Record World Cup Bonus Increases Risk

Player bonuses at the 2014 World Cup are expected to be at an all time high in Brazil, with total prize money totaling a record $358 million approximately.

World Cup Champions, crowned on July 13th in Rio will pick up a cheque for $35m, with the runners up walking away with $25m whilst the 3rd and 4th placed nations will collect $22m and $20m respectively.

This prize pot, up over $10m on 2010 in South Africa, will see the players prize pool soar to its highest yet.

Germany have confirmed that their players will receive €300,000 each for winning the World Cup and €100,000 if they reach the semi final as they did in 2010.

Managers will also expect to profit from the increased prize fund. In 2010 Jürgen Klinsmann was contracted to earn between $500,000 to $10m from bonuses alone based on the performance of his USA squad.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, whose team nearly pulled off a shock result against Argentina last week, confirmed that Iran’s players will receive a bonus if they can progress past the group stages.

With the biggest ever prize money and the complexity of team and individual bonus structures, national associations and sponsors are increasingly moving towards contractual bonus insurance to protect themselves against exposure to successful performance on the field.

Luke de Rougemount, Director at Hedgehog Risk Solutions, commented; “We have seen a big change in the way clubs, governing bodies and sponsors are managing their risk and the World Cup is no different.

“With large sums of money on offer in an increasingly competitive World Cup environment even some of the smaller associations are having to cover themselves for all eventualities – even the thought of winning the World Cup.

“UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations have brought risk management to the fore and it is something the governing bodies are also taking stock in.

“2014 in Brazil is potentially the most open and competitive World Cup of our time and with incentives at a peak that also means increased exposure to risk for all of those involved if not managed correctly.”

Hedgehog Risk Solutions are specialist insurance providers to the sports industry.

Founded in 2009 Hedgehog Risk Solutions provide contingency insurance solutions to cover the financial risks associated with the outcome of sporting results, weather, probability and skill based games.

For more information go to www.hedgehogrisk.com

For more information, imagery or interview opportunities contact:

Hedgehog Risk Solutions Media Centre

Ben Thompson
Account Director
Macesport
ben.thompson@macesport.co.uk
07932005305

or

Emma Hustwait
Account Manager
Macesport
emma.hustwait@macesport.co.uk
07528959140

Hedgehog Sign up Macesport for Sports Industry Campaign

Macesport have been signed up by Hedgehog Risk Solutions to lead their sports industry PR campaign for 2014.

Hedgehog, a specialist insurance provider to the sports industry, have given the brief to Macesport Britain’s leading independent sports communications agency.

Tasked with increasing B2B and B2C brand awareness Macesport will be providing a full press office service for the company that launched their sport specific offering in January of 2014.

Paul Mace, founder and Managing Director of Macesport, said; “We are delighted to welcome Hedgehog Risk Solutions to our client portfolio.

“Financial Fair Play is one of the hottest topics in football at present and it has brought risk management to the fore.

“Couple that with the FA Bonus Insurance Scheme that was introduced in 2012 makes for a very interesting time for this sector.”

Luke de Rougemont, Director at Hedgehog Risk Solutions, commented; “Macesport have an outstanding pedigree within the sports market and we are looking forward to working closely with them in the coming months.

“Whilst covering all sports we have a particular focus on the football market and there is no one more connected in that environment than Macesport.”

Hedgehog joins a Macesport client roster that includes a number of leading international sports brands, sponsors, governing bodies and sporting events.

Britain’s leading sports communications agency handles the sponsorship activation for Vauxhall’s Home Nations football sponsorship and is the retained PR agency for the NFL in the UK.

For more information regarding Macesport go to www.macesport.co.uk

Football Conference appoints Sport Collective for new Title Sponsor search

The Football Conference has appointed Sport Collective to help redefine its entire commercial partner programme and to help source a new title sponsor.

The current title sponsor deal with Skrill is coming to an end and the Conference is now working with Sport Collective to create a relevant and modern commercial programme.

Brian Lee, Chairman of the Football Conference said,

“The Football Conference is a great competition. It serves 68 clubs and communities across the whole of England and Wales, with 2 million regular fans, 24,000 season ticket holders and a showpiece Wembley end-of-season event. We are delighted to be working with Sport Collective to help reshape our commercial programme and to take the Conference on to the next level”

Peter Daire, Director at Sport Collective said,

“The Football Conference is already a credible marketing platform. With our input, we intend to enhance the Conference proposition and its relevance to brands wanting to engage with a large, passionate fan-base. The title sponsor opportunity generates a weighted media value of around £5m per year across 30 live matches on BT Sport, syndication via all national TV and press titles and a significant digital inventory. For a brand wanting mass reach and a channel to connect with consumers this is a real opportunity”.

