Andy Etches

👏 Big thanks to Richard Gillis and Jonny Murch for hosting Celine Del Genes and me to discuss a critical (but often overlooked) topic in the sports industry: rising inactivity levels and the impact on the sports business. 📉 Did you know that 81% of young people globally aren’t moving enough to stay healthy? 🛑 This isn’t just a health crisis—it’s a wake-up call for all of us in sports. ⏳ While it might not feel like a bottom-line issue today, it’s shaping the future of our fans, consumers, participants, and employees. This next generation is interacting with sports and physical activity in completely new ways—if they’re engaging at all. 🤔 💡 It’s time for the sports industry to come together with an aligned voice to tackle this challenge. Let’s ensure we shape the future of sport, rather than leaving it to chance. 🌍⚽🏀 #WFSGI #CollaborationInSport #SportingGoods #RedTorch #UnofficialPartner #WhatsSportSelling #SportsPolicy #ISPO #PhysicalActivity

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I’ve had multiple discussions with Premier League and EFL clubs recently, and one recurring topic is the need to address certain cultural aspects to better align with performance. One major issue that’s come up is the increasing use of Snus. A joint study by Loughborough University and the PFA found that: * 18% of surveyed male players and 22% of female players currently use Snus or nicotine pouches. * 42% of male and 39% of female respondents have used it at least once. * Over 50% of male users want to quit. * More than half of male users and nearly 75% of female users reported nicotine dependence. Snus, a smokeless tobacco product from Sweden, is becoming popular among footballers. Unlike smoking, Snus is placed under the upper lip, delivering nicotine without inhaling smoke. However, this trend raises serious concerns about health and performance. Impact on Sleep and Recovery Nicotine, the active compound in Snus, is a potent stimulant that can interfere with sleep, increasing the time it takes to fall asleep and reducing overall sleep duration. It disrupts sleep architecture, leading to less restorative deep sleep, which is crucial for recovery and optimal performance. Poor sleep quality can impair reaction times, decision-making, and physical endurance, leading to a decline in performance and an increased risk of injury. Dependence and Withdrawal Regular Snus use can lead to nicotine dependence, with withdrawal symptoms like irritability, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating, which further disrupts sleep and performance. This cycle can also affect a player's mental health, adding complexity to their overall well-being. Cardiovascular Concerns Nicotine increases heart rate and blood pressure, which can stress the heart, especially during intense physical activity, and contribute to long-term health risks, including cardiovascular disease. Despite these growing concerns, there seems to be a reluctance to question and address this cultural trend, even as its prevalence rises. This is an issue that needs to be tackled with the urgency it deserves to protect the health and performance of our athletes.

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If you're into the big business behind Formula One, you'll want to tune into this! In addition to swooning over our favourite F1 livery era, we look into the brands that partner with the sport and the complexities big companies face when operating in Formula One. Link below to the full episode with 2 partnership pros!

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Fhitting Room has closed 3 clubs, citing “aggressive third-party” booking companies - with ClassPass being the main player in this category Very sad to see this as Fhitting Room was one of my favourite New York brands 😞 Their Flatiron club scored five stars in The Fit Guide's evaluation process and we had some great conversations with the team there Like us, they were enthusiastic and excited about the fitness industry learning from hospitality Their team even recommended Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara which became one of my fav business reads! Conditions have certainly been tough in New York... The city got absolutely battered during closures Landlords were notoriously tough And our friends on the ground have said that some New Yorkers' habits had permanently shifted Fhitting Room keeps its Upper West Side studio, so do check them out if you're in New York! 💪🏼 This presents an important question... As the industry evolves, what role is ClassPass playing in the industry? Is their presence, along with other third-party booking companies such as Wellhub, having a positive or negative effect on the industry and your business? I did a podcast on this a while ago. As the industry evolves and shifts, it's a crucial conversation to keep having. Source: Athletech News #thefitguide #fhittingroom #classpass #fitnessindustry #newyork

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Optics, communication and execution are key areas for improvement for sports brands in Web3. On Episode 14 of the Sporting Crypto I was joined by Richard Ayers i 🗣️ 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝟰𝟬-𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗻𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲: • How painfully obvious bad optics were from poorly executed Web3 sports projects    • The lack of sharing in sports innovation, and the lack of reference points    • Rushed, throw s*** at the wall tactics      *** 📌 Listen to the full episode via the '𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘔𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦' button at the top of this post!

