WFS

Day 4 highlights: Simon Oliveira, Al Guido, Joe de Sena, the WFS StartCup and more

Day 4 highlights: Simon Oliveira, Al Guido, Joe de Sena, the WFS StartCup and more 1097 521 WFS Live

Day 4 of WFS Live powered by R9 saw leading social media experts discuss why athletes are becoming powerful influencers and why this trend is only just starting. Successful entrepreneurs like Alejandro Agag (Extreme E) or Joe de Sena (Spartan Race) exchanged views on what football can learn from other sports, whilst Barça’s Marta Plana and Pixellot CEO Alon Werber addressed the crucial role of technology in the “New Normal”. Plus, we had the semi-finals of the WFS StartCup by GSIC.

Simon Oliveira (KIN Partners) on who can become the LeBron James of football:
“If you look at the audiences of Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar I think they have the power of a Ferrari in their hands but they’re still learning to drive. They have enormous potential, some individually have more than the combined audience of The New York Times, The Washington Post and the LA Times put together. However, I think where LeBron was very clever was he very much identified what the content slate would be from his perspective. It was built around American black culture and things that he was passionate about. I think any footballer going to this are needs to be very clear as to what their identity is and what the content stream and platform should be for.”

Al Guido (49ers) on the need to embrace user-generated content
“We have 20 people on our content team capturing 49ers and other sports every single day. However, we have 10 million fans all over the world capturing 49ers content, so you have to embrace it. User-generated content is just another form of our 49ers Studio team. Last year, Live Nation and Ticketmaster had more reaction for tickets going on sale for the NFL season based on user-generated 30-second advertisements versus studio-recorded production quality, because people want to be in the action, they want to see what happens there.”
Alon Werber (Pixellot) on how automation and AI can save clubs post-Covid
“A lot of clubs in the world live on venue tickets and are going to lack revenue streams in the coming season, in which there are going to be severe restrictions on stadium attendance. Bringing quick and low cost production to allow them to continue connecting with their fans via a subscription model or through sponsorship deals can be almost a matter of life or death for these clubs in the coming season. At Pixellot we’ve been engaging AI and computer vision to film, produce and stream completely automatic games for 4 years and today we are installed in around 8,000 fields of 16 different sports. Last January we were producing live 100,000 hours of life events.”
Ricardo Dias (Ambev) on bringing content to people’s homes
“It’s time to stay at home. We are taking the opportunity to create new occasions for consumption. We are investing in e-commerce, lives and bringing them to people’s homes. It was not part of the plan, but it will certainly add a lot of value in the future.”
Diogo Kotscho (Orlando City SC) on creating and engaging digital communities

“At Orlando City, what worked was creating and engaging an entire community. As a result, today it is easier to see Orlando City flags, shirts and stickers around than Orlando Magic, the traditional NBA team and more related to tourism. We brought Kaká in the first year, which was important to start our journey with the fans.”

This is a time for the sports industry to be bold, experts urge

This is a time for the sports industry to be bold, experts urge 1240 580 WFS Live

The fact that the world has completed changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic can open up opportunities for the sports industry in terms of implementing changes that directors and commissioners wouldn’t dare consider in normal circumstances. While there may previously have been a fear of the negative feedback that could have come with shaking up certain areas, industry experts believe that this concern no longer exists given that the whole world has been shaken up anyway.

This was the view of the experts who took part in the ‘Sports Post-Covid: What Can Football Learn From Its Counterparts In Times Of Crisis?’ panel during WFS Live powered by Ronaldo. The guests for this panel were Al Guido, President of San Francisco 49ers and chairman of Elevate Sports Ventures, Alejandro Agag, CEO of Extreme E, Arnon de Mello, senior Vice President and managing director at NBA Latin America, and Joe de Sena, CEO and founder of The Spartan Race.

Michael Broughton, an advisor at Acceleration Equity, was the moderator of the panel and he got the conversation rolling. “Innovation needs a catalyst and the catalyst may have come in the most unexpected way,” Broughton said. “Fans may be a little more amenable to seeing things differ to the way they used to be,” he added, referring to the current situation.

Guido echoed that point with a fitting metaphor. He said: “With the NFL and the NBA, you might consider them as sort of ocean tankers. They’re hard to turn around because there is so much maturity in some of these businesses and their sport. Maybe their fans might have had a negative reaction if you’d tried to change something too much, but even that during this period is evolving. Even what players might be used to or what they might have signed up for. Now, you might see a coach who was saying ‘I’d never mic myself up’, but now they might put a mic on to bring fans closer. Because we all understand that we are in the most challenging time in our world.”

