The inaugural Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi kicked off on Wednesday, with 350 senior figures from across the world of sport gathered at the Bab Al Qasr on the Emirate’s "glittering corniche" to exchange ideas, handshakes and business cards, and to hear from a full line-up of programming focused on the future of sport. The "very opposite of fighting talk" came from UAE General Authority for Sports Chair Mohammed Al Rumaithi, a candidate for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation, as he opened up the conference. Kind words about Qatar are "hard to come by in these politically taut times" in this part of the Gulf, but the minister was "gracious in defeat," congratulating Qatar on its 4-0 AFC Cup semifinal win over UAE on Tuesday. He emphasized "being collaborative as a key characteristic of any good leader." He said, "I'm delighted for the World Cup to come close to us in 2022. ... We will be very supportive to the Qataris if FIFA insist on 48, provided the crisis is resolved. If the crisis goes away then we can go back to working together like brothers." Official YouTube posts from the AFC Cup have attracted 18 million views thus far, with 10 million interactions across official AFC digital channels, but "nobody is under the illusion that the only way is up for Asian football."
SLEEPING GIANT: For David Tyler, COO of DDMC Fortis, the dedicated agency set up to commercialize all AFC media and marketing rights as soon as the tournament in the UAE closes, "finding a way to rouse what could be the sleeping giants of Asian football" will be key to the sport's development, and a way to do that is "via digital storytelling." Tyler: "It doesn't matter who sparks it, but igniting an interest in football in India will be huge."
See Tyler speak HERE.
HEROES AND VILLAINS: Digital storytelling was "at the core" of the two mid-morning sessions on the Leaders stage, with Big Bash League Head Kim McConnie revealing that the "marketing oomph being put behind the domestic T20 leagues in Australia might even extend to WWE-style storytelling." She said, "We look at the UFC a lot too. We think they're the best storytelling outfit in sport. We're looking to build our more hero/villain stories with our players."
DESTINATION BUILDING: Arsenal Commercial Dir Peter Silverstone led a discussion on destination building through sports partnerships alongside Emirates Marketing Chief Boutros Boutros, Int'l Triathlon Union President Marisol Casado and RCS Sport CEO Paolo Bellino -- all of whom have "deep experience" in using sports properties to market destinations and tourism to consumers. But it was Silverstone who "came armed with the best stats." Arsenal's partnership with Visit Rwanda "raised some eyebrows" when it was announced in May. The African country, "recovering from an atrocity" 25 years ago, has been "propped up" by int'l aid, with 80% of its national income coming from aid at one point. That figure is now down to 17%. Why has the Rwandan Development Board partnered with Arsenal? “To get out of the aid cycle,” explained Silverstone.
Read more on the first day at the Leaders conference HERE.
AGENT OF CHANGE: European Tour CEO Keith Pelley is "comfortable positioning himself as an agent of change," not just for his own golf tour, but for the entire sport. His philosophy is a simple one: ABC -- always be changing. And that is exactly what he is "trying to encourage all stakeholders in golf to do." The European Tour has "invested heavily" in its own production house and an award-winning line of short-form content, and Pelley believes the experiments with short-format golf are "already bearing fruit." He said, "Everybody in golf wants to globalize and be the best at doing that and for that, consolidation is crucial."
A GROWING FORCE: There are 578 million gamers in the MENA region. Fortnite is the sixth-most Googled word in the UAE, and the region as a whole is "set to triple the size" of the U.S. gamer market in the "not too distant future." There is "reason for boldness" when it comes to esports in this part of the world, and 100 Thieves COO John Robinson "did not disappoint." He said, "Over the next ten or 20 years I think the three most popular sports globally will be football, basketball and esports. American football? That’s dead. It’s a question of when, not if."
See Robinson speak HERE.
Read more on the second day at the Leaders conference HERE.
James Emmett is the editorial director at Leaders.
