computer game, Tetris. Other additional features include, Play The Championships, A Wish from Wimbledon, Design the 2020 Poster and much more.

The AELTC is working alongside the British tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), to promote tennis across the country to increase participation.

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GOVERNANCE

Planning for the unknown: Financial modelling for sports organisations

By Tom Wilson, Partner at haysmacintyre

Throughout conversations I have had over the last few months with clients in the sector, one topic has come up more than most – financial modelling. Many are simply trying to understand the short-term impacts of the pandemic and to make decisions for the immediate survival of organisations across the sector. There is still significant uncertainty across many areas of sport, however, as time goes by, more certainty is starting to develop and more clients are looking to model into the medium-term and plot the ’new normal‘.

As likely futures begin to narrow and come into sight, financial modelling is more important than ever. With everything the sector has endured, your strategy must encompass a wide range of financial circumstances and response plans. We would encourage at least one of these models to be the worst case ’what if‘ scenario, so you can fathom the extent of the potential challenges and where key decisions must be made. Protecting cash flow, in almost all scenarios, is still the immediate priority. Some of the key considerations (and they are by no means exhaustive) when planning for the worst case include:

Event and matchday revenue: probably the biggest unknown.

When will you be able to host sporting events again? When will match day revenue return? It is possible that we may go an unknown amount of time where attendance at events is not ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

possible. In the example of football, how long the season will be impacted and how will this impact revenue should be plotted under different timeframes.

Member/season ticket holder discontent: we have heard some stories over challenges in this area; will you need to recompense your stakeholders for loss of service provision? It is likely that most organisations will do this in some way, but how? Will this be via cash rebates or discounts against future income? Both will cause differing cashflow challenges and this should be carefully thought through and modelled before decisions are made.

Reductions in other income streams: as a result of the disruption to the match day experience, there is likely to be an impact on other revenue streams such as sponsorship for specific events, and also ancillary streams such as food and beverage, and merchandising income.

Deferred payments: we are aware of several organisations who have deferred various payments. Most organisations have taken advantage of Time to Pay arrangements such as VAT and PAYE deferrals. There are others exercising bank financing holidays and rent deferrals as well. Some organisations have entered pay deferrals with players. These are obviously only deferrals and will have future cash impacts, which should be planned and forecasted carefully.

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Debts: we are likely to go into a significant downturn in the economy, lasting anywhere from 18 months to two years. Some of your debtors might not be able to pay in six to nine months’ time. What is your exposure to debts going to be and how likely are they to go bad? This could have a significant impact on cash flow.

Insurance: we have heard some conflicting stories regarding insurance cover for business interruption, we think it’s unlikely that anybody will be covered in full. From a modelling point of view, you should not rely on this. Even if it transpires and you are covered later for a pay out, payments are still likely to be significantly delayed and won’t help cash flow in the short-term.

Cost upsides: there will be upsides from a cost perspective that should be fully considered and built into your modelling.

It is also worth reviewing all costs and contracts and taking action to remove any unnecessary expenditure as a matter of urgency. You may wish to flex different budgets (possibly on the playing side) where relevant, to know the extent of funding gaps and how these may be mitigated.

Capital work: do you have any major capital work scheduled?

New equipment, office, training or stadium facility upgrades?

It is worth considering each planned project and ask yourself: does this need to occur? Based on your answers, prioritise the most important and delay or cancel the remainder.

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Financing: there may be some organisations who need an element of financing to see them through this period of uncertainty. Where will this come from? Do you have an owner or benefactor who may be willing to fund the deficit? Can they still afford it in a downturned economy? Or will you need to find alternative financing? In many cases you may be an attractive prospect due to the security you can offer in the form of property. You should model the amount of funding necessary and approach your bank early.

Job Retention Scheme: the Government’s furlough scheme has been a lifeline to many in the sector and from July we move into the next phase of the scheme. The Government has recently passed legislation to recoup funds where the scheme has been used inappropriately, and in most cases this will not be the case, however, we recommend double checking you have complied with the legislation for the individuals where claims have been made. While the Government has said it will treat genuine mistakes leniently, it will want to recoup funds where it can, and the high-profile nature of sport makes it an attractive sector to make an example of.

It’s impossible to predict the future, but given that we have faced extraordinary circumstances in 2020, it is prudent to model and assess several situations, including the extraordinary.

Far from a luxury, modelling has become an essential part of your strategic planning, and will ensure that your organisation can respond to whatever the next two years hold.

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GOVERNANCE

Legal motivations behind the Premier League’s return and what challenges could lie ahead WORDS: JULIAN PIKE, HUGH YOUNG AND ALEX POTTEN.

MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S RETURN The mini-season now underway to complete the 2019/20 Premier League and Championship seasons has avoided unprecedented financial and sporting challenges, the consequences of which might have been felt for years to come, which is not to say that will not happen in event, but it is unlikely to be to the degree that would have been faced had the season not been completed. While there are positives in seeing top-flight football being played, the overwhelming consequence will be the series of issues that a complete season has avoided. Without suggesting this to be an exclusive list, some of the key problems avoided are set out below: Avoiding Potential Court Challenges For football governing bodies that took the decision to cancel seasons, the consequences of that decision are beginning to play out. The backlash that those bodies are facing now illustrate what the Premier League may have avoided by opting to continue: In France, Amiens SC and Toulouse FC launched legal challenges to the Ligue de Football Professionnel’s (LFP) decision to abandon the rest of the Ligue 1 season, relegating Amiens and Toulouse. After an appeal to France’s highest administrative court, relegation has been suspended, with the judge ordering LFP to re-examine the format of the 202021 season, brieflyopening the possibility of a Ligue 1 with 22 teams.

Back in England, in the seventh tier of English football, South Shields FC saw its challenge against the Football Association’s ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

decision to cancel the Northern Premier League (along with the rest of tiers 3-8 of English football) rejected by an arbitral panel.

Had the decision not been made to continue the Premier League season (almost) as normal, it is very likely that similar challenges would have been made. It is not hard to understand why clubs towards the bottom of the table would feel a sense of injustice at potentially being relegated in an incomplete season (with all the dire financial consequences that would bring). As an indication, Norwich City FC Sporting Director Stuart Webber had already indicated that if the Championship season did not complete along with the Premier League season, there should be no promotion or relegation. Of course, those clubs realistically in with a chance of promotion from the Championship would also have considered their legal options given the financial reward of playing in the Premier League, even if, in a worse case scenario, only for a single season.

Finishing the season also avoided the prospect of a challenge from Liverpool, as well as from those clubs with a chance of playing Champions League football next season. A curtailed season may have seen Liverpool crowned Champions, but for them to have lost the opportunity of a first title in 30 years and other clubs potentially lose out on lucrative Champions League places would have also been likely to legal challenge.

Avoiding Substantial Financial Loss The Premier League is the most lucrative in the world. The flipside to the season not finishing risked all parties losing out massively from the various broadcast and sponsorship deals given that the sums involved are so huge that, whether expressly provided for in commercial contracts or not, disputes

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over sums withheld or already paid would have been almost inevitable, with the League, the FA and the Clubs all facing dire financial losses, even ignoring match day receipts. Failing to complete the season would have financially challenged so very many of the clubs, with some no doubt being taken to the brink. That, thankfully, has been avoided.