Agag followed on. “You have to take this time of the pandemic as an opportunity and you can do many things that, before, people were not ready to do,” he said, going on to give the example of virtual hospitality that is being implemented in Extreme E, the series of off-road races in remote parts of the world that wasn’t planning to have in-attendance fans in any case. As Agag explained: “It’s all about giving premium experiences to the corporate guests or to the fans at home, but they need to feel they’re different and have special access. Maybe one-on-one communication with the drivers, special cameras, special food, special merchandising or even a driving experience in their city with their favourite brands.”

In the NBA, they’re certainly planning to try out new technology and new methods, as De Mello told the WFS Live audience. He said, referring to the resumption of the 2019/20 NBA season, that: “We’re going to be testing a lot of new features. We’re going to have 30 cameras with different angles that nobody has ever seen.

While many of the innovations might be virtual, De Sena pointed out that in-person events have to be planned for too. Already some Spartan Race events have been held and De Sena reported back on the success of these, explaining that most people were open to coming along and running those races in a slightly different way to normal, with sanitary protocols in place. As De Sena said: “About 30% of the people are afraid and aren’t going to come to a stadium or an event. But, 70% of the people embraced it and followed the new protocols. I didn’t know if our consumers were going to play along. With the ones that showed up to the event, were they going to break all of the rules? By and large, everybody followed exactly the way they were supposed to.”

This panel took place during the fourth day of WFS Live, which is running from Monday July 6th to Friday July 10th. It is still possible to buy a ticket for the final day here, with all net proceeds to be donated to Fundação Fenômenos and the Common Goal Covid-19 Response Fund.

A selection of quotes from ‘Sports Post-COVID: What Can Football Learn From Its Counterparts In Times Of Crisis?’

Al Guido, on thinking outside the box to discover new revenue streams:
“I would say it’s incumbent upon all of us to find new ways to get revenue to come in the books. Things that we might have thought were off the books and couldn’t do and wouldn’t touch? We need to start thinking about the ability to do that. Whether that’s new sponsorship assets that are inside of television broadcasts. Whether that’s new distribution platforms. Whether that’s escape rooms. Whether that’s membership, as I saw what happened with BarçaTV and their membership platform with their fanbase. We’re all going to have to think through what the future of our revenue streams looks like.”

Alejandro Agag, on Fernando Alonso’s return to Formula 1:
“I think it’s great for Formula 1 to get Fernando Alonso back. I think he’s a great champion and he left probably too early. Probably the timing of some of his decisions or choices of teams were not the ideal ones. So, that probably kept him from winning a couple more championships, which I think he would have. I was texting him on WhatsApp and he replied with a funny phrase which will resonate with the NBA. He said ‘Yes, one last dance’.”

Arnon de Mello, senior vice president and managing director at NBA Latin America, on the opportunities for the NBA that the shaken-up time slots present:
“One of our biggest challenges was broadcasting games live in Europe and even parts of Asia or Africa. Now, we’ll have more time slots. Game will start to be played in the US in early afternoon, so we will be able to be on prime time in Europe or Africa, where we usually only came in very late at night or in the early hours of the morning.”

Joe De Sena, on making sure we don’t overlook the value of face-to-face interaction:
“I can’t tell you how many hundred people came around a corner [at a recent race], saw me and just started crying. That they got a chance to live again. I think all of the virtual things and initiatives we’re talking about are great and a requirement, but I think humans need interaction, even if it’s at six feet away. I saw it first hand. Literally, people were tearing up and crying. They’d been locked in their homes for so long and they just felt alive again.”

Day 3 highlights: Ronaldo, Mata, Popal, Verón and more

Day 3 highlights: Ronaldo, Mata, Popal, Verón and more 1242 565 WFS Live

Day 3 of WFS Live powered by R9 saw former and current football legends take the virtual stage to address both on the field and both the field topics. Rebecca Smith and Khalida Popal discussed the best way for women’s football to tackle Covid-19 and continue its growth path during a panel sponsored by Visa, Juan Sebastián Verón explained how a good education boosted him from the youth teams of Estudiantes to the Chairman’s office in a panel sponsored by Johan Cruyff Institute, whilst Ronaldo and Juan Mata shared their experiences as social activists in a panel sponsored by Santander.

Ronaldo Nazário on how Covid-19 will impact football for good organisations:
“Covid-19 is going to make a big impact on foundations and NGOs because the companies that fund these organisations have suffered a big blow and we know that whenever there is a crisis the first thing they cut is donations. What we have to do as foundations is to find solutions, find ways of proposing new projects. With Fundação Fenômenos we are developing channels and platforms to try to identify where people are suffering most in Brasil and do our best to provide assistance. It’s not what we normally do, but it is what is required. There are a lot of communities in Brasil that have no assistance and we have to provide them with an opportunity to overcome this crisis with dignity.”

Juan Mata on players becoming increasingly involved in social causes
“There are a number of reasons that explain why athletes’ voices are becoming more influential. Social media has become a very important tool for professional footballers and athletes in general, and, as we are seeing with all the young players joining Common Goal lately, players are realising that when you are a footballer you have a very powerful platform. When you state your views, people listen, and a lot of players are starting to use that power to speak up for social causes. I think this is already a trend, and I think that it is going to grow even more in the coming years. More players will realise the power they have to reach people, because in that sense nothing matches the power of sports and football.”

Juan Sebastián Verón (Club Estudiantes) on the need for clubs to ensure their player’s education
“At Estudiantes we use football as a vehicle to educate kids. We receive kids from all types of places, some of them with important needs, and it’s important that we ensure that when they leave they have finished secondary school, which is the minimum needed to get a job. I think that’s what the club has to do, and I think the kids have the right to receive that education. They’re going to invest around 10 years chasing a dream that may never come true. If that happens, I want them to know that the club gave them the chance to finish school and go back home with something. If they get to be players, that will be excellent, but if they don’t make it we want them to have another opportunity in life.”

Tatjana Haenni (Swiss Football Federation) on the need for football organisations to talk less and do more
“If you talk to male players, they are usually super supportive and helpful. If you talk to people in society, they are open to women sports. If you talk to people in the economy they see the benefits as well. It’s developing everywhere, but where we still struggle is in places in which changes could be made immediate and that’s sports organisations. These organisations quite often in my opinion do a bit more talking than actually doing. They could really reinforce the case of women’s sports much quicker and put the right structures in place.”

Toni Ordinas (Lillestrøm Sportsklubb), on how Bepro is revolutionising data analysis in football
“During more than 20 years I had the feeling that I just watched the matches, didn’t analyze the matches. With Bepro this has changed. For the first time I have the chance to see what happens on the pitch, what players do and how they interact. In youth football it’s important that we not just look at the physical parameters but also the fundamentals, this is the most important thing when you are developing a player.”

Mic Conetta (Arsenal FC) on using data to build fan engagement
“Clubs have to balance the amount of information that is available to them and really focus on what part of that information is going to drive and build out that fan experience and nurture and develop the relationship with the fans, because you can go down a lot of rabbit holes chasing a lot of data that won’t deliver much value back to either the club or the relationship with the fans.”

Iván Codina (LaLiga), on how LaLiga kept its fans engaged during the Covid-19 lockdown  
“At the beginning our main focus was definitely to show our commitment with the fight against Covid-19, specially with the dramatic situation that we had in Spain. That was our main focus. After that we were also able to provide content around the protocols for clubs to resume training and the restart of competitions, and also on all the initiatives that our clubs carried out around the restart of LaLiga.”

Ale Xavier (Desimpedidos) on how Covid-19 is forcing media companies to reinvent themselves 
“In the pandemic, more than ever, we need to reinvent ourselves, produce different content related to sports and leverage tools that already existed but we didn’t know how to use. We also need to make the best use of all available platforms.”

Dani Alves (Brasil National Team) on the need to come together to make real impact
“Individual voices don’t make much of an impact. They need to be together and in different parts of the world. All lives matter. We are in 2020 debating about the same things and haven’t evolved yet. We have to position ourselves as humans and not as football players or a sports athlete in general.”

Experts call for women’s football to receive more investment during the Covid-19 crisis

Experts call for women’s football to receive more investment during the Covid-19 crisis 1237 588 WFS Live

While the coronavirus crisis has impacted sport at all levels, the effects on women’s football have been especially severe and this is why industry experts have called for there to be even more investment in the women’s game than in the men’s game at this time. Given the weaker fundamental structures of women’s football, equal investment wouldn’t even be enough. Instead, the argument is that there’s a need for the authorities to put greater resources into women’s sport.

This was one of the main talking points during the ‘Women’s Sport: The Necessary Steps For A Progressive Future’ panel during WFS Live powered by Ronaldo, which was moderated by Alexandra Gómez Bruinewoud, senior legal counsel at FIFPro. It had Tatjana Haenni, director of women’s football at the Swiss Football Association, Bex Smith, global director of the women’s game at COPA90, Khalida Popal, founder and director of the Girl Power Organisation, and Jorge Garbajosa, president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, as guests.

As Gómez Bruinewoud explained: “At FIFPro, we have been studying women’s football in general, but also we’ve put a little bit more interest on the effects of COVID-19 on women’s football. Of course, as everyone who is interested in football in general and in women’s football in particular, we were really really worried about what would happen. We did some research and what we’re encouraging and suggesting is that actually, in this moment, it’s not enough to say ‘ok, we’ll invest the same in women’s football’, which is not even the case by far anywhere. It should be even more! They need extra support because the structures are weak and the basis is still not there.”

In certain countries, solid structures are in place and Smith raised the positive example of the DFB, the German federation. She said: “I think the structures need to be in the right place. If you have the right structures then a great example of that is what the DFB did with the solidarity fund that the top four clubs then distributed and it actually went to women’s football because that was the equitable thing to do.”

Such a positive example is rare, though, and the panelists agreed with the need for financial backing of women’s sport at this time. “To really convince the last people who are still not seeing the opportunity and the potential, we need some money coming into women’s football and you can actually make a business case, but you need a decent plan,” said Haenni.

It’s not only about financially supporting women’s sport during the times of COVID-19. It’s about doing so at all times. Encouragingly, Garbajosa revealed that the Spanish Basketball Federation were thinking about this issue even before the pandemic and they realised that there was a need to not just fund women’s basketball equally, but to actually allocate a little more to the women’s game.

We are investing a little bit more in women’s basketball than in men’s basketball,” Garbajosa told the WFS Live audience. “In terms of the commitment of the men’s basketball players with the women, here in Spain in our federation it is 100 percent. When they get a bonus, the bonuses for the men and the women are completely equal. The money that they get for every day that they practice or play games is completely equal also. It’s a matter of being fair because the effort they show on the court every day is the same so they have to get the same from our federation.”

Ultimately, having more women in leading roles will help to bring about the positive changes that are needed and this was another takeaway that the panelists agreed upon. “I think it’s very important to create more job opportunities and educational opportunities for women to gain the skills to be more involved in developing the women’s game, as we need more women,” Popal concluded.

This panel took place during the third day of WFS Live, which is running from Monday July 6th to Friday July 10th. It is still possible to buy a ticket here, with all net proceeds to be donated to Fundação Fenômenos and the Common Goal COVID-19 Response Fund.

Quotes from the ‘Women’s Sport: The Necessary Steps For A Progressive Future’ panel

Tatjana Haenni, on the business case for women’s football:
“I think women’s football is a business case. I think it’s the biggest growth opportunity in terms of participation, sponsorships, partnerships, media partnerships. If you don’t have a proper business plan and investment behind then you just don’t get the results as quickly as you can. If I look at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as an example. It still doesn’t have its own sponsorship packages. It’s not unbundled as far as I know. That might have reasons for it because maybe the contracts are so long that they can’t unbundle it. But, I haven’t really seen a plan. Whereas, at the UEFA level, you see that there are specific sponsors for the Women’s Euros. So, there is the momentum for a commercial business case for women’s football.”

Bex Smith, on the media’s role in setting and defining value:
“Actually, media has an even bigger role to play than just giving visibility. I think that just in the way how media divides the time that women get and men get, that puts a value on it. [It suggests] that men are actually worth more and valued more and that people should then invest more in the men’s side of the game.”

Khalida Popal, on unhelpful comparisons between women’s and men’s football:
“Media has a huge impact on women’s football. It helps women’s football a lot, but we have to also understand that the way some media communicate is wrong. We have to stop comparing women’s football and men’s football. Women’s football is a beautiful product. We have to communicate it and we have to sell the story differently. Most of the media channels are making the mistake of comparing women’s football. That’s why we’re getting hurt in terms of sponsorship deals, in so many ways and also getting fans.”