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The latest Sporting Crypto newsletter just dropped! Manchester City and OKX Launch 'Unseen City Shirts', free limited-edition NFT jerseys 🎽 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱: 𝟭) 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 ‘𝗨𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘀’ 👕 a) User Journey b) Sponsor-led activations are the short-term future c) Free NFTs in data-poor environments make sense 2) Further Analysis and Concluding Thoughts 🧠 a) Exchanges are powering through b) How does sports aggregate disparate Web3 propositions? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀: Manchester City Football Club and leading crypto exchange OKX have launched ‘Unseen City Shirts’ — a campaign which features re-designed commemorative football shirts that are minted as digital collectibles for free. The digital shirts are minted via the OKX NFT platform, and owners of the collectibles are in with a chance to redeem a series of exclusive prizes. There are two designs in the campaign, that have been launched separately over the last several days: 1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘀: 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰. This jersey is designed by artist Christian Jeffery. It’s a homage to Manchester, the shirt includes the Lancashire Rose and the Manchester Worker Bee, an emblem of the city for generations. 2. 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻. This jersey is by artist Charli Cohen and it is a nod to Manchester City fans themselves. This design took inspiration from the song itself, Blue Moon, which is played before every home game and serves as the anthem of Manchester City fans. The shirt design illustrates phases of the lunar cycle with a subtle touch of the OKX brand on the shoulders integrating its brand colours. Each jersey is assigned a rarity level - Classic, Rare or Ultra Rare, providing fans with a chance to win exclusive prizes. The chart below outlines the different tiers of rarity and what those collectibles could potentially win. *** 📌 Read the latest newsletter via the '𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘔𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦' button at the top of this post!

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New Insights: Sport England's First Annual Padel Participation Figures Following my previous post regarding monthly players, Sport England and Ipsos have published once-per-year participation rates for six racquet sports which I have captured in the image. Padel Participation in England The research found a base of 51,000 padel players taking part in the sport at least once in the year during the survey period ending November 2023. The highest participation rate was in southwest England, likely due to the concentration of indoor padel centres around Bristol. Participants were also asked when during the year they played these sports. The data shows a spike in padel and pickleball participation in the last three months to November 2023, suggesting that participation rises as more courts open and the opportunity to play increases. Revitalising Established Racquet Sports Annual participation numbers show that the four established racquet sports have all declined over the past seven years. If there are fewer occasional racquet sports players, there are fewer opportunities to convert them to more frequent players. Therefore sports governing bodies are now focusing on different formats, scoring systems, and new settings. Table Tennis England’s Ping project has provided 700 free outdoor tables across parks and other public spaces. Meanwhile, in tennis, The Park Tennis Project, supported by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, has invested £30 million to revitalise 1,800 public tennis courts across Britain. This initiative supports the LTA’s vision of 'Tennis Opened Up,' making the sport more accessible. My use of our two local park tennis courts has sustainably increased now they have been resurfaced and managed via the LTA ClubSpark booking platform. Padel and pickleball are therefore both playing a critical role in introducing people to a racquet sport for the first time and encouraging racquet players to experiment with emerging sports. My forthcoming UK Padel Report Recently, I invited UK Padel players to participate in a survey, now open. Share your motivation for playing padel and its impact on your health and well-being. https://lnkd.in/eztYWpWQ Strategic Partnership Opportunities with the UK Padel Report I would enjoy speaking with organisations that want to be associated with Oxygen Consulting’s forthcoming UK Padel Report, especially a padel centre operator, software provider and fitness equipment provider. This is an opportunity to position your business as a key strategic supplier to the sport. Sponsorship means the full report can be made available free of charge rather than behind a paywall. It is beneficial that robust and independent research is available for everyone wanting to grow padel across the UK. How do you see these emerging racquet sports helping to reinvigorate the established ones? What new formats are emerging? Please leave your comments.

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Red Bull is investing into Leeds United FC... The company isn't just becoming a sponsor of Leeds United, but also an equity owner of the team. Most business relationships between companies and sports teams are transactional. A company makes the decision to become a multi-year sponsor, but the activation of that partnership might begin and end with just throwing a company logo on a team's jersey. But not with Red Bull. As one of the world's most innovative companies in marketing and content, Red Bull also owns several football teams and sports properties. Teams like the New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg, and Formula 1's Red Bull Racing make up a growing sports entertainment conglomerate owned by an energy drink brand. Investing in Leeds United is Red Bull's first move into English football. Leeds narrowly missed out on getting promoted to the Premier League but are still poised to lead the second division Championship league next season. New money from Red Bull helps give Leeds more firepower and a decent chance at future promotion to the Premier League makes this a good investment for Red Bull. Overall, this adds yet another competitive streak within English football clubs. https://lnkd.in/e3qeR_HG #redbull #soccer #football #sports #sportsbusiness #sponsorship

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Padel is growing and we have a realistic ambition to lead its growth in the UK. There are two strands to our model: 1 - Outdoor canopied sites enjoy lower costs. Rent is dramatically lower, and even after adjusting for the cost of adding canopies our 'all in' annual cost is low enough to give us a significant profit advantage over 'indoor' courts. 2 - Good coaching ensures that new players get the bug. Almost everyone who gets on a padel court has fun. But to get players hooked it is critical to invest in the support to turn an enthusiastic newbie into a regular player. Our investment in outstanding coaching allows us to build a stronger business. We have a model that works and a pipeline that is ready to build out. Come and join us on Crowdcube as we accelerate on our journey. Crowdcube Jacob Symes Daniel Sparkes Jessica Windsor Carson Russell

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"So, this happened on the weekend! If anyone had doubts about the potential of this industry, they can put them to rest. One of Europe’s biggest arenas sold out in minutes, with over 6.9 million tuning in online to watch T1 claim the trophy! 🎮🏆 🔹 The League of Legends World Championship held in London marked a massive economic boost for the city, showcasing esports as a serious economic driver. 🔹 With Sadiq Khan backing London as a gaming hub, it’s clear how esports is reshaping the city's global profile. 🔹 Fans traveled from across Europe, demonstrating the worldwide enthusiasm and demand for live esports experiences. The momentum for esports is undeniable, and it's only growing! #Esports #Gaming #LeagueOfLegends #London #IndustryGrowth https://lnkd.in/eMTs7iFh

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We know that success on the pitch can help drive commercial benefits. In our latest blog, the team have looked at how National Football League (NFL) teams are benefiting from Sport Science not only in terms of performance but how it’s playing an increasing role in commercial programmes. To learn more take a look below 👇 or get in touch #NFL #sportscience #sportsmarketing #sponsorship #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness

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When we had Robby Yung from Animoca Brands on the Sporting Crypto podcast we talked a lot about how Blockchain can impact the sports fan experience. The biggest opportunity? Digital identity and direct-to-fan relationships. Sports teams and leagues are notoriously bad at 'knowing their fans' and blockchain could help shape digital innovations that solve this. 📌 Listen to the full episode via the '𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘔𝘺 𝘞𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦' button at the top of this post!

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My thoughts (in short) on Ligue 1 going #D2C with an #OTT proposition in the UK as recorded for the StreamTime pod 📺 To summarise: 1) It's not an ideal outcome, but potentially they come out the other side of this with a better understanding of fans and an improved fan relationship in that market. They'll also come out of this cycle with a greater ability to predict revenues longer term then being at the mercy of fluctuating market competition. 2) I would also expect the other top football leagues to follow this move as a fast follower in markets where their rights deals aren't the level they hoped. This is a shift in mindset of the past few years where if they were close they'd stick with the incumbent model. We always see the industry jump on a trend once someone takes the bullet of innovation in a new approach, and I believe this could be the catalyst for more to follow - but important to add this would be gradually and not overnight! Anyone think similar? More on the podcast: https://lnkd.in/e-kKbsQa

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Unveiling Sport England's First Padel Participation Figures Sport England for the first time has captured player numbers for padel and pickleball. Their research indicates a core base of 23,000 English adult padel players (18,000 – 33,000 players with a 95% confidence interval). Presently, more men (78%) are playing than women. For context, tennis (861,000 players) and badminton (763,000 players) are the dominant established English racquet sports. Defining a player This new Sport England research, conducted by Ipsos, the global research company, defines an adult player as over the age of 16 who participated at least twice in the sport in the past month when they were surveyed. These two sessions need to have reached a minimum threshold of 60 minutes. Declining Established Racquet Participation in England It is interesting to look at the trend for the four established racquet sports which all show declines since 2016, so pre-dating the Covid-19 pandemic. There are 175,000 fewer squash players in England compared with seven years ago. What explains why established racquet sports participation has been declining? For some sports, there are fewer opportunities (venues) to play, but to what extent is it also physical capability and motivation? The Joy of Sport What struck me when I read the Sport England Active Lives report was how only 32% of people strongly agree with the statement: “I find sport enjoyable and satisfying.” It has been consistently at this same level for the past five years and just 25% for females. Given that sport is a festival of different activities and choices why is it not a time of absolute joy for more people? We know that more people are living with long-term health conditions and chronic pain and these people are less likely to be active so is ‘sport’, in all its forms, doing enough to adapt and effectively communicate to a changing population? Could emerging racquet sports like padel help more people to find exercise more intrinsically enjoyable? My forthcoming UK Padel Report As I research deeper into the sport of padel, I can see how it engages a wide inter-generational audience who do seem to find inherent and intrinsic joy in the sport — no need for an array of external incentives, points and rewards that nudge people to play. I am enjoying the opportunity to explore, decode and explain the padel ‘recipe.’ Strategic Partnership Opportunities I would enjoy speaking with organisations that would like to be associated with Oxygen Consulting’s forthcoming UK padel report, especially those who are taking the long view to grow an inclusive and sustainable sport. Strategic sponsor support means that the report can be free and open access. Please contact me to further explore this. Please do leave your comments and I will link to the full Active Lives report in the comments. Note: Respondent surveys collected between November 2022 & November 2023. Numbers rounded. #SportEngland  #PadelUK   #RacquetSports

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TEAMcard and Silverstone Circuit agree new expanded venue-wide partnership Silverstone Circuit, the home of British motorsport and host venue to the Formula 1 British Grand Prix has renewed with TEAMcard in an expanded agreement that will cover access control, accreditation, visitor management and verification services for the entire 155-acre site. Silverstone partnered with TEAMcard for venue access control in 2021, setting the foundations for a successful partnership that saw two record-breaking summers for racing fans entering the circuit. Matthew Evans, Business Systems Manager at Silverstone, said: "Working with TEAMcard has been a real game-changer for us. We have a whole host of different events that take place across the year attracting all sizes of crowds, from domestic race meetings to major events like Silverstone Festival, MotoGP and Formula 1. Regardless of the event size, the TEAMcard access control solution works seamlessly every time – we know we can really trust it." Now moving towards a third year in partnership, Silverstone have expanded their relationship with TEAMcard by activating the use of additional modules in the TEAMcard product stack – Accreditation, Visitor Management and Verification. These new modules will allow Silverstone to organise, manage and record the movements of every person arriving at the circuit, 365 days a year from a single system. Mike McEachern, Head of IT at Silverstone, said: "Working closely with everyone at TEAMcard has allowed us to better understand the wider product stack, and how their other solutions could work alongside access control to benefit our whole business. Stacking other modules like accreditation, visitor management and verification is allowing us to streamline more processes, collect better data and create better customer experiences across the board." For the full story, go to: https://lnkd.in/ervmHCmi #accesscontrol #accreditation #eventindustry #eventsindustry #eventmanagement #formula1 #f1 #sportbiz #sportsbiz #sportsindustry #Silverstone Daniel Huson Lee Howkins James Holifield Stephane Bazire Ben Phillips Robert Byrne Victor Leitch Josh Whittaker-Vyse Jean-Francoys Brousseau #sportsvenuebusiness #sportsvenuebiz #svblive Sports Venue Business SVB LIVE Cassandra Calleja

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The growing role of the coach analyst... ⚽️ 💻 📈 Here's a short clip from my recent podcast episode with Tom Corden where we speak a little about the role we are seeing much more of in football. Why is it needed and what does it entail? (Link to full episode in the comments)

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One of the best things we have invested in over the last couple of years. It truly has moved our coaching focus and player development on to a new level and I can’t speak highly enough of Connor, his product or his team. Too many clubs spend an unsustainable amount of money on players at national league level, whereas investing in your own players and facilities will always return greater dividends over the long term. Develop what you have and make amateur rugby a true development ground for the good of the game. #professionalamateurism

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One of the best viral marketing campaign in sports. ⚾️ Yes it’s reactive ⚾️ Has a kick response to what happened ⚾️ It was well build and tought ⚾️ Multi channels ✅ Great buzz for sure 🏷️ #marketing #sportsmarketing #viralmarketing #sports

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