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☆ Ukraine on mission to ban Russia from Paris Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At least 220 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died in the war, Huttsait said, with over 340 sports facilities damaged or ruined. However, there has been little public support yet from other nations for an outright ban on Russians at Paris. "Certainly, there is some attempt by the International Olympic Committee to allow our athletes to participate in international competitions," said Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of Russia's Olympic Committee. 'LIVES MORE IMPORTANT THAN MEDALS'The IOC's previous recommendation to ban Russians and Belarusians has been applied by many sports federations. Should that happen, Ukraine's sporting authorities and athletes will face a "very difficult decision" whether to boycott Paris, Huttsait said.

☆ Victoria Lee, rising MMA star, dies at 18
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Francesca Gariano | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Mixed martial arts rising star Victoria Lee has died at 18. In an Instagram post on Saturday, MMA fighter Angela Lee shared that her younger sister, Victoria, had died last year on Dec. 26, 2022. The best daughter, the best granddaughter and the best godma / aunty to Ava and Alia.”“We miss you so much sis. “The ONE Championship team is devastated over the tragic passing of Victoria Lee,” a post on Twitter read. In recent years, she defeated Victoria Souza with a TKO in the second round in September 2021.

☆ Pelé, Global Soccer Star Who Led Brazil to Three World Cup Wins, Dies at 82
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Joshua Robinson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pelé, arguably the greatest soccer player of all time and a three-time World Cup winner with Brazil, died on Thursday in São Paulo of multiple organ failure due to colon cancer, according to the Albert Einstein Hospital, where he was being treated. During a 22-year professional career that set new standards for goal scoring and individual virtuosity, Pelé came to redefine the meaning of global sports celebrity and established Brazil as the supreme power of the world’s most popular game. He spent most of that time with his boyhood club in Brazil, Santos, before a high-profile move to the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in 1975, a disco-era experiment that created a brief surge of passion for the sport in the U.S.

☆ Fanatics Hires CFO for Collectibles Business After Topps Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fanatics said this week that Greg Abovsky started as chief financial officer for the collectibles business earlier this month. As CFO, Mr. Abovsky plans to build out the division’s finance team and its trading card business as it looks to expand. Fanatics plans to expand its portfolio into culture and entertainment cards, said Mike Mahan, chief executive officer of the collectibles business. Fanatics expects its collectibles business will fare well in the coming years, despite the threat of a potential downturn. Both Mr. Abovsky and Mr. Mahan declined to comment on if and when Fanatics could list on the public markets.

The PSG chaiman also told Anderson that he believes media criticism of the country was down to the fact that many had not visited Qatar. The 49-year-old told Anderson that PSG would want any potential bidder to share a long-term commitment to the club. The 49-year-old told Anderson that he remains opposed to the idea, but is not against other changes. Al-Khelaifi told Anderson that PSG has a two-year contract with Messi, but will discuss his next steps after the tournament ends. Al-Khelaifi told Anderson he expected the star to be okay for the tournament’s knock-out stages, but that he needs referees to give him more protection.

☆ Football or soccer? It’s complicated …
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Allison Rosen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Football, or soccer, has been around for centuries with its roots dating back over 2,000 years ago, but it was not until 1863 that England’s Football Association (the FA) cemented the sport’s full name of Association Football when they established the game’s first rules. Courtesy of U.S. Soccer and National Soccer Hall of FameBy the time association football and its round ball made its way across the Atlantic, American Football was already the popular game claiming the name of football. Unlike association football, American football is a game played mostly with one’s hands and uses an oval ball. Fast forward to 1974 and the United States Soccer Football Association (USSFA) – the sport’s governing body in the US – distanced itself from the word football by changing its name to the United States Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as the USSF (US Soccer). In places where football can be ambiguous, soccer is usefully precise.”In 1994, soccer fever reached a highpoint as the US hosted the World Cup.

