Best Large Business Serving Football 2018
adi.tv
ADI’s content delivery platform and remote production service totally transforms the way the EFL delivers its product to existing fans and new audiences.
Developed for the EFL, ADI has installed a fibre network that connects every league stadium to the company’s UK operations centre. The result is that live match feeds are available for the first time; delivered to broadcasters and other stakeholders, including streaming services, instantly.
In order to increase its reach, and revenue, the EFL has launched an innovative live streaming platform (iFollow) that revolutionises the way football fans can follow EFL teams. The service gives international and domestic fans access to a huge volume of matches – available to stream live for the first time, opening up a huge potential audience.
Connectivity provides immediacy of access to content, which is hugely valuable for the EFL’s proposition, however, when combined with ADI’s innovative new Remote Production platform, clubs can deliver broadcast-like multi-camera coverage to boost the quality of their ‘product’.
The EFL, and its clubs, now have the potential to transform revenue they receive from match rights whilst growing a global fanbase.
KSS
KSS are the largest architectural practice specialising in sport in the top 40 of the AJ100 with 100 staff in London and Sevenoaks, Kent.
They are recognised as a leading professional service in football and focus on stadia and elite training centres.
KSS work with clients to create venues of high quality and intense sporting and spectator experiences. They assist clients in growing their business, driving increased revenue and developing their brand. KSS provide a full range of sports design consultancy services in master planning, architecture, interior design, branding, graphics and wayfinding.
KSS’ sports team leaders have over 27 years of experience in stadium and training centre design and are proud to have worked globally in this field.
Key highlights are Coimbra Stadium in Portugal, Stade Océane in France, Sammy Ofer Stadium in Israel, The Amex Community Stadium for Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Anfield Stadium and new Training Facilities for Liverpool FC, Selhurst Park Redevelopment for Crystal Palace FC and new Training Centre for Leicester City FC.
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Mishcon de Reya’s multi-disciplinary Sports Group comprises a dedicated team of 12 contentious and non-contentious lawyers (supported by experts across the firm) who are passionate about sport. Whilst our client work is predominantly confidential, we actively support a number of pro bono and charitable initiatives including:
Women in Football (WIF) – Assisting in the promotion of the #WhatIf Campaign. Acted as the pro bono legal supporter for WIF, giving advice to women in the industry who face discrimination at work (including Dr Eva Carneiro).
Society of Football Intermediaries and Agents (SOFIA) – Helped found the Society and drafted its rules and regulations Hosting a series of educational seminars for intermediaries.
Best of Africa (BoA) Awards – Partner for the BoA awards; helping to highlight the philanthropic achievements of footballers of African heritage.
Sports Law Academy – Delivering 8 educational seminars to help graduate students to gain a practical insight into the legal issues affecting the business of football We feel we make a strong contribution to the football industry from a professional services perspective, providing excellent legal support to our clients, but also providing support to the areas of the industry benefitting from pro bono advice and charitable backing.
Onside Law
Onside Law has become one of the leading law firms in football. Its client base includes Paris St Germain, West Ham United, Leeds United, Eden Hazard, Eric Dier, Alan Pardew, and many other clubs, players, intermediaries and sponsors. We are also well known for working with the families of academy players, guiding them through the early stages of their careers and their relationship s with agents and clubs. As a niche firm specialising in sport we use our experience in all different sports to provide added value to our clients. The size of the firm also allows us to be nimble and to provide the swift turnaround required in football. Founding Partner Oliver Hunt (a former Board member of Kidderminster Harriers) heads up the football work. Our headline matter this year was advising Kohler on its sleeve sponsorship deal with Manchester United.
STATSports Group
STATSports is the world’s leading provider of GPS player tracking and analysis solutions for elite sports teams.
In 2012, STATSports released the pioneering Viper system, which enabled elite sports teams to gather intricate data on their athlete’s performance. Many teams adopted this cutting-edge technology and saw the benefits it could bring. There was always room for improvement with the Viper system, even if it was the best system available on the market at that time.
Building on the success of Viper, STATSports released the brand-new Apex system for the 2017/18 season. STATSports Apex device is five years more technologically advanced than competing devices and is the first ever device to incorporate both GPS and Ultra-Wideband technology making the product suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments, a key development for the elite sports industry.
Apex incorporates Bluetooth LE which enables coaches to receive accurate and reliable live data to an iPad, mobile phone or smartwatch.
The success of the Apex system has allowed STATSports to grow at an exponential rate. Over the last 6 months, STATSports have signed many lucrative partnerships including with US Soccer, the Brazilian FA, the Chinese FA and Chinese Super League.
StreamAMG
StreamAMG are in the vanguard of the OTT video revolution which is changing the face of professional football and sports as a whole.
The company video platform served more than 5 million hours of playback time during the 2017-18 season and delivered more than 500 live events on behalf of clubs.
StreamAMG provides OTT video solutions and live streaming to more than 25 football clubs in England and Wales.
Its sports operations are overseen from MediaCity in Manchester, where the team work with the StreamAMG head office in London and technical operations team located in Birkirkara, Malta.
Following the EFL’s assignment of international streaming rights to clubs, StreamAMG delivered such to eight Championship clubs – a number which has grown further for the 2018-19 campaign.
A suite of custom-built products, including Media Platform and the Cloud Pay payment system, offer unrivalled control, customisation, reliability and ease of use for clubs and rights holders.
Thomas Cook Sport
Thomas Cook Sport was established in 2003 as a dedicated sports travel business, and quickly became one of the UK’s leading sports tour operators. As Official Partners to the likes of Everton FC, Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, Thomas Cook Sport offer exclusive supporter travel breaks which include Official match tickets to Premier League games and an overnight stay in top hotels across the country, as well as travel to clubs it’s partnered with, taking squads, backroom staff and coaching teams to away fixture both domestic and abroad.
This year, Thomas Cook Sport worked with Manchester City on their pre-season tour to the US with their highly experienced team leading a logistically challenging tour.
