Highlight Reel: The EFL Takes a Positive Step Forward with Innovation Lab —But Could It Go Further? 🤔

Plus, what would happen if 'Big Sport' got its hands on Parkrun and is the lack of free-to-air sport damaging long-term fan growth in Europe?

Oct 11, 2024

Welcome to Sports Pundit’s Highlight Reel – your go-to roundup of the latest sports business news, insights, and trends shaping the industry.

Each week, we bring you the key stories and developments that have captured the attention of sports executives and leaders across our global network.

In today’s email;

The EFL Launches Innovation Lab 🔬
Parkrun celebrates 20th Anniversary 🏃
The Importance of Free-to-Air TV 📺

Happy Friday!

Andy 😊 🙏

P.S. Congrats to Luke Minshall, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week.’

Other honourable mentions go to Alex, Tom, Jo, and Anna.

INNOVATION GAME

The EFL Takes a Positive Step Forward with Innovation Lab —But Could It Go Further? 🤔

The English Football League (EFL) has launched the EFL Innovation Lab in partnership with L Marks, inviting applications from startups and technology firms aiming to drive innovation within the football ecosystem.

This initiative offers a unique opportunity for tech innovators to collaborate with the EFL’s 72 member clubs on projects that enhance fan engagement, operational efficiencies, and new commercial opportunities.

By partnering with cutting-edge tech companies, the EFL seeks to explore new ways to revolutionise how football clubs interact with fans, improve match-day experiences, and streamline back-end operations.

This program emphasises fostering relationships between football clubs and emerging tech solutions that could shape the future of the sport in areas such as digital platforms, fan engagement, and data utilization.

Successful applicants will be able to pilot and implement their innovations in real-world settings, testing the impact directly with EFL clubs.

What SP says:

“The launch of the EFL Innovation Lab marks a proactive shift in how football clubs, particularly those in the EFL, approach innovation.
Historically, and I’ve seen this first-hand, clubs (though I should stress not all) have adopted new technology reactively, waiting for problems to arise before seeking solutions.
The Innovation Lab flips this script, creating an organised and structured process for clubs to explore innovative solutions in advance, potentially avoiding future challenges and inefficiencies. It becomes a sort of external ‘innovation scout’ for the league and it’s clubs.
For smaller EFL clubs, the risk of investing in untested technology can be a barrier. This program allows clubs to test and implement solutions with minimal upfront financial commitment, helping them identify valuable tech without heavy initial risk which is a real positive for the clubs and for vendors looking to develop a proof-of-concept.
The Lab’s approach has been likened by some to initiatives like MLS Emerging Ventures, which recently announced its second cohort, and NBA Launchpad, but there are key differences.
Namely, the EFL initiative does not involve equity exchange between clubs and startups (as far as I can tell). Without this, clubs and the EFL limit their long-term financial upside.
Taking equity stakes in startups could create significant future revenue potential as these companies grow, offering clubs more than just immediate problem-solving.
One challenge and potential reason for this is that clubs, left to their own decision-making, will likely prioritise startups that address their immediate operational needs rather than companies with broader, long-term potential.
By shifting toward a venture-driven model—where startups are chosen for future growth potential as well as problem-solving—the EFL could unlock far greater value in the long run, positioning itself for sustained innovation and financial success.
However, for this to realistically happen, experience would need to be hired in-house at clubs or greater hands-on collaboration would be required with a venture fund that truly understands the ecosystem.”

Riyadh Season has signed a three-season partnership with LALIGA, that positions the event as an official sponsor and likely also opens new avenues for collaboration between the league and the Kingdom ⚽️
In November, the ATP and WTA will reportedly vote on a commercial merger at their perspective finals events in Turin, Italy, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The merger poses good news and bad news scenarios for the WTA 🎾
Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal is on track to become the next Adidas ‘signature player,’ joining the ranks of legends like Messi as well as other rising stars like Jude Bellingham 👟
Transitioning from the sidelines, former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp will take on a new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, overseeing the strategic direction of their multi-club ownership (MCO) network 🏟️
Bernard Arnault’s family is partnering with Red Bull to acquire a majority stake in Paris FC. The LVMH founder will take a 55% share, while Red Bull secures 15%, with current owner Pierre Ferracci retaining 30% until 2027 💸
British Cycling Events has announced a long-term strategic partnership with global sports, events and representation company, IMG, to support the long-term growth and sustainability of the federation’s events portfolio and generate new revenue to reinvest into the sport 🚴‍♂️

RUN WITH IT…

Parkrun Retains its Roots 20 Years In 🏃

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Parkrun, an initiative that has grown from humble beginnings to become a global movement. Founded by Paul Sinton-Hewitt on October 2, 2004, in Bushy Park, London, Parkrun began with just 13 participants. Today, it boasts over 200,000 runners each Saturday, spread across 2,500 locations in 22 countries.

While its growth is remarkable, Sinton-Hewitt emphasises that Parkrun has never been about massive events. Its true ethos lies in community spirit, health, and happiness. Runners of all levels come together, from experienced athletes to beginners taking their first steps towards a more active lifestyle. The simple, consistent format—a free, weekly 5k timed run—has remained a cornerstone of the movement's success.

But what if Parkrun had been commercialised by ‘Big Sport’? Simon Banoub, CMO at Statsbomb, offered up an intriguing thought experiment:

What he said:

“If there is one thing Big Sport can’t stand, it’s scarcity.
The Big Sport answer to pretty much everything is let’s just have more of it. Even the events that understand that scarcity is a massive part of their appeal are getting sucked into thinking of ways to eke out more more more more more more.
I think that Big Sport might get a little twitchy that Parkrun is so popular, but only once a week, for an hour. What a wasted opportunity.
I think they’d push for:
Events on Sunday (not including Junior Parkrun) mornings. Maybe even keep the Saturday Parkrun free for everyone but let our premium members do the Sunday one too if they want.
More distances. Why not have a 10k Parkrun too? This audience is engaged and up for it, let’s just chuck more stuff into the pot. The 5k is free but pay for the 10k.
A weeknight Parkrun, once, twice, three times a week. All fronted by a different headline sponsor. Why are RunThrough and those guys making money from events during the week when the Parkrun brand could easily stretch and take those over.
Given that Attention Spans Are Getting Shorter ™ and Milennials Something Something, maybe the 5k would be deemed too long, and there would be a 1k version, or a 2k version, or a version with 100 balls in 10 overs, or something.
Why is it *just* a run? There’s loads of money in ToughMudWarriorSpartan torture races. Surely the brand could stretch to that too, and think of the engaged audience you could market to through the Parkrun database.
Or failing all that, they’d just sell the rights to offer in-running betting (that’s a joke, I think).
In sports governance, and indeed any marketing strategy, there is a virtue in focus. One of the reasons I think Parkrun is so popular is that it’s the same every week. It’s there at the same time, in the same format, whether you do it or not.
People register then don’t go for ages. But it’ll be there when they do. Same time, same place(s), same format.
And if you try a different one, it’ll be refreshingly different while being comfortingly similar.
It becomes different things for different people – an Everest for some, a short section of a Saturday long run or a 14 minute sprint for others. But that difference is always rooted in the same thing – a free, weekly, timed 5km.
It’s a format that works, and that scales. And because of the nature of it, that scale hasn’t lead to anyone at the top of the organisation getting distracted and trying to change things up. The focus leads to a simplicity in messaging from the top down and horizontally across communities and peer groups.
Simple, effective and uncluttered.”

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