When the United States' national men's team faces England at the Qatar World Cup later on Friday, one thing will be missing: medieval knights. Soccer’s governing body FIFA has told English soccer fans to ditch imitation chain mail, shields and swords or miss the game, according to the Times of London. England fans have worn similar outfits at previous tournaments while watching other sports. Press photos and social media footage show that England fans wearing Crusader gear were allowed into the stadium to watch their team's match against Iran. "As soon as you know anything about crusading history, you know it would produce a reaction like this in the Islamic world," he said.

☆ Reality ends some Qatari dreams of World Cup rental bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We were in contact with half of the city, all the big real estate companies ... A week before the World Cup began on Nov. 20, the rate was $250 a night, the broker said. Eleven days before kick-off, organisers had said there were at least 25,000 rooms available for every night of the World Cup. "Never ever, at no World Cup, have I heard anything like this," said Bauer of the last-minute charges. His Khaya agency has block-booked accommodation and sold rooms to fans, FIFA sponsors and other officials at three previous World Cups.

☆ Qatar World Cup bans English soccer fans from dressing as medieval Crusaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Patrick Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

England fans pose for a picture with English footballer Trevor Sinclair at 4TheFans Fan Park ahead of the match. When the United States' national men's team faces England at the Qatar World Cup later on Friday, one thing will be missing: medieval knights. Soccer's governing body FIFA has told English soccer fans to ditch imitation chain mail, shields and swords or miss the game, according to the Times of London. England fans have worn similar outfits at previous tournaments while watching other sports. Press photos and social media footage show that England fans wearing Crusader gear were allowed into the stadium to watch their team's match against Iran.

☆ SponsorUnited wants to be the 'Bloomberg terminal' for brand sponsorships. It used this 12-slide pitch deck to raise $35 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SponsorUnited has raised $35 million to become the 'Bloomberg terminal' for brand sponsorships. The startup's platform helps brands see data on sponsorships across their respective industries. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds in a Series A round. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. A source close to the firm said that the round puts the startup's valuation at north of $100 million, with the total now raised at $38.6 million since its launch.

[1/2] Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday the immunity decision did not speak to a review of Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which was ongoing. HISTORIC LOWSaudi ties with the United States and the wider West are still at a historic low point. When Saudi Arabia consequently took its security into its own hands with its war in Yemen, it saw Western criticism as hypocritical. Saudi Arabia would likely still prefer to have a U.S. security umbrella.

On Sunday the globe’s gaze will turn to the controversial hosts of this year’s soccer World Cup, Qatar. (The Qatar body responsible for putting on the 2022 World Cup has strongly denied these claims.) According to official Qatari figures, 38 migrant workers have died while working on official World Cup projects. An investigation by The Guardian, however, estimates up to 6,500 migrant worker deaths since the World Cup was awarded to the Gulf country, though it’s not clear what their exact relation to World Cup infrastructure was. But the people of the Middle East shouldn’t be punished by having the World Cup tournament withdrawn for the failures of their governments.

☆ Streaming enters a new reality with a boom in sports and drive for profitability as fresh voices continue to break through with innovative storytelling on new platforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big entertainment players face pressure to make streaming profitable and satisfy diverse audiences. 100 People Transforming Business is an annual list highlighting people across industries who are changing the way the world does business. As streamers feel the limits of subscription growth, free, ad-supported TV streamers like Tubi have grabbed market share. While many in Hollywood fear that marginalized voices could get sidelined in a tougher market, 2022 has seen more storytelling and content elevating previously excluded communities. As CEO Ken Kim told Insider, "It's not just professional creators — they are from all over the world."

☆ Inside TikTok's push to win over the global sports community, from setting up concerts for the NHL to sponsoring a women's rugby championship
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Colin Salao | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The company has leaned in, setting up sponsorship deals with teams and leagues. Tune into a professional rugby match in one of Europe's Six Nations leagues and it's impossible to miss TikTok's branding plastered all over the field. Twelve of the top 25 fastest growing brands on TikTok between March 2021 and March 2022 were sports teams or leagues. The company has even tested streaming live games that are shot vertically to match TikTok's video format. Enya Breen of Ireland kicks a late try conversion during a TikTok Women's Six Nations match on April 30, 2022.