Avoiding Governance Issues The Premier League’s decision to continue the season has also avoided the corporate complexities that would have been required to amend the rules midway through.

The Premier League is a private limited company whose members are the 20 teams in the league. The process for making a change to the rules involves 14 out of 20 clubs agreeing to the amendment at a meeting. This gives a minority of clubs considerable power in contentious situations. Continuing the season without controversial amendments avoided this risk.

CHALLENGES LIE THAT LIE AHEAD It’s not exactly business as usual though. Alongside socially distanced celebrations and superimposed crowd noises, what other challenges are there to returning to elite sport during a pandemic?

Returning to training Employer’s duties The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable,

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the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees.

Employers also owe a contractual duty of care to employees to provide a reasonably safe place of work.

Sports organisations should carry out a risk assessment in resuming activities to ensure that they comply with this obligation. There will be slightly different practical considerations for elite sports people. For advice on more common issues, clubs and others affected should refer to the government guidance document ‘Elite sport return to training guidance: Stage One’. There is a detailed list of issues that should be included in the risk assessment and mitigation plan at paragraph 4 under ‘Guidance for sports, clubs and support service providers’.

Getting it wrong The consequences of getting it wrong could be significant. The already intense media scrutiny on elite sports organisations has ramped up a notch during the pandemic, and there is clear scope for reputational damage following an outbreak. The value of potential legal claims could also be significant if an athlete contracts the virus now that professional sport is returning, given the impact this would have on their ability to fulfil their obligations under their lucrative contracts and sponsorship deals. The experience of both the US PGA Tour, where there have been positive tests amongst players and caddies, as well as what we have witnessed on the Djokovic Adria Tour demonstrate the risk and the need for greater precautions to be taken, whether by organisers and/or competitors. ➜ ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

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GOVERNANCE

Refusing to train What happens if players or athletes are not satisfied with these precautions and refuse to return to training? There have been several high profile example of Premier League players initially refusing to train due to safety concerns, prompting a flurry of provocative headlines (for example ‘If you asked people in the street to play for £60,000 a week, they’d all say yes’ from the Mail Online The legal position is more nuanced. Players’ contracts require them to train and play matches, and ordinarily a failure to do so could be treated as a disciplinary issue.

However, employment law protects employees from detriment or dismissal if they refuse to return to a workplace to protect themselves or others from danger that they reasonably believe to be serious or imminent.

“Clubs have been looking carefully at their contracts to make sure they aren’t taken off guard if there is further disruption caused in the coming months or years due to the crisis (or other unexpected events).”

Reasonable belief Clearly, if other players or staff have recently tested positive, it will be easier for a player to argue that their belief is reasonable. The protection is also for themselves ‘or others’, so could arguably extend to protecting vulnerable family members (which has been a main concern cited in recent high-profile cases). On the other hand, a vague ‘general covid concern’ would be harder to justify, particularly if the employer has taken extensive steps to reduce the risk of infection.

‘Covid proofing’ contracts Clubs have been looking carefully at their contracts to make sure they aren’t taken off guard if there is further disruption caused in the coming months or years due to the crisis (or other unexpected events).

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For example, one of the issues that has generated a lot of discussion is the contractual headache caused by the playing season being extended beyond 30 June. Most player contracts due to expire do so on 30 June, meaning clubs are faced with the prospect of losing key players before the playing season is over. Burnley boss Sean Dyche did not hide his frustration at his club’s handling of player contracts following the heavy defeat to Manchester City recently (five first team players were missing from the line-up, being out of contract on 30 June).

Lawyers for the clubs and the league alike will no doubt be examining contracts with players and commercial partners etc to ensure there is enough contractual flexibility to handle issues such as this should we see a repeat.

Empty stadia If used to playing in front of 75,000 fans, it must be an eerie experience to be playing in empty stadia. While it is one thing to adapt for nine games, it is something else if empty stadia are to remain closed for much of the 2020/21 season.

This potentially will lead to disputes with the likes of season ticket and debenture holders, match day service providers and sponsors, as clubs battle to keep their respective clubs going and others seek to cut their losses or insist on their contractual entitlements (as they see them), while legal teams on both sides reach deep into the laws of contractual frustration and force majeure clauses, to the extent they have not done so already.

Conclusion Even in the extremely unlikely event the UK is Covid-free at some point in the remaining part of 2020, we can expect a series of disputes to arise. Some analysis and planning will be wise, especially in the event of the pandemic continuing to run and live sporting events remain closed, wholly or partially, to spectators. Given the sums involved in football, we can expect it to lead when there are legal fights to be had and precedents set. Other sports will watch and learn the lessons.

It can be only hoped that football will set good precedents.

Completing the current season has been a good start, with more cohesiveness than has been shown at times in the past: a sense of the common good succeeding over self-interest has shown common sense to the fore. We can but hope that remains as we move forward.

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MLS TO RESTART WITH TOURNAMENT AT DISNEY WORLD Major League Soccer has announced that it will restart the season on July 8, after being shut down for almost three months by the Covid-19 outbreak, with a behind-closed-doors tournament at Walt Disney World, Florida.

The tournament will include all 26 teams, beginning with groups of 4 teams, with the top two and the four best third placed teams qualifying for knockout stages. The knockout stages will be a carbon copy of the World Cup-style including a round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals and the final. The competition will run until August 11 and is being billed as the ‘MLS is Back Tournament’.

Group stage matches will count in the MLS regular season standings and the tournament winner will earn a sport in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.

Following the tournaments completion, the MLS said it plans to continue its

regular season with a revised schedule in home markets, followed by the playoffs and the 25th MLS Cup. The venue will be at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex within the Walt Disney World Resort where fans will not be allowed to attend throughout. This is also where the Teams will stay at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex within the Walt Disney Resort for the

duration of the month-long tournament as testing will be applied to all teams including players and all staff for a 14-day period, including temperature screenings and PPE provided to prevent the spreading if a player has the virus.

Tests will also take place before every game, in the case of a positive result, the player or staff member will be released from the tournament in order to prevent spreading. Teams must arrive seven days before their first match in order for the rigorous testing to be thorough and it’s most effective.

The National Basketball (NBA) has also approved to restart its 2019/20 season at Walt Disney World with a ‘tentative’ start date of July 31.

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INVESTMENT

OWNERS OF AS ROMA SEEKING NEW OWNERS AFTER COLLAPSE OF SALE Italian Serie A side AS Roma are again searching for new buyers after a €750 million deal has collapsed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Italy amongst every other country in the world has been affected by the pandemic which within football, has seen huge declines in revenues as there has been an obvious loss of broadcasting, sponsorships and ticket sales as a result of the lack of fixtures being played.

This has consequently made it increasingly difficult for investors to value a club.

In August 2012, James Pallotta became the owner of AS Roma but now has decided to sell his share in the club.

The reported €750 million was offered earlier this year by fellow American and billionaire Daniel Friedkin, who is the owner of Gulf States Toyota. However, due to the effects, the pandemic has had, Daniel Friedkin made a revised offer reported to be worth €575 million, which was rejected by Mr Pallotta.

The Financial Times reported that Daniel Friedkin and his group were willing to pay in instalments with a starting payment of €125 million. In addition, €52 million would have then been paid over the next six months and a lump sum of €85 by the end of the year.

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Although Mr Friedkin had his offer rejected, it is said he is still interested in taking over the club, however, he faces competition with interested parties such as Joseph DaGrosa, the chairman of General American Capital Partners (GACP) and former owner of Ligue 1 club Bordeaux, displaying interest to invest in the Italian club.

James Pallotta has been interviewed on the matter and the club posted a statement on their website, Mr Pollotta commented: “The Friedkin Group approached us last fall and, towards the end of the year, we were beginning to find an agreement. We went into more detail - and the devil is always in the detail – but after changes made by their lawyers and bankers, the offer began to morph into something less and less palatable for both Roma and our investment group.”

“The last semi-concrete offer we received - some of the details of which seem to have been leaked by either their lawyers or bankers - just wasn’t close to being acceptable.”

“If the Friedkin Group has the money and wants to talk again and wants to make an offer that we all find acceptable for Roma, we would listen.”

TM

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‘BIDDING WAR’ FOR STAKE IN SERIE A US Investment firms Advent International and Bain Capital challenge CVC Capital Partners for a stake in Italy’s top-flight football league.

According to Bloomberg, Bain Capital is set to offer €3 billion (US$3.4 billion) for a 25 per cent stake in the Serie A and see off the Luxembourg based private equity firm, CVC Capital.

Both offers are said to mainly involve the control of the league’s media rights, which are worth around €1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) annually, based off the existing three-year rights cycle that will expire at the end of next season (2020/21). Following interest from Bain Capital, Advent International were reported to have also tabled an offer for a stake in Serie A, valuing the league in the region of €13 billion (US$14.6 billion).

CVC Capital’s deal differs slightly from Bain’s as their preliminary offer would see them only take a 20 per cent

role for a €2.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) investment. It is believed that CVC have been negotiating with the Serie A in a dedicated window that expires at the end of the month, opening up the opportunity for Bain Capital to own the stake. CVC’s 20 per cent role will be in the league’s TV rights sales and implementing funds to improve upon the leagues stadia that is considered to be holding the league back.

Only three teams from the 20 clubs competing in the Serie A own their stadiums, compared to 15 out of the 20 Premier League clubs owning their own stadiums, 16 out of 20 in La Liga and nine out of 18 in the Bundesliga, which is starting to forge a gap between the league and its European counterparts.

It was during the Italia ‘90 World Cup where many Italian stadiums were ordered to be renovated to meet the

standards required that cost 84 per cent over budget, a debt that is still holding back many Italian clubs to this day. With many clubs not owning their own stadiums, it is difficult for clubs to make foreign investments in the way that other European leagues have been able to do.

An investment from CVC could mean that the stadia in the Serie A finally gets the renovation that it needs to be able to remain amongst the list of elite leagues in Europe.

Blackstone, another private equity group, has been rumoured to be considering loaning to the Serie A, as the league has lost significant revenue due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Whilst negotiations have been taking place for a significant investment, the Serie A have announced a partnership with Coca-Cola, which will be an official league sponsor as of the 2020/21 season.

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INVESTMENT

David Beckham invests into Esports David Beckham has launched an eSports team which aims to bridge the gap between sports and their video game counterparts. The former footballer is co-owner of Guild Esports, a global esports business headquartered in London.

Blue Star Capital, investee company of Guild Esports, are aiming to develop talented esport players in the U.K. Blue Star aim to develop the next group of emerging talent in the gaming industry by creating a model which seeks to provide a coaching academy to scout and cultivate upcoming talent with the aim to link them to professional teams.

Executive chairman of Guild Esports, Carleton Curtis, and Beckham who is coowner, aim to be competing in the autumn, as professional teams compete in games such as, Rocket League, FIFA and Fortnite.

Curtis, former Activision Blizzard executive, has helped create esport competitions on Overwatch and Call of Duty.

Guild Esports are aiming to raise £25million (US$30.6million) in an ongoing funding round based on a ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

valuation of approximately UK£100million (US$122.6million), according to the Financial Times.

Curtis has said in a statement, “We have built an experienced management team and I am proud to have David Beckham as co-owner in this venture,” “His professionalism and deep experience of developing highfunctioning sports teams aligns with our core strategy of building the best in class esports teams.”

Beckham adds Guild to his existing of his business portfolio which includes, Major League Soccer (MLS) team Inter Miami, yet details of the financial investment are still to be made public. However, the Financial Times report that he will become the second largest shareholder

through DB ventures. Beckham’s personal investment vehicle.

Tom Fabrizi, Blue Star chief executive has said, “We are very pleased to announce today’s news from Guild regarding its global launch and the association with David Beckham,” “The team behind Guild is incredibly strong and gives us great confidence that the company has an exciting future.”

“His involvement in the launch of Guild is a significant opportunity to introduce his level of professional sports acumen to the world of esports and further strengthen this evolving sport,” said Fabrizi.

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US INVESTOR PLANS TO RECREATE CITY FOOTBALL GROUP STYLE NETWORK WITH PREMIER LEAGUE TAKEOVER American investor Joseph DaGrosa and business partner Hugo Varela have expressed ambitious plans to create a global group of European football clubs and academies, starting with an English Premier League team.

The billionaire, who is a former president of French Ligue 1 club Bordeaux, hopes to acquire a number of European clubs at a discount of up to 40 per cent with owners and clubs having suffered financially from the coronavirus pandemic. With up to â‚Ź1 billion to spend on clubs, DaGrosa has already emerged as a possible candidate to takeover Roma who are presently in search of new owners.

Speaking to Forbes, DaGrosa stated how the impact of the Covid-19 crisis could prove to be an opportunity for himself and his company, General American Capital Partners (GACP), to create a City Football group model far cheaper than the Abu Dhabi United Group who own football clubs including Manchester City FC in the Premier League and New York City FC in the MLS.

When speaking to Off the Pitch, the American businessman disclosed how in some cases he was talking to the debt holders of clubs, as opposed to their owners, which signifies some of the financial trouble that clubs find themselves in.

After selling their stake in Bordeaux, GACP Sports was linked with Premier League side Newcastle United who is currently owned by the unpopular Mike Ashley who has made no secret of his intentions of selling the club. DaGrosa and his business partner, Hugo Varela, told Forbes that they expected their first acquisition to be a midtable Premier League side before adding a number of other clubs across Europe and academies in South America, Africa and Asia.

At present, UEFA have restrictions on multiple clubs who share the same owner. The rules declare how two clubs or more competing in the same UEFA competition cannot be directly or indirectly controlled by the same entity or managed by the same person. DaGrosa believes that easing these restrictions would be of benefit to UEFA as it would make for a far better environment for investments to take place.

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TECHNOLOGY

Development of digital passport could help fans return to the stands With the Premier League returning last month, clubs are set to trial a digital health passport to enable the return of fans into stadiums.

Prenetics, a partner of the Premier League is at the development stage of the process with Manchester City and Arsenal amongst the teams looking to trial the biometric access system.

Prenetics, currently supply the Premier League with testing for coronavirus, hope to develop a “health passport” enabling fans to enter stadiums. Governing bodies could approve the use of digital health passports to allow fans to enter stadiums safely and securely, as stadiums are at limited capacity at the moment due to the current pandemic.

Chief Executive for the EMEA region for Prenetics, Avi Lasarow, told Reuters the genetic testing and digital health organisation is at the development stage of a secure evidence-test and access system.

“I think it’s going to be a big game-changer in terms of linking Covid-19 testing results... to a digital access mechanism based on biometrics and other such factors,” “With any innovation, you’re always thinking about what the end goal is... in the world of sport it’s about getting fans back into the stadium.”

The digital system would require fans to scan their health passport information through the use of a QR code, when trying to access the stands to prove that their Covid-19 test is valid and a negative result. Fans would have to opt into the system via email, providing personal information, ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

“With any innovation, you’re always thinking about what the end goal is... in the world of sport it’s about getting fans back into the stadium.”

such as a photograph, which then would provide each fan with their own personal code available via mobile phone.

Players and staff at Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Sheffield United will trial Prenetics health passport system, while being supplied to other industries, throughout the next six weeks as the conclusion of the 2019/20 season takes place.

“This is the first time it’s being used in sports,” Lasarow said, “It has the possibilities for scaling it up in a sport context to stadiums and fans in a much bigger capacity. I think that’s where the future is in terms of Covid-19.”

“The capability is there for us to facilitate the safe return of fans to stadiums.”

New stadium safety measures cover every aspect of a match.

The field has been divided into different zones, with the tunnel and pitch set to be part of the ‘red zone’ and open only to those who have had a test within the past five days and operating at a maximum capacity of 110 people. The ‘green and amber zones’ are then accessible to the stadiums remaining quota of 222 people, including broadcasters, 25 written journalists and 15 radio broadcasters.

Prenetics conducted more than 8,000 tests on Premier League players and staff prior to the restart of the season and the action will continue behind closed doors for the foreseeable future.

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BORUSSIA DORTMUND PLAN FOR VIRTUAL PRESEASON TOUR OF ASIA German outfit Borussia Dortmund have announced that their cancelled pre-season tour of Asia will be replaced with a virtual alternative in August.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having already had significant implications on the sporting world, it comes as no surprise that the pre-season tours, that many European football clubs take part in, will not be going ahead as planned before the 2020/21 season.

Dortmund’s pre-season tour expected them to travel to China and other countries in Southeast Asia. In its place, the German runners-up will host a Virtual Asian Tour that will be made up of a series of online sessions between both fans and players, as well as friendly games, live streams of training sessions and other offline events.

The event has been organised by officials from club offices based in Singapore and Shanghai.

Dortmund hope to be able to offer Asian fans the opportunity to attend a variety of events based in venues across Asia, however, if these events are to go ahead, they will have to be organised around the strict Covid-19 restrictions that could differ in alternative areas. These events could include activities with Borussia Dortmund club legends, the BVB Evonik football academy and mascots, which is subject to change as coronavirus restrictions allow.

In the announcement, Dortmund’s manager director Carsten Cramer stated that after the original planned tour had to be cancelled, “many fans and partners” had come forward to express their wishes to still have an event, even in these difficult circumstances.

In light of this, Cramer went on to say: “this inspired us to strengthen our digital communications from Dortmund to Asia in close cooperation with our office locations in Singapore

and Shanghai as part of our preparations for the 2020/21 Bundesliga season”.

Partners that have been granted a “special place” on the tour include: Evonik, Puma, Rowe, Duisport and numerous Asian businesses. Dortmund, with its primary international sponsors Evonik and Puma, are planning to launch the new cup jersey, traditionally worn in DFB cup matches, Champions League matches and international friendlies.

During the virtual stops in Singapore and Tokyo, media representatives are to be invited to online press conferences where they will have access to exclusive interview opportunities for the Bundesliga’s TV partners in each of the regions.

These will be joined with the live broadcasts of training sessions in English, allowing for a more global audience.

BVB’s Head of International & New Business, Benedikt Scholz, explained why he felt it was important to hold this event.

“Very soon after it became clear that COVID-19 was going to prevent us and our Asian friends from seeing each other again this summer, something we had all been looking forward to, we started working really hard on alternative opportunities.

“The virtual tour was the result of these efforts, though we do of course appreciate that it can never serve as a satisfactory substitute for personal contact with the people involved. Nonetheless, it was very important for us to be able to demonstrate just how close our relationship is with our fans and friends worldwide. And we do also hope of course that we will soon overcome this difficult phase together.”

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PLAYER CARE

PLAYER CARE

TEAM MANAGEMENT • PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT • ACADEMIES • COMMUNITY

NEIL MCILROY

TEAM MANAGER AT CLERMONT

Team Management under government restrictions Since the conclusion of his playing career, Neil McIlroy has risen to the tole of French Top 14 rugby union side Clermont, with responsibilities and a budget which make him one of the most powerful figures in the French game. Neil addresses several current issues of Clermont, how they have adapted to the French government’s restrictions, techniques implemented to overcome the unique situation, approaches preparations for a return to action and also changes to the game after the pandemic.

How have you adapted to the government restrictions and managed to maintain the same level of communication with your players?

The restrictions were put in place rapidly by the French Government giving us little time to prepare. It was important early on that we shared with our Players any information regarding Salaries and potential consequences for our sport only after they became a reality. Rumour and supposition were rife amongst the Media and it was important that we gave as much clarity as possible. The biggest restriction that affected our Players in France were the strict limitations regarding exercise. From the outset our S and C Team and our Nutritionist put in place programmes and protocols to allow our Players to adapt to their new environment and hopefully maintain some level of fitness. Most Rugby players do not have gym facilities at home and therefore we also facilitated

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contact with Gym equipment suppliers. We decided to use the most popular form of communication for the age range of our Players, WhatsApp. In normal times daily meetings, our Data platform and e-mails would also be used but for the lockdown period we felt that this was the most appropriate ‘direct first contact’ with our playing staff. Zoom meetings were used with senior players and leadership groups and we also divided the group between myself and the Head Coach and phoned every player at least once a week to discuss individual situations and concerns. Given the international nature of our squad it was important to realise that some players had different worries and we also wanted to make sure that vital information was getting through to our foreign contingent.

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Nick FentonWells Moving from Player to Manager PAGE 40

Marcus Rashford Campiagn leads to food voucher U-turn PAGE 42

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NBA Players to wear smart ring on return PAGE 45

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PLAYER CARE

What techniques have proved successful for you in overcoming some of the challenges this unique situation has posed?

Logically Zoom meetings in particular for Staff or group meetings. Openly sharing concerns about health, wellbeing and financial security in a transparent manner was for me a positive thing. Providing an open support network to Players and Staff from Management hopefully gave our players another avenue, other than friends and family, to discuss their concerns. In particular not reacting to different theories and suggestions about the next step for our Sport until they became a reality made a difference.

Personally, I wasted a lot of time and energy early on in lockdown discussing ideas and mapping out solutions for return protocols that never became a reality and with hindsight were never going to.

Are there any activities or personal development opportunities that the players have been engaged with to take their minds away from rugby while in isolation?

As with most of the population gardening, DIY and family time. Some Players did undertake online sports related courses. Other Players were active in fund raising for Covid related charities.

How are you preparing for a return to action?

We are in Phase two of a five-phase return to play programme. This involves progressive physical preparation (measured gym and running sessions) in groups of six to eight players. Groups do not cross paths and obvious Covid related rules such as distancing, no showers or food, temperature taking, and distancing are in place. Every Player and Staff member are Covid tested on a weekly basis.

