TEAMS Europe: The Best of 2023
Episode #100
Posted On: August 8, 2023 By :
The second annual TEAMS Europe included leading experts from global organizations including the National Football League, the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby, the International Tennis Federation, LaLiga, Major League Baseball and more.
TEAMS—the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry—unites sport event organizers with destinations, venues and suppliers interested in hosting or supporting their events. The conference returned to the ExCeL Center in London from June 27–29, 2023. In addition to business development through a marketplace with pre-arranged appointments, the conference featured educational sessions focused on some of the most significant events and issues in the industry today.
TEAMS Europe is also a media partner of Global Sustainable Sport, whose founder Mike Laflin, announced a new initiative for sports organizations looking to do more in the area of sustainability. There was one session where regrettably the audio recording was unusable for this recap: International branding was a topic of conversation as leagues and teams seek to improve their international profiles. Javier del Rio from LaLiga was joined by Elevate Sports Ventures Chief Business Officer Shawn Doss and Iain Greer, international soccer academies manager at Rangers Football Club, in conversation about how the best organizations are increasing their business in new markets.
1:48: We start our recap with the opening session from TEAMS Europe. On the heels of Major League Baseball’s return to Europe with the MLB London Series, MLB’s Vice President of Global Business Development Charlie Hill joined NFL UK General Manager Henry Hodgson for a session on how North American professional leagues have found new markets in Europe and beyond.
12:00: The first day of the conference also featured a case study on the upcoming Rugby World Cups, starting with the 2023 edition that starts September 7 in France. The session featured World Rugby Executive Committee member Bob Latham, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director Sarah Massey and John Eades, the UK managing director for DAIMANI, which will provide hospitality to the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.
21:22: Our next taste of the programming at TEAMS Europe was a deep dive into how the International Olympic Committee maintains best practices at its Olympic Games from host city to host city. IOC Manager of Insights and Learning Trofym Anderson was in conversation with IOC member and International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty to discuss how the efforts benefit host cities and athletes alike.
29:10: Legal issues also took the forefront in a custom-curated session from the top sports attorneys at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Attorneys Steve Smith and Marc Trottier broke down the key legal differences for sports organizations operating in North America and Europe and what organizations need to be aware of before launching events in those destinations.
36:35: The conference closed with a forward-looking approach to sustainability. Alex Smith, co-founder of The Sports Sustainability Group was joined by Nour–Eddine Boufertala, the head of procurement from the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Kate Suddards, director of business development for sport at CTM, in a conversation about what organizations can be doing now to make their events and travel as sustainable as possible.
This episode is sponsored by:
