Highlight Reel: Kings League Nets €60 Million to Expand its Empire 👑
Plus, Emirates Becomes Main Home to Arsenal’s Women, and the classic marketing strategy being used to perfection by Malbon Golf...
Welcome to Sports Pundit, the sports business newsletter delivering insights from across the industry.
In today’s email;
Kings League Score Huge Investment 👑
Emirates Becomes Arsenal Women’s Home 🏟️
Malbon Golf Make Classic Marketing Play ⛳️
Thanks to Alex for coming on the Podcast - and thanks to everyone who has listened and shared feedback!
Happy Friday!
Andy 😊 🙏
P.S. Congrats to Giulia, who joins Betty and Craig to become our third ‘Contributor of the Week,’ an award given out to reward positive contributions to the SP WhatsApp Group.
Other honourable mentions go to John, Anthony, Shane and Chris.
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SCORING INVESTMENT
Kings League Nets €60 Million to Expand its Empire 👑
This week, former FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué's innovative football venture, Kings League, announced a significant milestone: securing a €60 million investment from Left Lane Capital and Fillip to support its future expansion.
The league's inaugural season was marked by numerous achievements, including sold-out events at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou, streaming broadcasts that attracted up to 1.7 million concurrent viewers, and the expansion into women’s football with the Queens League.
Additionally, Kings League extended its reach into Latin America with the introduction of Kings League Santander, initiating their global expansion.
Andrew Brown of 1896 Partners views this investment as highly significant for several reasons...
What he said:
“For investors and operators in sports & entertainment, there are a few immediate takeaways:
Reinforces the sizeable market for new innovative IP derived from sports with large global audiences such as soccer/football, basketball, combat (boxing/MMA), and motor-racing
Demonstrates how legacy leagues can learn from disruptive sports IP businesses reimagining distribution to be social-first and pairing with storytelling to deliver carefully tailored narratives across distribution platforms
Highlights how creative formats, star power, and creator-led involvement can drive massive engagement (e.g., 80M+ hours watched, 13M+ followers in the case of the Kings League)
With more expansion planned for 2025, Kings League proves there's an appetite for fresh, digitally-native sports properties that put fans first. Without a doubt, the future of sports entertainment is being reshaped and it is only just the beginning.”
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HIGHLIGHTS
Chelsea FC consider selling stake in women's team to boost investment amid £150m valuation ⚽️
Netflix will be the home to Live NFL Games on Christmas Day for 2024 through to 2026 🏈
The inaugural Women’s Club World Cup will take place in January and February 2026, FIFA has confirmed 🏆
The historic Lord's Cricket Ground will have its capacity raised by 1,100 as part of a £61.8 million project to redevelop the Tavern and Allen stands 🏏
Juventus, Inbetweeners and adidas join forces in groundbreaking collaboration in the world of digital fashion
Former India captain, Sunil Gavaskar calls for IPL franchises to cut the salary of overseas players who don’t play the full season 🏏
HOME ADVANTAGE
Emirates Stadium to Become Main Home to Arsenal’s Women 🏟️
Arsenal has announced that the Emirates Stadium will serve as the primary venue for 11 Arsenal Women matches during the 2024/25 season, solidifying it as the main home for the team.
The Gunners are set to play eight Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) games and, contingent on qualification, three UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) fixtures at the Emirates Stadium. Should they advance to the later stages of the UWCL, all home matches in the knockout rounds will also be held in N5.
For Shivani Laddha (Marketing Manager, London Lions), this move exemplifies the 'One Club' philosophy in action, showcasing a unified approach to both men's and women's football at Arsenal.
What she said:
“In May of 2022 (before the Lionesses took over the mainstream media for their success at the Euros), I tipped off my research for my final MBA project around women’s sport sponsorship.
One of the most exciting findings was the debate about bundling vs unbundling men’s and women’s programs. ‘One Team, One Program’ was one of the 11 factors that I identified influenced rightsholders in resolving the debate. [And] Arsenal F.C is leading [certainly] the charge in solidifying [this] ‘One Club’ philosophy, not only for sponsorships but for ticketing programs, too.
[Following] extraordinary growth in attendance at the games hosted at the Emirates (52k fans averaged in the last 6 WSL matches), [the] Emirates Stadium will become Arsenal Women’s main home next season!
The transition showcases sustainable growth and increasing commercial viability of the women’s game and how solid integration with established men’s programs can make it a win-win situation for the club overall.”
FURTHER READING
The killer 30 year old marketing strategy By Rich Johnson ⛳️
Sports rights holders as digital media companies. Really? By Paul Whitehead 🎬
City Studios: Rethinking fan engagement in football By Ekow Owusu-Boakye, Sportsverse ⚽️
ATP Tour: What winning in web3 looks like By Pet Berisha and Mark Epps, Sporting Crypto 🎾
Podcast: Building an award-winning agency by hiring right, with Simon Dent By Dan Maisey, Talent Talks 🎙️
How an amateur golf tournament became the #1 charity event in golf By Cory Bernstine ⛳️
PODCAST
Want to hear more from my conversation with Alex?
We discuss Alex’s 19-year career with EuroLeague, the impact of partnering with IMG, increasing the league’s presence in strategic markets such as Germany, France, and the UK, harnessing the brand power of the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the influence of the Adidas Next Gen Tournament, and much, much more.
Listen to the full podcast via the link below - and I’d love to hear what you think! 👇
SOCIAL CLUB
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Whether you're a seasoned professional, an avid reader of the Sports Pundit newsletter, or a listener or guest on the Sports Pundit Podcast, this gathering promises to be an enriching experience for all.
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JOB BOARD
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TALENT TALKS
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