FanDuel co-Founders Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones are launching an esports firm. They left FanDuel and will "now focus on their new project," Flick, which they advertise as "a new way for gamers to share and watch gaming content with their friends." The two will provide the initial funding for the new Edinburgh-based company. Jones said that they will soon announce a Series A round of venture funding, hoping to raise "a couple of million" pounds. The co-founders characterized the company as a "social streaming platform" (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 1/23).
For more coverage of the business of esports, visit our partners, esportsobserver.com.
Gaelic Athletic Association Dir General Paraic Duffy said that players should "not be allowed to play at inter-county level until undergoing an anti-doping education programme." Duffy said that anti-doping seminars were delivered to 34 county panels in '17. He said, "You need to have some sort of system where before a player joins a county panel he has to have done an anti-doping education program" (BBC, 1/23).
Former pole vaulter and IAAF SVP Sergey Bubka said that the sport "must evolve" if it is to remain relevant as individual sports look for "new ways to attract fans," but changes introduced should not be at the expense of athlete safety. Bubka, who won pole vault Gold at the Seoul 1988 Olympics, said that change is "essential for track and field to remain attractive" (REUTERS, 1/23).