Jorge Garbajosa, on investing in women’s sport for the right reasons:
“Sometimes, from the men’s point of view, the investment in women’s sport is like a kind of charity. No, it’s not a charity. It’s a strategic pillar of the development, at least in Spain, of our sport. Here, there’s no difference between men or women. Our goal is to develop our sport and one of the main pillars is women’s basketball as we try to reach our goals.”

Alexandra Gómez Bruinewoud, on how some women footballers are more political in the media:
“We’re seeing in women’s football lots of very highly educated women that have a lot to say and probably that’s also connected to how they’re expressing themselves in the media, how they put through strong messages, how they’re a little bit more political if you want to describe it in a word maybe. I think it was, I don’t know if surprising, but something to highlight and pay attention to if we looked at the awards of The Best of FIFA, where Messi won The Best for the male players and Megan Rapinoe for the women players. Then, you looked at their speeches. Without needing to compare them, you see how different they were. Rapinoe was really giving a political stand, whereas Messi was not and was giving more of a personal speech.”

Day 2 Highlights: Asian football, investments, gaming, data and more!

Day 2 Highlights: Asian football, investments, gaming, data and more! 1239 567 WFS Live

Day 2 of WFS Live powered by R9 saw international leading experts engage in fruitful discussions around a wide variety of topics spanning from Asia’s journey te become a global football powerhouse to how Covid-19 will impact investment flows and reshape sponsoring strategies, the need for all sports to have a gaming strategy or the increasingly crucial role of data in all areas of the industry. Here are some of the main highlights:

Assia Grazioli-Venier (Muse Capital and Juventus), on clubs realising they truly are lifestyle brands:
“I think teams need to realise that they truly are a lifestyle brand. Ten years ago, or longer than that, if you said that teams were selling merchandise and selling mugs and pins then you would have said that was crazy. Now, it’s full speed ahead. It’s a strong source of revenue. So, there are still a lot of new opportunities that we can explore.”

George Pyne (Bruin Capital) on why sports will continue to be a great investment:
“Over the long run, sports is going to be a great investment. Long term, there’s nothing like sports. Sports represent who you are and what you stand for and your values. So, there’s nothing like it. Sports brings people together during difficult times for positive outcomes. So, that’s an incredible outcome in a world that is going to be more fragmented from a media standpoint. Sports is one of the few things that you can invest behind that gets you big and passionate audiences.”

The

Eelco van der Noll (AB InBev), on sponsors demanding more access to content:
“The whole media rights is going to be reset, not only because of new players coming on the scene, like streaming platforms or social media platforms, but also because sponsors like us are demaning more access to content that historically has been reserved or protected by broadcasters. When we work with the likes of LaLiga or the Premier League, as sponsors we expect more access to content. I think that was already in process, but it is being accelerated by this pandemic.”

Ralf Reichert (ESL Gaming), on why every sport needs a gaming strategy:
“All sports need a gaming strategy. It needs to be very varied from the center of what they’re doing. It could be archery, it could be golf, it could be football, but every sport needs a game. Everyone who went to this (the Covid-19 lockdown) prepared had a good outcome. Most of the racing stuff went to online competitions pretty fast… Gaming was the big winner of this and eSports is kind of the logical follower.”

Ashraf Adam (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium) on the inefficient nature of stadiums:
“Stadiums in nature are inefficient because they cost a lot of money to build maintain and operate. We need to offer activities around them and we’re looking at renewables. What was seen as radical before is now possible.”

Esteban Granero (Olocip), on the crucial role of data in football:
“I think data is part of the daily life of football clubs. I also think that we still have a long path ahead, specially in terms of education. I think that, from a conceptual perspective, it’s important that clubs have professionals capable of understanding the potential of data. Not only to know what sort of data is available, but also how to process it in order for the team to benefit the most.”

Monica Esperidião (Women Experience Sports) on the need to think of women’s football as a business:
“We have to think about women’s football as a business. And we need more people with an interest in women’s football in organizations, clubs, everywhere.”

Mauro Silva (Paulista Football Federation) on the need to promote clubs in foreign markets: 
“As we do not sell our international TV rights, it is difficult to promote our clubs in the entire world. We are stuck, without visibility. This process took place in Spain, it transformed all Spanish football and can also transform Brazilian football.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address the aftermath of Covid-19 at WFS Live

FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address the aftermath of Covid-19 at WFS Live 2560 1707 WFS Live

WFS Live powered by Octagon is proud to announce that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has joined our lineup of speakers. He will be taking the virtual stage at the closing session of this online and fund-raising event that will gather industry leaders across the globe to discuss the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis. The FIFA President will share insights on how football’s global governing body envisions the future of the game.

