Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets

🏎 It's the 1st day of Formula 1 Season 2024! Let’s get caught up on the changes, updates, and what we can expect this season.  #playbookmiddleeast LENGTH: This will be the longest season with 24 Grand Prix races, steadily climbing from 23 in 2023 and 22 in 2022. SPRINTS: Like last year, six venues will host F1 Sprint events, including China, Miami, Austria, the United States, Brazil, and Qatar. What is a sprint? An additional shorter race of approximately 100km or 62 miles long, designed to add more excitement and action to the race weekend but do not affect the starting grid for the major event. BACK TO CHINA: The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is back on the calendar after being canceled from 2020-2023 because of the pandemic and COVID restrictions. DRIVER CHANGES: There are none this year. Remember, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari will take effect next season. However, 14 of the 20 drivers have expiring contracts after this season, so we’ll likely see a lot of shuffling for 2025. F1 ACADEMY: The F1 Academy season will run from the Saudi GP to Abu Dhabi. TEAM NAME CHANGES: Alfa Romeo is now “Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Red Bull's sister team, Alpha Tauri is now “Visa Cash App RB”. RULE CHANGES. A couple to take note of: 1. Fines for rule violations have increased significantly, with the maximum fine now at €1 million. 2. Teams can now invest more in upgrading their facilities to prevent major teams from having a fixed financial advantage. Previous CapEx limit = $45 million over the past four years. New Limit over the same time period: - for teams ranking in the bottom four (Haas, Sauber, Red Bull, and Williams): $65 million  - for middle-ranking teams (McLaren, Aston Martin, and Alpine) = $58 million  - for top 3 teams (Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari) = $51 million And finally, THE COMPETITION: Red Bull dominated last year and won all but 1 Grand Prix in 2023. It's unlikely they'll repeat that same level of performance, but this will surely be an exciting year. ⭐ BONUS: The popular Netflix series "Drive to Survive" released its sixth season on February 23, 2024. For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photo: Formula 1 #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #formulaone

The stage is being set for the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026™ - Canada, Mexico and the United States… #playbookmiddleeast #playbookafrica FIFA has introduced the FIFA Series, a new friendly competition set to debut this March. From the 18th through the 26th of March, 20 national teams from all six confederations will play a series of friendlies against each other in what is being called the FIFA Series. Why?? 1. “This is a great opportunity to enable member associations that do not have regular opportunities to play against teams from other confederations.” - Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA’s director of European Member Associations 2. To help smaller member nations get reps playing against teams from other confederations, the next World Cup will be expanded and include “greener” teams. Countries involved: 🇩🇿 Algeria will host: Bolivia, Andorra and South Africa, 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan will host: Mongolia, Tanzania and Bulgaria. 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka will host: Papua New Guinea, Bhutan and the Central African Republic. 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia (not playing) will host: Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana and Cambodia and, in another section, Guinea, Vanuatu, Bermuda and Brunei. 💸 The Money(or lack there of): • There will be no prize money or trophies • Streaming/broadcast rights are yet to be determined Conversations about a women’s version are happening currently, and after this “introductory series”, we’ll see the next one in 2026. If you know more about how these are being financed, please share in the comments.👇🏿 For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photo: Hudl #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #worldcup2026

🇧🇷 🏆 Brazil takes FIFA’s highest-scoring tournament for the 6th time! #playbookmiddleeast FIFA’s Beach Soccer World Cup ended yesterday after a successful 11 days of world-class competition. Here is what you missed: ↓ Regions and their teams: AFC: Iran, Japan, Oman, United Arab Emirates CAF: Egypt, Senegal CONCACAF: United States, Mexico CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia Oceania: Tahiti UEFA: Belarus, Italy, Portugal, Spain 🇮🇹Italy secured 2nd Place. 🇮🇷Iran secured 3rd Place. Venue: Set in Dubai, the World Cup highlights the city’s position as a global hub for the sport. 🏟 Dubai Design District Stadium   • hosted all 32 matches of the competition, with a max capacity of 3458 spectators. • the stadium was a temporary construction built purposely for the competition, taking just 25 days compared with typical lengths of 60 to 90 days Attendance = 72,893 (2,278 per match), including 8 sold-out matches. Sponsors: adidas The Coca-Cola Company Qatar Airways Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차) Visa 萬達集團 | WANDA GROUP The History: 1995 - The Beach Soccer World Championship, organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), began. 2005 - FIFA joined forces with BSWW to launch the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005 on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. FIFA’s support included the creation and renovations of beach soccer pitches, in addition to the execution of competitions around the world. Up next: The tournament heads to Africa for the 1st time next year!  It will be set in Victoria on the Mahe island of the Seychelles🌴 in 2025. For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photo: Beach Soccer Worldwide #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #beachsoccerworldcup #dubai