☆ Designer Thebe Magugu brings South African fashion to global stage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] South African Luxury fashion designer, Thebe Magugu, who has showcased his designs in Paris and London, poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters, at his studio in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Taurai Maduna/File PhotoJOHANNESBURG, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Celebrated South African fashion designer Thebe Magugu hopes his success will inspire other young people on the continent. Magugu recently launched a new collection with global sportswear brand Adidas. His clothes have been worn by celebrities such as Rihanna and Miley Cyrus, and in 2019 he won the prestigious LVMH Prize for young designers. Reporting by Sisipho Skweyiya and Taurai Maduna Writing by Nellie Peyton Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Global sport climbing body monitoring Iranian athlete
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) said on Tuesday that they were monitoring the case of Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi who was on her way home after apparently removing her hijab during competition. "There is a lot of information in the public sphere regarding Elnaz Rekabi and as an organisation we have been trying to establish the facts. We have also been in contact with Ms. Rekabi and the Iranian Climbing Federation," IFSC added in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon's head of sports video is riding the success of 'Thursday Night Football' and setting her sights on deals with the NBA, college sports, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon's VP of global sports video spoke Wednesday on "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast." The exec described how "Thursday Night Football" is attracting a younger demographic to the NFL. She also said Amazon is targeting deals with more "marquee sports partners," like the NBA. Amazon VP of global sports video Marie Donoghue. She mentioned interest in college sports and the NBA, whose current rights deals with Disney and TNT expire after the 2024-25 season.

☆ Nike is a buy that's poised for a comeback beyond 2022, Raymond James says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nike is poised for a comeback after a lousy 2022, according to Raymond James. We also believe this is consensus view and while it's impossible to call the trough in stocks, we believe investors should take a longer-term view," Patel wrote in a Wednesday note. Still, Nike can come out of the other side of this period as a stronger company, according to the analyst. "Our top picks in athletic brands have meaningfully asymmetric risk/returns that favor upside over the long-term, as these are high-quality companies that can navigate a difficult near-term without diminishing the potential to drive stronger growth beyond 2022," Patel wrote. The analyst's $99 price target on Nike is nearly 12% above where the stock closed Wednesday at $88.51.

Stephen is Insider's UK-based transportation reporter. He writes news and visual features primarily focusing on the global operations of major automakers, European aviation, and global trade. He started his career as a match day reporter for the Non-League paper, before a brief spell working in social media analytics for global sports brands. Before joining Insider, as a careers reporter in 2021, he spent three years covering business and leadership for Management Today. See some examples of his work:

☆ Fund manager reveals two ways to play market volatility and two global stocks to scoop up
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One option on a "very, very short term" basis, according to Veitch, is an inverse volatility ETF (exchange-traded fund). These ETFs, such as the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF and Short VIX Futures ETF , allow investors to bet on a stable market in times of volatility. This is done by effectively shorting the VIX, a measure of volatility expectation based on S & P 500 index options. Micron Veitch disclosed that he sold off shares of chip maker Micron Technology earlier this year. The fund manager said that select retail stocks would likely rise next year if inflation fell meaningfully.

☆ Sports streamer DAZN agrees to buy rival ELEVEN
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterInternet streaming service DAZN's logo is pictured in its office in Tokyo, Japan March 21, 2017. Team Whistle, a short-form original social media content provider, is also included in the deal, which will bring total revenue of around $300 million a year, DAZN said. DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev said the deal was "a big step forward in our mission to be the leading global sports platform". Backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, DAZN has expanded into more than 200 countries, offering sports including soccer and boxing. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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