ENDS

Sport Collective

Sport Collective was formed in March 2014 by The FA’s two former commercial heads. Peter Daire (former FA group head of sponsorship) and Sean McAuliffe (former FA global head of business development) set up their new agency to work with sports rights holders to maximise commercial value and with brands to develop engagement strategies that deliver ROI. 

The duo each has close to twenty years’ experience in the commercial sport and media business, domestically and across international markets. Sean and Peter have spent their last six years of their respective careers at The FA, negotiating and managing numerous high-profile agreements with the likes of EE, Vauxhall, Budweiser and Nike for example, which have made The FA arguably the most commercially-successful national sports governing body in the world.

Football Conference

The Football Conference is 68 clubs spread across 3 divisions (currently the Premier division and North and South divisions). The Conference Premier is the league below the Football League 2. The club that wins the Premier division and the club winning the Promotion Final are promoted each year into the Football League, with two clubs coming the other way into the Conference.

• Fanbase - 2 million
• Season ticket holders – 24,000
• Weekly match attendance average – 36,600
• Twitter followers – 400,0000
• Monthly online unique users – 700,000
• Live matches on BT Sport – 30 per season

For further information, please contact Sport Collective:

Sean McAuliffe
+44 (0) 7788 913739
Sean.mcauliffe@sportcollective.com

Peter Daire
+44 (0) 7713 189519
Peter.daire@sportcollective.com

www.sportcollective.com/

Roy Hodgson to announce squad for Brazil from Vauxhall HQ

Roy Hodgson will announce his squad for the FIFA 2014 World Cup on Monday 12 May, and will be available to media to discuss his selection at the Luton based headquarters of England Team Sponsor Vauxhall.

Hodgson will name his squad for the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil where England will face Group D opponents Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica.

Marketing Director of Vauxhall Motors Peter Hope said: "We are delighted to be welcoming the England Manager to Griffin House on such an iconic day in England's World Cup campaign."

"For our employees to be engaged in such a big day in the England team calendar is very exciting and we look forward to welcoming all of the media to Vauxhall HQ."

Club England Managing Director Adrian Bevington said: "We have enjoyed an extremely close relationship with Vauxhall since they became England Team Sponsor three years ago, and this is a fine example of that."

"This will be an important day for Roy and the players ahead of an exciting summer in Brazil. It is always a day of interest to the whole country, and we're glad we can share it with Vauxhall."

Vauxhall is the proud sponsor of Home Nations Football and has confirmed its commitment in the UK as Lead Partner of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales until the end of the 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia."

The announcement will be the second time that England manager Roy Hodgson has visited Vauxhall¹s Luton Headquarters, the last being when he previewed England's trip to Brazil last year."

As part of the build up to the summer in South America, Vauxhall is offering England fans the chance to "Enter the Lions Den" a competition to win a place watching England train at St George¹s Park on May 27th.
For more information go to www.vauxhallfootball.co.uk

Follow @VauxhallEngland on Twitter.

Like Vauxhall England on Facebook.

Pardew Wins William Hill NSPCC Cheltenham Challenge By A Head

Newcastle United manager has rounded off a week that saw him get a 7 match ban by The FA by lifting the William Hill NSPCC Cheltenham Challenge Trophy for a second time.

Pardew topped the list of nine famous sporting tipsters winning a combined total of £6937.50 over the four days of the Cheltenham festival.

Tiger Roll’s win in the Triumph Hurdle on Day 4 saw Pardew nudge ahead of Newcastle United Legend Alan Shearer in the league table to take the title.

A delighted Pardew commented; “I am absolutely delighted to have won the NSPCC Tipping Challenge for a second time in a row, a unique event and a lot of fun raising lots of money for a great charity."

Final Table

1. Alan Pardew £6937.50
2. Alan Shearer £4718.03
3. Phil Taylor £1884.09
4. Chris Hughton £1500.00
5. Harry Redknapp £1125.00
6. Tony Pulis £937.50
7. John Motson £859.38
8. Gordon Strachan £727.27
9. Robbie Savage £625.00