Oil Giant, Saudi Arabia, doubles down on….electric??? #playbookmiddleeast ⚡️The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s investment arm, has teamed up with Formula E, Extreme E, and the soon-to-launch electric boat series E1 Series to launch an unprecedented initiative called Electric 360 (E360). For the first time, one partner is joining the three electric sports globally, and this move isn't just about sports… ↓ What you need to know: The PIF becomes the sole principal partner of all three series with the goal of “bringing together leading industry experts to work on evolving the future of electric mobility and sustainability,” states Alanoud Althonayan, Head of Sponsorships and Events at PIF. The partnership will also promote educational opportunities related to electric motorsports, including: • thought leadership events • STEM initiatives and • community apprenticeship programs The country stands to win BIG from this partnership in more ways than 1… 🏎️The Future of Motorsports: I’ve had the fortune of having several conversations with motorsports industry veterans, and the common prediction is that Formula E will eventually overtake F1 in popularity. Why? 🌿The world is getting greener, and consumer expectations are too.  We've already seen greener trends move across the sports industry in sectors like infrastructure, with venues like the Climate Pledge Arena leading the way. The prediction is that audiences globally will move from traditional combustion engines to electric ones as the threat of climate change worsens. Because of this, the E360 initiative could stand to be one of the PIF’s most successful partnerships yet. A true example of “doing well and doing good”. ↓ ⭐️Bonus: This is not the PIF’s first engagement with Formula E as they have already acquired a 5% stake in Formula E and nearly 50% of Extreme E, the off-road series. What do you think about the deal, and how do you think this partnership could impact technological advancements for electric cars? For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photos: #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #sportsinvestments  #formulae #sponsorship

🤞🏿 Sadio Mane knows how to keep a promise. #playbookafrica ⚽️In 2022, Mane was spotted playing on a rough and muddy field in his village of Bambali in Southern Senegal. Photos from that match went viral, and the Senegalese football star promised to build a stadium for the residents. 1.5 years later, Mane inaugurated his mini-stadium, Stade de Bambali Stadium. The endeavor was built with Mane’s funds, and the venue will host several football matches in the region. ↓ The problem of inadequate sports infrastructure continues to be challenging across the African continent; however, this trend of athletes bridging the gap is something we will surely see for years to come. Bonus: Mane has already built a school and a hospital in the same village to improve the lives of citizens. “This is not just a gift from me to my beloved village. Above all, it is the symbol of our unity, our strength and our passion for football.” - Mane 🏆Under Mane's leadership, the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) and its national team are gearing up to defend their title in this upcoming #AFCON. For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photo: Ghanasoccernet.com #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #sportsinvestments  #sportsinfrastructure #athleteinvestment

⚽ The wild world of broadcasting AFCON! This is what happened in the last 48 hours. 🫠 #playbookafrica Two days ago (January 3rd)-  📺 It was announced that SuperSport, owned by South African broadcaster MultiChoice Group, will not broadcast the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), starting in just eight days in Côte d'Ivoire from January 13 to February 11, 2024.  This marks the first time since 1992 that SuperSport will not broadcast AFCON. However, CAF granted exclusive rights to New World TV for Sub-Saharan Africa. New World TV secured the media rights for CAF's Free-to-Air and Pay-TV coverage in English and Local Languages for Sub-Saharan territories for CAF competitions and events from 2023 to 2025 in a deal worth about $80 million in December. While it is exhilarating to see new players in the industry, the optics of the largest pay-TV broadcaster not showing the most significant football tournament on the continent are not great. Yesterday (January 4th) - 💲 The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) swooped in to secure a sub-licensing agreement with New World TV that would allow them to show only South Africa's men's football team, Bafana Bafana, and close the gap a bit for the country's fans. Then... This afternoon (January 5th) - It was announced that the same SABC has obtained the broadcasting rights for the entire lineup of 52 matches of AFCON 2023. The deal also includes an extensive range of CAF events, encompassing: • All 150 matches of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers • 32 matches of CAF CHAN 2024 • All matches of various tournaments like the CAF Champions League 2023/24, • CAF Confederations Cup 2023/24, CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations 2024, • • CAF Women’s Champions League 2024, and CAF Super Cup 2024. More media rights announcements are expected in the final days, but what do you think? Should I make a guide on how to watch AFCON this year? Let me know in the comments. For more news and analysis on the emerging sports economies of Africa and the Middle East, check out Playbook - Sports Business for Emerging Markets. __________ Photo: theAnalyst.com #linkedinsports  #sportsbusiness  #sportsinvestments  #afcon #mediarights