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The lack of shared moments – coffee, physio treatment, meetings, and meals – is a challenge for the group but will hopefully be short lived.

If all goes to plan, we will progress to unit rugby training in July then full team training in August before matches start again in September.

What additional support has there been in place for the players and staff and how has the league helped its members during these difficult situations?

Apart from the aforementioned ‘in house support’ very little welfare support has been offered by the League and Players Unions.

The latter have been involved in supporting their members with regard to internal salary negotiations with their Clubs. The reassurance of regular testing, mapping out the next three months with family holiday periods and quickly resolving salary negotiations have hopefully eased some concerns for Players and their families.

How do you see the game changing after this pandemic?

There is a desire from every point of view to return to normality as quickly as possible.

Supporters and Clubs want sport back and in full stadiums to get that feelgood factor back.

This must be implemented in a progressive fashion and we must adhere to the restrictions that will inevitably be put in place before, during and after the game. On the field itself initial changes to the game resulting directly from the pandemic will be minimal. The proof was the return of competitive rugby last week in New Zealand. World Rugby are actively meeting at this moment to discuss our Season and it would seem an opportune moment for changes that have long been called for to be put in place.

“As with most of the population gardening, DIY and family time.

Some Players did undertake online sports related courses.

Other Players were active in fund raising for Covid related charities.”

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RONALDO EMERGES AS FIRST BILLIONAIRE FOOTBALLER

The long-debated rivalry between the two stand out footballing superstars of this generation, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, has just seen a new record added to their incredible credentials, this time on the side of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Juventus and Portuguese international has become the first football player in history to earn $1 billion after Forbes magazine published that this year, he has made $105 million pushing him over the historic threshold. With this years earnings amounting to $105 million, he is positioned fourth in the Celebrity 100 behind Roger Federer, Kanye West and Kylie Jenner. However, in the Athlete 100 list, second behind Roger Federer and one place above long time respective rival Lionel Messi.

He has been beaten to the top spot of reaching the $1 billion earnt in terms of overall sport by undefeated champion boxer Floyd Mayweather and golfer Tiger Woods, but he has claimed the number one position in his respective sport.

Ronaldo began his career at Sporting CP at 16 before signing for Manchester United for a fee of around £17 million which at the time was a record transfer fee for a teenager. Six years he later transferred to Real Madrid for a further £84.6 million, before finally to his current club Juventus for £105.3 million, after playing in Spain for nine years..

Throughout his 18-year career, Ronaldo has stacked up an impressive honours

list including five Ballon d’Ors, five UEFA Champions League trophy’s and one European Championship, to name a few.

Due to his outstanding and recordbreaking career, he has attracted a large fan base which has led him to become the most followed athlete with 223 million Instagram followers. According to Statista and InfluencerDB as of January 2020, the average value of an Instagram post that Ronaldo publishes is around $985,000.

Ronaldo’s endorsements have certainly contributed to the success of his value; his most high profile and valuable deal coming with Nike. This sponsorship began in 2003 while at Manchester United and has been a strong partnership ever since, as in 2016 he signed a lifetime deal with Nike which is reportedly to be worth around $1 billion. Nike has only ever signed two other deals similar to this with Lebron James and Michael Jordan.

As being one of the top influencers in the world, never mind just sport, his partnership with Nike has been mutually rewarding, as during a year he can generate over 400 million interactions on posts that he posts promoting the brand.

The 35-year-old will be back in action in the Serie A on June 22 with league leaders Juventus away at Bologna, playing in hopes of another title by the summer’s end.

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PLAYER CARE

FROM PLAYER TO TEAM MANAGER NICK FENTON-WELLS TEAM MANAGER AT BRISTOL BEARS

Nick Fenton Wells became Team Manager of Premiership Rugby side Bristol Bears after retiring from professional rugby following three seasons playing for the club. Cape Town born Fenton-Wells represented Stormers, Bedford Blues, Saracens and Bristol during his eight-year playing career.

His tireless efforts off the pitch as a player saw Nick receive the Premiership Community Player of the Year following the 2018/19 campaign for his outstanding contribution to the club’s charity programmes. We caught up with Nick to learn more about his transition from the pitch to an integral part of the backroom management team, the importance of personal development opportunities and how the team are preparing for the return of Premiership Rugby.

You have been in the position of Team Manager at Bristol Bears for just over a year now, what was your motivation behind this transition after retiring?

Prior to my retirement I made the move to hooker from backrow and spent 18 months learning the dark arts of the front row. The move was inspired by a lack of game time in the backrow, a mini injury crisis and a desire to test myself against the best in a different position.

Eventually when all players regained fitness I became surplus to requirement. I love Bristol, my family are happy here and ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

I didn’t think my value would increase due to my positional move. I had options to continue playing, but my ultimate career goal is to get into the business side of professional sport. The vision for the club has appealed to me, the rebrand of the club was a very exciting journey to go on and I had an opportunity to begin building my career towards my goal of one day becoming a CEO of a professional sports organization. Pat Lam and Mark Tainton’s offer to take the role of team manager took me a bit by surprise, but one I couldn’t refuse. I was taken aback, but the timing was right, and I wanted to start gaining the necessary experience I needed to progress in a career outside of rugby.

How has your experience as a player benefited your role as part of the backroom staff and what have been the biggest challenges?

I firmly believe I have a good understanding of what the players want and need and I am able to act as a conduit between the coaching staff and the playing group.

Fortunately, we haven’t had a huge turnover in players, so

I was able to build a decent level of trust with the group prior to my retirement. This has served me well as team manager, but it has also been the biggest challenge.

Unfortunately, I need to distant myself to an extent from teammates who became very close friends while I was still playing. It is a fine balance and while my friendships away from the environment are still there, I don’t partake much in the social aspect with the playing group now.

It is important to manage expectations of the whole group and in my position where I deal with a lot of nonrugby related things, equality and fairness is paramount.

Treating everyone as equal, with the same level of empathy, fairness, and discipline (when it is needed) is crucial.

What advice would you give to other players in terms of engaging in personal development opportunities throughout their career or to those who are looking to make a similar career move as you?

The earlier

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players begin with personal development, the better off they will be come retirement. Looking at managing finances, further education, up-skilling, networking, work experience are all opportunities available to players. People want to help pro rugby players during their careers, but unless you have played at the highest level for a long time, you are quickly forgotten about when you retire. Don’t rely on your rugby career to get you a career after rugby, make it happen for yourself before it’s too late. There are only very few opportunities for pro rugby players as pundits or coaches. Find out early what it is you want to do and go after it.

Being organized and being able to manage people Is crucial for any team manager role. You interact with so many different stakeholders daily. Work on building your network, take a course in time management, understand budgetary requirements, learn how the commercial arm impacts the business, learn about how the club generates money, player budgets, registrations, rules and regulations of commotions etc. these are all things at your fingertips that you can learn about during your playing career.

Considering the unique circumstances we are in, your first season as Team Manager has been struck with some major disruptions. How have you overcome these to maintain communication and support the players behind-the-scenes?

