THE SPORTS BUSINESS AWARDS ANNOUNCE THE 2017 FINALISTS

The Sports Business Awards, celebrating the vital influence of business with sport, has announced the 2017 finalists.

Recognising both the business units within sports responsible for commercial success alongside those professional services and businesses dedicated to supporting the sport itself, The Sports Business Awards finalists are representatives from a number of sporting disciplines, including football, motorsport, rugby, cricket, cycling, tennis, hockey, darts, long-distance running, table tennis, basketball, canoeing and rowing.

Simon Burton, Co-founder of the Sports Business Awards, said: “The infrastructure, behind-thescenes teams, professional services and products provided by businesses are integral to any sport. Without those businesses, not a single sport in the way that we know it would exist. Congratulations to all the finalists.”

The expert panel of judges tasked with choosing the finalists, comprising of CEOs and public figures from across all sports, included: - Sir Steve Redgrave – Five times Rowing Olympic gold medal winner - Philip Bernie – Head of BBC TV Sport - Nick Bitel – Chairman, Sport England - Jane Allen – CEO, British Gymnastics - Nic Coward – Chairman, England Golf Partnership (EGP)] - Sally Munday – CEO, England Hockey - Tim Reddish – Chairman, British Paralympic Association To see the full list of judges, visit www.sportsbusinessawards.co.uk/judges

Commenting on why he decided to be a judge, Colin Jackson, World, Commonwealth and European champion hurdler said: “It’s important that businesses get recognition for the time, effort and money they invest into sport. Many of our great champions would not have made it to

the top without this commitment. The Sports Business Awards encourage business to keep up the good work and contribute to the national development of sports.”

The full list of finalists are: BEST BUSINESS SERVING SPORT (more than 20 employees) - Adi.tv - Goodform - MTD International B.V. - School Lettings Solutions - StreamAMG - The Jockey Club Services - The O2 - The Ticket Factory

BEST SMALL BUSINESS SERVING SPORT (less than 20 employees) - All Sport Insurance - Beyond 90 - Designwerk - Fitikitpro Ltd - HRP Equestrian - Icons Shop Limited - ILG Business Ltd - Traveleads

BEST FAN ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME - Arsenal Football Club – Junior Gunners - Chelsea Football Club – Chelsea FC Junior Fan Engagement - EXTREME International – Lochdown - Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation – Fans For Diversity - Liverpool FC – LFC WORLD - NTT DATA – NTT DATA / The Open Championship - Rewards4Racing Limited – Rewards4Racing

BEST IN SPORTS MEDIA - Dunsar Media – insidethegame.biz - Football Whispers - InCrowd – Aston Villa FC – Official App - iSportconnect - Liverpool Football Club – LFCTV Documentaries

- Olympic Channel - Sky Sports – Sky Sports Snapchat

BEST MASS PARTICIPATION EVENT - British Canoeing – National Go Canoeing Week - Cancer Research UK – Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life Pretty Muddy - Human Race – Cancer Research UK London Winter Run - International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – World Table Tennis Day - Royal Bank of Canada – RBC V Series - Royal Parks Foundation – Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

BEST MATCH (OR GAME) DAY EXPERIENCE - Cardiff City Football Club - Chelsea Football Club - Manchester City Football Club - NTT DATA / The Open Championship - Premiership Rugby – The Aviva Premiership Rugby Final 2016 - Professional Darts Corporation – World Darts Championship - Sepang International Circuit Sdn. Dhd. – 2016 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysia Grand Prix

BEST NON-SPORTING USE OF VENUE - Emirates Old Trafford - Everton Football Club – Goodison Park - Manchester City Football Club – City Football Academy - Silverstone Circuit Ltd – The Silverstone Wing - The Kia Oval

SPORTS TECH OF THE YEAR – FOR SPORT AND IN SPORT - Adi.tv & Supponor - CFC Express - Football Whispers - Kick it Out – Updating Reporting Application - Peak UK – Racer St - STATSports - StreamAMG – StreamMP - Tottenham Hotspur Football Club – Stadium Project Virtual Reality Suite

BEST OPERATIONS TEAM - Brighton & Hove Albion FC - Cancer Research UK Events Team - MTD Olympic Games Rio Project Team - The O2

BEST PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM IN SPORT - Haysmacintyre - KSS - Onside Law – Tennis - PKF Francis Clark - Shakespeare Martineau LLP - Sportscover Europe Limited - The Jockey Club Services - The Sports Consultancy

BEST SPORTS CHARITY, COMMUNITY AND CSR - Access Sport CIO - Albion in the Community - Everton in the Community - GreaterSport - Kick It Out - Premiership Rugby – Hitz - The Arsenal Foundation in partnership with Save the Children - The Sporting Memories Foundation

BEST SPORTS CLUB / SPORTS EVENT HOSPITALITY - Arsenal Football Club – Matchday Hospitality

- Keith Prowse – The Gatsby Club – The Championships, Wimbledon - Lord’s Cricket Ground – Captain’s Lounge Hospitality package - Manchester City

BEST SPORTS EVENT OF THE YEAR - British Cycling – 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - EA SPORTS – EA SPORTS FIFA 17 Launch - Harlequins – Harlequins Big Game 9 - ONE Championship - Premiership Rugby – Aviva Premiership Rugby Final 2016 - Professional Darts Corporation – World Darts Championship - Sepang International Circuit Sdn. Bhd. – Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix 2016

BEST SPORTS GOVERNING BODY INITIATIVE - British Canoeing – National Go Canoeing Week - England Hockey – To become a Nation where Hockey Matters - Euroleague Basketball – Euroleague Basketball launches first ever true league in European professional sports - European Tour – Access All Areas – social media campaign - International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) – World Table Tennis Day (WTTD)

SPORTS INNOVATION AWARD - British Rowing – Go Row Indoor - Coleman Racing - InCrowd – TribeCast - Jockey Club Services - Levy Restaurants UK - Runbritain - Table Tennis England - TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme)

For a full list of judges, categories and for further details, visit www.SportsBusinessAwards.co.uk


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