Highlight Reel: Bruin Capital Launches New Powerhouse Football Agency ⚽️

Plus, DAZN's $1BN Bid for the FIFA Club World Cup and Ilona Maher Moves to Bristol ahead of Women's Rugby World Cup...

Dec 06, 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;

Bruin Capital enter the Football Agency Market ⚽️
DAZN’s $1BN Bid for FIFA Club World Cup 🏆
Ilona Maher is Welcomed to Bear Country 🐻

Happy Friday!

Andy 😊 🙏

P.S. Congrats to Cherry Beagles, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week.’

Other honourable mentions go to Anna, Peri, Grant, Dan, and Emma.

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RISE AS ONE

Bruin Capital Launches New Powerhouse Football Agency ⚽️

Bruin Capital, a private company specialising in partnering with capital groups and management teams to create top-tier global sports platforms, is launching a new entity called As1 Sports (As One).

This initiative consolidates four agencies—Nomi Sports, Position Number, Promoesport, and Football Division Worldwide—into a single organisation focused on elite athlete support and brand growth through social and digital media, aiming to generate commercial opportunities for players.

As1 is set to rank among the top 10 largest football agencies globally, representing 300 athletes and coaches from 35 countries, including stars like Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes , Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, and Liverpool’s Luis Díaz.

As Achille de Rauglaudre (Finance & Corporate Development, FC Versailles), has remarked, Bruin’s entry into the football agency market will be fascinating to watch, particularly given the market consolidation in recent years.

What he says:

“Market consolidation has been accelerating over the past few years, fuelled by institutional investment:
In July 2022, Swedish private equity giants EQT Group announced the acquisition of leading global talent, entertainment and sports company, United Talent Agency.
In November 2022, Providence Equity Partners bought RedBird Capital Partners and Madrone Capital's stakes in Wasserman.
In September 2023, Pinault's family office acquired a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA) at a reported $7 billion valuation - knowing that CAA had already acquired ICM and Stellar Group.
In April 2024, Silver Lake took Endeavor private at an equity value of $13 billion.
And in September 2024, BC Partners invested in GSE Worldwide, joining Gatemore Capital Management as investors.”

LaLiga has opened a workspace in the Saudi Pro League headquarters in Riyadh, reinforcing its ties with the Kingdom and building on its recent commercial deal with Riyadh Season ⚽️
From next season, all 132 Women's Championship matches will be streamed live on YouTube, significantly increasing coverage from the current single weekly fixture 📺
The FAT Karting League (FKL), launched by Ferdinand Porsche and Rob Smedley, aims to revolutionise motorsport by slashing participation costs by 96% to make the sport more accessible to racers from all backgrounds 🏁
Southampton FC has launched TURF, a creative design studio offering the club's in-house expertise to businesses, focusing on building standout brands and innovative campaigns 🧑‍💻
FIFA has published a report evaluating Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, giving the country a higher score on bidding requirements than the winning bid for the 2026 edition 🏆 🇸🇦
The WNBA announced Toronto Tempo as its new franchise, debuting in 2026, with a name inspired by the city's vibrant energy and chosen through input from over 10,000 participants 🏀

GAME CHANGER

DAZN Make $1BN Play for FIFA Club World Cup 🏆

FIFA has confirmed sports streaming service DAZN as the exclusive global broadcaster of the 2025 Club World Cup, marking the start of a broader partnership between the two.

The groundbreaking agreement grants DAZN the rights to stream all 63 matches from the inaugural expanded 32-team tournament, which will take place across 11 U.S. cities in June and July 2025. In a notable move, DAZN will broadcast the entire tournament for free, with the option to sub-license matches to free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters in local markets.

While the financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, reports, including from the Financial Times, estimate its value at $1 billion. The contract has a one-year term, with an option for DAZN to extend its rights for the 2026 edition.

How did they justify such a high figure? SportsPro’s Nick Meacham suggests the answer lies in the finer details…

What he says:

“I nearly fell of my chair when I saw the $1bn number being reported for DAZN securing the global rights to the FIFA Club World Cup. But then I looked a little further.
The devil is always in the detail, and the fact DAZN has the option to sublicense the rights in local markets - giving them the chance to recoup some of their costs is significant - and will help them seriously eat away at that initial cost number once DAZN media's sales team has done its work.
There will no doubt be speculation given both FIFA and DAZN's strong Saudi Arabian ties that this approach will be supported in some way - further sponsorship of the broadcast or event itself (or both) to help bridge the revenue gap further and turn this into a potentially valuable deal for all parties.
Remember, it wasn't long ago that Riyadh Season signed a huge deal with DAZN to be a broadcast partner and secure premium real estate on their key platforms.
Gianni will sleep easier tonight, and DAZN have now got themselves a global event to further plant cement their position as a global sports platform to sports fans.”

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JOB BOARD

Head of Performance - Newcastle United (Newcastle, UK)
Director, Partnerships (F1 Racing Lead) - 160over90 (London, UK)
Head of Growth - Acid Running (London, UK)
Marketing & Growth Associate - Europe & Middle East - NBA (London, UK)
Senior Social Media Manager - Icon Series (Remote)

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