It’s definitely been an interesting season, but as a player you pick up on small nuances that are essential for the team manager role. Establishing boundaries is one of them. Communications are key in any environment, but when you manage a professional rugby squad, if you don’t manage their expectations in terms of when you’re available to be contacted you’ll be inundated with requests, messages and questions. During the pandemic it has been slightly different as each department has been responsible for managing the players and what they need to get done. So, from that perspective it has been pretty relaxed. The challenging part has been the logistics for departing players and waiting to hear from the RFU and PRL on regulations for the remainder of the season. I feel for them because rugby is so unique in that sense as it has such high levels of contact between participants that they need to scrutinize every stage of return to playing. These are also largely dictated by government guidelines, so there is so much work going on behind the scenes... but what it means is as Team Managers we need to be ready to pull the trigger because we’ll have a very short amount of time to react to any of the guidelines provided. Finger on the pulse at all times. The players need to be kept up to date with this too, so constant communications are now vital as we look to return to playing competitive matches in the coming months.

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How are you preparing for a return to action?

The protocol for returning to professional matches is dictated to us by the government and our governing bodies and then we are able to put an operating policy in place to protect ourselves (players and staff) from the pandemic and ensure there is a safe environment for all to be at work. We are currently following government guidelines on this and are still at a stage of socially distancing while players get S and C done.

How do you see the game changing after this pandemic?

To be honest, I don’t think it will change much. The season structures will change no doubt to accommodate the time lost during the pandemic and as businesses the clubs may look to restructure and remodel how they do things. That will have a knock-on effect to the leagues below. I think the structure of leagues will change and there will be a shake-up in how each league operates, but that’s personal opinion. I may be wrong.

It’s certainly an interesting time for the professional game in the UK as we have been one of the hardest hit from the pandemic. That will have ripple effects on all markets whether positively or negatively. Professional sport is not going away, rugby is so loved, but maybe a shake-up of the current model is what was needed to see the sport grow in the long term.

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PLAYER CARE

RASHFORD’S CAMPAIGN LEADS TO FOOD VOUCHER U-TURN Free school meals will be provided to around 1.3 million children during the summer holidays in a U-turn sparked by a campaign from Marcus Rashford.

In what is being called the ‘Covid Summer Food Fund’, the scheme will last for six weeks and will provide eligible children in England with food vouchers valued at £15 per week.

Rashford penned an open letter to all MP’s last month, after the government had initially planned to end the food voucher scheme during the Summer holidays.

In the letter, Rashford wrote: “My mum worked full-time, earning the minimum wage, to make sure we always had a good evening meal on the table, but it was not enough.

“The system was not built for families like mine to succeed, regardless of how hard my mum worked.”

Rashford added his plea for the government to “make the U-turn and make protecting the lives of some of our most vulnerable a top priority” was “not about politics” but about “humanity”.

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He added that it was about “looking at ourselves in the mirror and feeling like we did everything we could to protect those who can’t, for whatever reason or circumstance, protect themselves”.

“Political affiliations aside, can we not all agree that no child should be going to be hungry?”

The United youth-team graduate, who is one of five children, added: “As a black man from a low-income family in Wythenshawe, Manchester, I could have been just another statistic.

“Instead, due to the selfless actions of my mum, my family, my neighbours, and my coaches, the only stats I’m associated with are goals, appearances and caps.

“I would be doing myself, my family and my community an injustice if I didn’t stand here today with my voice and my platform and ask you for help.”

Around 1.3m children in England are eligible for free school meals and a survey by the Food Foundation in May said that more than 200,000

children have had to skip meals because their family could not access enough food during lockdown.

“Ten years ago, I would have been one of those children, and you would never have heard my voice and seen my determination to become part of the solution,” said Rashford.

“Food poverty in England is a pandemic that could span generations if we don’t course correct now.”

Rashford stated that the government’s Universal Credit benefit system “is simply not a short-term solution” to the issue of food poverty, because “I am fully aware that the majority of families applying are experiencing five-week delays”.

He is concerned that child poverty is “only going to get worse” when the government’s furlough scheme ends.

Rashford added that with many children still not able to return to school and have more of their nutritional needs met “we’re encouraging this cycle of hardship to continue”.

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The Englishman received overwhelming support across social media, with over 265,000 likes and 150,000 retweets of his letter on Twitter in just over 24 hours.

The Department for Education had initially said it would not extend the voucher scheme despite his emotional letter to MPs, in which he said “the system isn’t built for families like mine to succeed” Despite an initial pushback, Rashford continued to campaign for free school meals, gaining support from a number of Labour MP’s, calling it a welcome move and “victory for the 1.3 million children who were at risk of going hungry this summer”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said he

“understands children and parents face unprecedented situations” during the coronavirus outbreak.

The spokesman added Mr Johnson welcomed Rashford’s “contribution to the debate around poverty and respects he’s been using his profile as a leading sportsman to highlight important issues”.

Downing Street claimed the extra support will cost around £120m - in addition to £63m already pledged for councils to help families and kids over the summer holidays.

Marcus Rashford’s dedication to this cause has shed light on how professional athletes can use their platforms to campaign for change and unite people across the country.

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“Food poverty in England is a pandemic that could span generations if we don’t course correct now.”

MARCUS RASHFORD

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PLAYER CARE

PFA study reveals racial bias in football commentary A PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) study conducted alongside Danish Company RunRepeat has identified that there is a racial bias in football commentary.

In total, 80 games were reviewed from 2019/20 season across four of Europe’s biggest leagues including: The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1, with 2,074 statements taken from commentators who were speaking in English and working for media outlets from the UK, USA and Canada. The largest of its kind in the English language, the study uncovered evidence of systemic bias within football commentary.

The study exposes how the surveyed 643 players, all with varying skin tones, were spoken about and described differently from one another, with certain characteristics being praised more between footballers of differing skin tones. For example, players of a lighter skin tone were found to be commended on their quality, hard-working nature and intelligence as opposed to players with a darker skin tone finding themselves being depicted as physically and athletically more capable.

Furthermore, the study revealed percentages that provides evidence of a racial bias, one of them being that 63.33 per cent of criticism that is aimed at a players intelligence on the pitch was targeted towards players of a darker skin tone.

Whilst discussing players’ work ethics, commentators would be describing players of a lighter skin tone 60.4 per cent of the time. Around two-thirds of the comments discussing the quality of play was ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

about lighter skin toned players contrasted with 67.57 per cent of negative comments aimed at darker skin toned players.

This study has brought to light concerning details about how some of the top footballing commentators across Europe are responsible of a racial bias in their description of players, whether this is intentional or not.

Danny McLoughlin, the research director at RunRepeat and lead researcher on this study, believes that football commentary is a “prism for everyone who watches football” and could be of influence to fans who are watching the games and taking those opinions of darker skin toned players, which are evidently degrading of their intelligence and work ethic, into conversations outside of the match, that could have a detrimental impact on a player.

The PFA Equalities Executive, Jason Lee, has demanded that change has to be carried out by commentators in order to resolve this systemic issue.

“To address the real impact of structural racism, we have to acknowledge and address racial bias. This study shows an evident bias in how we describe the attributes of footballers based on their skin colour.

“Commentators help shape the perception we hold of each player, deepening any racial bias already held by the viewer.

“If you haven’t got people to bounce ideas off and to listen to what’s being said, and you haven’t got an open ear, how are you going to understand that what

you’re doing is offending people if nobody is there challenging you and telling you, ‘That’s not right.’”

Another study focusing on the issue of ‘stacking’, first identified in American Football, is being planned to find why many captains armbands are handed to white players.

Currently, the PFA, Premier League and EFL have launched a coach placement scheme where it is hoped that more BAME players finishing their careers can evolve into coaching roles if they wish.

The programme will be funded by both the PFA and Premier League, beginning in the 2020/21 season.

Darren Moore, the current Doncaster Rovers manager and Chair of the Premier League’s Black Participants’ Advisory Group, believes that this programme is a major step forward for the BAME community in football.

“This is a critical time for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic coaches,” Moore said. “We all know and agree that the diversity of coaches and managers must increase, and this placement scheme represents a positive step.

“There are lots of roles in the Academy system all the way through to First Team and young coaches can slot in at different points to begin that journey. We need to have the right structures and people in place to develop their careers.

“I know from my own experiences the value of strong support throughout the coaching journey, which is why I, alongside other senior coaches and former players, will be drawing on our collective expertise to provide guidance to those making the transition into coaching and working in the professional environment.”

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NBA PLAYERS TO WEAR ‘SMART RING’ TO MONITOR COVID-19 SYMPTOMS NBA players will be asked to wear a smart ring capable of detecting Covid-19 symptoms upon the resumption of the season at Orlando’s Disney World towards the end of July.

The Oura smart ring is said to be able to predict Covid-19 symptoms up to three days in advance at 90 per cent accuracy.

The ring does this by measuring body temperature, respiratory functions and heart rate.

The NBA season is set to resume on July 30 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The players will also be staying at the various Disney resorts in order to form a safety bubble to minimise contact with as little players as possible.

The brand, Oura, designed their rings primarily for the purpose of tracking fitness levels and sleeping patterns but partnered with the NBA to produce this device which can be purchased outside of the Basketball world in the price range of $299$399.

According to the NBA’s

health and safety handbook, players will receive a number of different pieces of technology that can be used to help prevent the spread of the virus and ensure that they will be as safe as possible. These include a Magic Band that will have to be worn at all times to get through checkpoints and into rooms, a proximity alarm that will sound when players are too close to each other for too long a period and of course the Oura smart ring which will be optional although recommended to be worn.

The ring will provide data that can be accessed by the players, but they will be studied by scientists from the University of Michigan who will monitor the symptoms.

Dr. Ali Rezai, Executive chair of the West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, told GQ: “If we can provide insight into asymptomatic people who may be spreading the virus and help with earlier detection with this technology, it can inform better decision making, facilitate safety, and prioritize who gets testing and other health containment strategies.”

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GOVERNANCE

FERRARI TARGET ASIA IN SEARCH OF NEW F1 DRIVER The first driver academy programme of its kind for the Asia Pacific/Oceania region has been announced, as Ferrari and Motorsport Australia (MA) establish their partnership. The academy programme is to be based at the Sydney Motorsport Park due to the prospect of finding an Asian Formula One driver to be beneficial for Ferrari and motorsport in general.

Asia have produced multiple talented drivers such as, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi, Alex Yoong from Malaysia and Rio Haryanto from Indonesia, for instance. However, an Asian driver have yet to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari car.

Director of motorsport and commercial operations at MA, Michael Smith, has told SportBusiness, “We see this as a development opportunity for the region’s best young drivers to get a head start in their motorsport careers.

As the FIA affiliate in Australia, MA has a responsibility to promote the sport locally and give young drivers the opportunity to further their talents and build what will hopefully become a lengthy career in motorsport.”

The academy will be able to attract drivers domestically, around Australia, and the surrounding areas in the North, ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

East and Southeast of Asia, in addition to the Indian subcontinent, making drivers in those areas eligible to get involved with the project.

Smith continues with, “We are still finalising details on how potential entrants will qualify/audition for a place at the academy but there will be a registration process that will include working with the relevant accredited national sporting authorities in our region to identify emerging talent,” “This process may also include online interviews with the relevant academy staff prior to the program beginning in Sydney.”

The programme is geared to the penultimate test, which takes place in Italy at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, between the best two drivers from the programme to battle it out, amongst other drivers across from Ferrari’s academy. All competing to claim

a seat in the European Formula 4 Championship.

Young, aspiring, Formula One drivers often start out driving go-karts, but Motorsport can be deemed to be the most expensive sport to enter, as costs can increase drastically when drivers progress through the levels once their driving ability improves. According to Smith, MA would be working with the FDA “to ensure the costs of participation are kept to a minimum.

Like other sports in Australia, we are hopeful there will be some government funding allocated to the programme to help our region’s best prospects show their skills, which will of course help subsidise the cost.”

MA agreed to a one-year deal with Ferrari to create the FDA programme. As part of the agreement, MA will provide hardware for the programme, such as simulators and a fleet of Formula 4

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vehicles. Smith has said, “The MA Centre of Excellence which will house the FDA will cost AUS$6.4million (€3.9million/ US$4.3million) to construct,” “However, during the most recent Australian election campaign, the NSW State Government committed to an AUS$33million upgrade to Sydney Motorsport Park,” Smith adds.

The deal between MA and Ferrari will enable the facility to be used for other motorsport purposes. With a prolific background of training drivers for Grand Prix’s in Singapore, Korea, Russia and Vietnam, as well as providing training programmes for international motorsport drivers, MA have a strong background in international training.

The Asian market is deemed to be prosperous, as sales of Ferrari road cars is thriving. In attempt to boost sales in China, Ferrari launched a temporary pop-up store to promote their new car

“We see this as a development opportunity for the region’s best young drivers to get a head start in their motorsport careers.”

Michael Smith

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“F8 Tributo” last year. The Asian market can be an influential mechanism, commercially, for Ferrari, as the Italian manufacturer became a publicly traded company on the NYSE in October 2015. If Ferrari are able to unlock impressive and competitive talent, it will only cement what the Italian giants already know about business in the area.

Considering, Asian sports stars attract millions of fans from the region to follow the sport and contribute to an increase in sales, there seems no reason why Ferrari should not invest into the area.

According to Forbes, Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka has been named as one of the world’s highest-paid female athletes, earning US$37.4m in 2019 from endorsements and prizemoney.

If Ferrari are able to break into the Asian market along with a competitive Asian driver, they could be a force to be reckoned with.

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PLAYER CARE

Why are young British football players moving abroad?

Jadon Sancho, Jonathan Panzo and Keanan Bennetts – just some of the young British players who have moved from English Premier League clubs to play in Europe and find their route into professional football.

Although the English Premier League is classed as one of the most competitive football leagues in the world, with some of the world’s top players amongst its pool of talent, more young British players are now taking a risk and moving abroad.

Former England manager Glenn Hoddle has labelled the decision to move abroad at a young age as ‘brave’.

Players are scouted and usually progress through British youth systems at a young age. They can then be a part of the academy youth team set up from as young as six to around eighteen, when they will either be offered a professional contract or released and left to find another club if possible.

Those who are offered a contract will then have the opportunity to play for the first team but will often join the reserves to gain experience or find themselves loaned out to a club where they are more likely to receive playing time.

However, even if a player is offered a contract, the decision to sign is not always straightforward. They can reject it if they ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

feel they will not get the game time they require or do not feel the club is right for their development, resulting in them leaving in search for a more suitable club where playing time is easier to find.

In recent years, young British players have made the leap into foreign leagues on loan, but more and more players are now choosing to leave on a permanent basis.

