Week in Sportbiz: Yashenkov makes fan pledge ahead of election; global golf tour moves step closer; and Cazoo trumpets Hundred deal
It’s a big weekend for rugby in Europe, and not just because of the final round of Autumn Nations Cup fixtures.
On Friday, Russian challenger Kirill Yashenkov is hoping to topple incumbent Octavian Morariu and be named president of Rugby Europe.
Yashenkov has vowed to double the organisation’s budget and create more opportunities for elite level competition for smaller nations and their clubs.
As the first spectators returned to live sport in England this week, Yashenkov pledged to prioritise getting fans back into rugby across the continent.
“We must unite together to lobby the European Union and national governments for our sport to be allowed back with spectators at the elite and community level as fast as possible in every country,” he said.
“We know that it can be made safe for young people to be playing rugby. We can create the right structures.
“So we will work with all stakeholders in Europe to lobby and ensure that rugby is returned at community and elite level at the earliest opportunity.”
PGA and European Tours cosy up
A single global golf circuit moved a step closer to reality this week when the PGA and European Tours announced a new collaboration agreement.
The move confirmed long-standing rumours of a tie-up that promises to improve commercial and media rights opportunities for both parties.
European Tour deputy chief executive Guy Kinnings told Morning Wire last year that it was open to discussing a global tour with its PGA counterparts.
With the PGA Tour taking a minority stake in European Tour Productions and its commissioner Jay Monahan joining the European Tour’s board, this may be just the beginning.
Cazoo trumpets new Hundred deal
Online used-car retailed Cazoo has added yet another major sport property to its burgeoning portfolio of sponsorships.
Cazoo has been named principal partner for The Hundred, the great white hope of English franchise cricket, which is due to begin next summer.
The Hundred deal follows the company’s shirt sponsorships with Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Everton. Cazoo is also the main partner for next year’s Rugby League World Cup.
Used-car dealers have never had it so good, it seems.
Major League Cricket gets Bollywood treatment
In a good week for the finances of nascent Twenty20 cricket competitions, Major League Cricket also received a major boost.
The Knight Riders Group, which counts Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as its majority shareholder, has become a stakeholder in the US’s imminent competition.
The owners of two-time Indian Premier League winners Kolkata Knight Riders and Caribbean Premier League side Trinbago Knight Riders are not just investing cash.
They will also lend their expertise as Major League Cricket gears up for its planned launch in 2022.
As noted previously in this column, the United States has big plans for the sport over the next decade.
WTA adopts ATP tournament system
Golf is not the only sport embracing a spirit of co-operation this week, as the WTA has shown.
The elite women’s tennis circuit is to change its system of categorising tournaments to align with the men’s ATP Tour, which denotes events 1000, 500, 250 and 125 competitions depending on importance.
The WTA announced the move as part of a wider corporate rebrand that also includes a new logo.
“Adopting this streamlined tournament naming system is 100 per cent about making it easier for WTA fans, corporate partners and the media to engage and follow our sport,” said WTA president Micky Lawler.