Features

Sir Craig Reedie, IOC (International Olympic Committee) Vice-President and President of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), writes exclusively for SportBusiness International about underwhelming Olympic bid races and the war on drugs in Russia

Matthew Hochberg looks at the best and worst of the 2015 Super Bowl advertising campaigns, and why there was a more solemn tone around this year’s spots.

The sponsorship alliance between football and foreign exchange (forex) trading companies is becoming a permanent fixture. Owen Evans looks at why. 

January’s NHL (National Hockey League) All-Star game saw GoPro enter its first partnership with a mainstream sports property. Matthew Hochberg asked the mountable camera giant why now is the right time, and which other properties it has spoken to about similar agreements.

Is the NFL (National Football League)’s decision to partner with YouTube a sign that a major assault from Google for live premium rights is on the horizon? Owen Evans reports.

The Copa America Centenario, a special edition that will be held in 2016 to mark 100 years of the continental national team competition, will be the biggest football tournament to set foot in the United States since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. 

Crispin Bolt is Client Services Director at GMR Marketing, having joined the company earlier this year. Previous to GMR, Bolt spent six years as a Senior Partner Manager at the McLaren Formula One team. Here’s his take on the best and worst of sponsorship activation in the sport.

Through new technologies, the ever-growing use of social media and a greater understanding of the sports fan, brands have been able to achieve significant success when activating partnerships with sport’s leading teams, leagues and tournaments. Kevin Roberts spoke to experts in achieving cut-through about how best to approach sponsorship activation, picking out cases of best practice from the last 12 months.

Sports lawyer Oliver Weingarten has tackled some of the most significant deals in sport, including Formula One’s Concorde Agreement and the English Premier League’s six-year battle against YouTube. He now represents teams in motor sport’s burgeoning Formula E.

Elisha Chauhan finds out what impact HOK’s acquisition of 360 Architecture will have on the sports venue design sector.

Rory Squires finds out how, and why, Orlando City plans to create a vibrant atmosphere with a safe-standing section in its new stadium from 2016.

Dubai is fast becoming a leading destination for professional cycling events. Kevin Roberts looks at why, and its aspirations for the Dubai Tour event.

Following the conclusion of last month’s Auckland Nines, event organiser and 2011 Rugby World Cup chief Martin Snedden spoke to Elisha Chauhan about how the annual rugby league tournament improved on 2014, and how it can go to the next level.

Kevin Roberts: It's time the Premier League works on improving its image.

Oli Slipper stepped down as joint-CEO of Perform at the end of January, having played an integral role building the digital sports business that now boasts 1,500 employees in 26 countries. He told Matt Cutler why he has taken the decision, how he helped mastermind Perform’s growth, and the details of his new start-up venture.

As an American who loves – absolutely loves – sport, the Super Bowl is one of the most exciting days in the calendar. Normal order of service is getting together with friends at home, eating copious amounts of unhealthy food, and sharing in the excitement of the Big Game on TV. Being outside the United States, in London, for the first time on Super Bowl Sunday this year, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be any different across the pond?