The appeal for young players of Europe’s other leagues is the realisation that youth players often play regularly in the first team and are given the chance to gain valuable experience. For many of these European clubs, young players are essential to their business models as they are much more affordable, whereas the big stars are often out the reach. Premier League clubs on the other hand, are able to buy international players full of experience and come at less risk.

As such, more and more young British

footballers are looking to move away from the Premier League as part of their early stages in development.

Recent stats show that 65 per cent of minutes played in the Premier League are played by foreign players, which supports the agenda for young British players to seek a league or club where they will have more opportunity to play.

The English Premier League has such a high supply of world-class foreign talent due to the attractiveness of the league which means the demand for young talent is lower as teams are looking for the complete package of a player to be able to compete for those top spots and domestic cups.

There has been one stand out example of how taking that risk to move abroad can contribute drastically to potential and development; this player is Jadon Sancho (20) who chose to move from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund in 2018. Not only has he been one of the stand-

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“I hope that some of the bigger Premier League teams now look at this and think ‘we need to be more proactive in giving our younger players an opportunity in the first team.”

DANNY MURPHY

YOUNG BRITISH PLAYERS ABROAD J Sancho (B Dortmund) A Lookman (RB Leipzig) K Bennetts (B M’gladbach) out performers of Germany’s Bundesliga, involved in 40 games this season, registering 20 goals and 20 assists, but he has also earned himself a breakthrough into the England National Team, with 11 caps and two international goals to his name.

This is a prime example of this methodology proving to be successful for young British talent.

In an interview, former Premier League player Danny Murphy emphasised his sympathy for young British talent and understands their frustration.

“If you love playing football and you’re sat on the bench watching it, you get frustrated.”

He added that “moving abroad can help and aid development due to more first team playing time which is vital in any young players career.”

“I hope that some of the bigger Premier League teams now look at this and think ‘we need to be more pro-active in giving our younger players an opportunity in the first team’.”

“I think that Premier League clubs have to learn a lesson from it as well and make sure the best young talent doesn’t all start leaving us, because we want to see them”.

R Oxford (Augsburg) R Vieira (Sampdoria) J Maja (Bordeaux) J Panzo (Monaco) C Humphreys (Zulte W) G Johnston (Feyenoord) J Sinclair (VVV) M Clark (Vitesse) B Sambou (Fortuna Sittard) ISSUE ELEVEN ★ JULY 2020

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PLAYER CARE

NBPA partners with Opendorse to help NBA players maximise personal brands The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and its for-profit arm, Think450, has recently signed a deal with social media publishing platform Opendorse in a bid to maximise the value of athlete’s brands. This deal will aid players to monetise and promote their names, images and rights, by making it easier for brands to identify players with a high social media profile and athletes that will maximise value.

The NBPA aims to protect and support the rights of all players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and represents players in all areas of their professional career, from the negotiation of deals to post-career opportunities.

The platform provided by Opendorse allows athletes and brands to easily manage and publish posts on social media platforms, as well as providing educational tools which will help players understand and execute posts that will maximise the value of their names, images and likeness rights.

To this day, more than 10,000 athletes are using Opendorse from all around the world, Opendorse’s partners include; PGA Tour, NHL, NFLPA, MLBPA, WNBPA and LPGA. The way this platform works is that brands and sponsors will send the athlete a ‘Tap-to-Publish’ post, which means if the athlete consents to being associated with this brand or post they can simply click ‘post’ and it will go live on their social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. One of the main features or advantages that has been outlined with this deal is the ease that the platform brings to brand-athlete collaborations.

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In North America, players and athletes in the NBA have a higher fan engagement on social media than any other sport, in addition, as a result of recent lockdown procedures, social media engagement has increased to as high as 75 per cent. Opendorse have commented on the partnership with data figures that justify the decision; NBA players in 2019 generated 1.6 billion social media engagements, on top of 1.5 billion video views, which is the highest of any sport within North America.

In a statement published by the NBPA, the President of partner Think450, Payne Brown commented: “It is our mission to provide our members with as much value beyond the court as possible, we recognize that our players have incredible reach and influence on social media, making them powerful voices in their communities and valuable additions to brands’ ongoing activations. This partnership with Opendorse means more opportunities for players to use their platforms and work with organizations that align with their core values.”

CEO of Opendorse Blake Lawrence added: “By the numbers, NBA players are the most marketable in North American sports, we aim to not only bring these athletes more opportunities but also make their influence on social more accessible to the brands who support them.

I’m thrilled to join the NBPA and THINK450 in maximizing value and marketability for NBA players with social media.”

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RECRUITMENT

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Current Vacancies

Each month PSN will be promoting job vacancies across the world of professional sport. If you have a vacancy you would like to promote, please contact enquires@premiersportsnetwork.com.

1st Team Physiotherapist - Worcester Warriors Location: Worcester, England Salary: £28-35k Closing date: 9 July 2020 1st Team Recruitment Analyst Swansea City AFC Location: Swansea, Wales Salary: £18-24k Closing date: 9 July 2020 Head Coach (Olympic) - UK Athletics Location: Loughborough, England Salary: Dependent on experience Closing date: 12 July 2020 Performance Director -UK Athletics Location: Loughborough, England Salary: Dependent on experience Closing date: 12 July 2020 Elite performance Coach - England Handball Location: Loughborough, England Salary: £23-28k Closing date: 13 July 2020 Health Manager - Huddersfield Town FC Location: Huddersfield, England Salary: £20-25k Closing date: 15 July 2020 Premier League Kicks Manager Huddersfield Town FC Location: Huddersfield, England Salary: £20-25k Closing date: 15 July 2020

Marketing & Brand Manager Liverpool City Council Location: Liverpool, England Salary: Competitive Closing date: 15 July 2020 PR & Marketing Officer - British Ice Skating Location: Sheffield, England Salary: £20-24k Closing date: 17 July 2020 Women’s & Girls’ Sports Scientist Brighton & Hove Albion FC Location: Brighton, England Salary: £25k Closing date: 19 July 2020 Director of the Institute of Sport Manchester Metropolitan University Location: Manchester, England Salary: Commensurate Closing date: 19 July 2020 Head of Media & Public Relations – EFL Location: Preston, England Salary: £45k Closing date: 24 July 2020 Commercial Sales Manager - Harlequins Location: United Kingdom Salary: Experience Dependent Closing date: Ongoing Academy Coach - Harlequins Location: United Kingdom Salary: Competitive Closing date: Ongoing

BAME PLAYER TO COACH SCHEME 2020/21

Work experience and development scheme for current PFA members Location: Based with partner EFL clubs Financial Support: Bursary of circa £22-30k Key relationships: Partnered with EFL club, the EPL, the PFA and the EFL

WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITH ONE OF THE BEST UNIVERSITY TENNIS PROGRAMMES IN THE COUNTRY? Leeds Beckett has one of the best university tennis programmes in the country, with a proven track record of producing high quality players and coaches. As an influential contributor to the tennis community in the U.K. Leeds Beckett tennis are currently seeking sponsorship to support their existing programme. If you would like more information or the prospect of getting involved interests you, please contact James Parker via email j.parker2249@ student.leedsbeckett.ac.uk’ ISSUE TEN ★ JULY 2020

0208 4191100 enquiries@premiersportsnetwork.com @PSportsNetwork Premier Sports Network @nextwaveofficial premiersportsnetwork.com