Gianni Infantino was re-elected FIFA President for a second term by acclamation in June 2019 after successfully implementing a number of crucial governance and administration reforms that completely revamped football’s governing body and lead to unprecedented financial success.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

For this new term, he established the mission of “making football truly global”, which includes “paving the way to a landscape in which, one day, we will have at least 50 national teams and 50 clubs from all continents who can compete at the highest levels worldwide.”

“I am happy to accept the invitation of my friend and FIFA Legend Ronaldo to participate at the event that he is hosting online. This is a time for the global football community to be united, and this event provides a unique platform for leaders and stakeholders across the world to join forces and work together while raising funds to tackle the effects of Covid-19 on vulnerable communities,” said Gianni Infantino.

“I am happy to accept the invitation of my friend and FIFA Legend Ronaldo to participate at the event that he is hosting online. This is a time for the global football community to be united, and this event provides a unique platform for leaders and stakeholders across the world to join forces and work together while raising funds to tackle the effects of Covid-19 on vulnerable communities,” – Gianni Infantino, FIFA President.

“The industry needs true leaders more than ever and we can’t think of a more inspiring figure in football than Mr. Gianni Infantino. His job at FIFA has helped globalize, popularize and democratize football for the benefit of the entire world. I think it is great news that stakeholders across the globe will be able to hear from him at WFS Live powered by Octagon, and we are truly honored to have him,” said Ronaldo Nazário.

Gianni Infantino leads a stellar lineup that will feature up to 50 top-notch leaders representing the sports industry’s major properties and brands.

WFS Live powered by Octagon is an online, fund-raising event, co-organised by World Football Summit, Ronaldo Nazário and Octagon Brasil, that will bring football’s global leaders together from July 6th to 9th to discuss the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the game and the industry. All net proceeds will be donated to Common Goal and Fundação Fenômenos to help tackle the effects of coronavirus on vulnerable communities.

Warm up for WFS Live by “Talking Sport” with football’s leading figures

Warm up for WFS Live by “Talking Sport” with football’s leading figures 1342 1065 WFS Live

World Football Summit has partnered with Eleven Sports to launch “Talking Sport”, a new webinar series dedicated to looking at how the sports industry tackles the global pandemic and builds for the future.

The weekly webinar will bring together leading figures from across the world of sport, to share their insights and opinions with the wider industry.

Hosted by Sky Sports presenter David Garrido, Talking Sport will feature a panel of three respected speakers each week from across the sport’s ecosystem. Federations, clubs, media publishers, e-sports platforms, investment experts and commercial partners will all be represented.

The debut episodes will be streamed LIVE and for FREE on Thursday 21 May at 5.30pm (CET time). The session, which is titled Sport’s great comeback – Fighting back from COVID-19, will feature:

  • Luis Vicente – Eleven Sports, CEO.
  • Peter Hutton – Facebook, Director of Sports Partnerships.
  • Ricardo Fort – Coca-Cola, VP, Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships.
  • Ralf Reichert – ESL, Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
  • Dominic Quantrill – Founder of The Quantrill Partnership – Moderator.

Guests can register to watch the event now HERE.

Eleven Sports Group CEO Luis Vicente said of the series: “Now more than ever, the sports industry needs to walk together and work together to fight for a better future. For many years I have dedicated my professional life to transforming sports for the better and at Eleven Sports, I am proud to lead an organisation with that same missionary zeal.

“Through our new Talking Sport series, we will bring together leading figures from across the world of sport, to share expertise and insights with the wider industry. Our sessions will help to equip us all with the information we need to come through this period stronger than ever. I’m very excited to launch the series on Thursday.”

World Football Summit Director Jan Alessie said of the series: “At World Football Summit our mission is to bring the industry leaders together to network, share knowledge and best practices, and ultimately generate growth opportunities. This has never been as important as it is today due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. We are grateful to Eleven Sports and to our long-lasting partner and friend Luis Vicente for sharing their platform and we’re confident that this series will start paving the path to a bright future for the sport and the industry.”

Eleven Sports and World Football Summit will partner for a total of six webinar episodes over the next two months.