Agreement to bring ICC tournament to Asia-Pacific

RNS Number : 8704J

TLA Worldwide PLC

18 June 2014

 



18 June 2014

TLA Worldwide plc

("TLA" or "the Group")

Agreement to bring world's top football clubs and ICC tournament to Asia-Pacific

Four year deal marks a major expansion by TLA into the global soccer industry and will introduce the elite ICC tournament into the region for the first time

TLA Worldwide plc (AIM: TLA), a leading athlete representation and sports marketing group, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Relevent Sports, a division of RSE Ventures Inc., to bring the elite International Champions Cup (ICC) to Asia Pacific from 2015-2018, the first time the football tournament will be played outside the United States.   

TLA has partnered with Nine Live, wholly owned by Nine Entertainment Co, a leading Australian media and entertainment company, to organise, promote and deliver the ICC to the region from 2015-2018.  Participating teams and the host country for the tournament will be announced in due course.

Whilst not benefiting the current financial year, the Board expects the partnership with Nine Events and the agreement with Relevent Sports to have a materially positive impact on our results from next year.

Bart Campbell, Chairman of TLA Worldwide, commented: "With this agreement TLA has made a significant move to diversify its activities into the world's most popular sport. TLA will play a central role in bringing some of the world's most widely followed clubs and iconic brands to one of the most dynamic regions of Asia.  We are delighted to team up with Nine Live who have market leading regional expertise."

The Asia Pacific ICC tournament will be the first example of TLA's collaboration with Nine Live to bring world-class sports events to the region and more opportunities are already being developed jointly for the future.      

Geoff Jones, Managing Director at Nine Live, said: "TLA's international relationships within the sports market make them the ideal partner for this exciting tournament to the region.  We look forward to working with them to make this event a major fixture in the region's sporting calendar and are very confident it will be a huge success, as it is in the US."

The ICC transforms the traditional European club pre-season tour into an annual competitive global tournament, which is currently hosted only in the US. The first ICC was held in 2013 and broadcast in 150 countries, featuring eight top clubs from across the world,  including A.C Milan, Chelsea, Everton, Juventus and Real Madrid.  This year's edition features Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, A.C. Milan, AS Roma, Inter Milan and Olympiacos in matches across 12 North American cities.  In addition to the tournament final on August 4 in Miami, the marquee match-up between Manchester United and Real Madrid is set to mark an American attendance record for soccer with over 105,000 fans set to fill the "Big House" at Michigan University.

Enquiries:

TLA Worldwide
Michael Principe, Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
Numis Securities
Nick Westlake (Nomad)	[phone]
David Poutney (Broker)
Luther Pendragon
Neil Thapar, Alexis Gore, Amelia Bullock-Muir	[phone]

About TLA Worldwide

TLA Worldwide is a leading athlete representation and sports marketing group quoted on London's AIM. The Group derives revenues from long term agency relationships with many prominent US and international sports stars, broadcasters and media personalities associated with major sports including American Football, baseball, basketball and golf. In addition, it also provides a range of services in respect of media consultancy, sports sponsorship and event production to many sportspeople and corporate clients. A significant proportion of TLA Worldwide's business emanates from baseball where it is a recognised leader, having negotiated over $3bn of contracts over the past 10 years. With over 55 full-time personnel, TLA Worldwide serves its clients through three operating subsidiaries from 10 locations worldwide including its principal offices in London, UK; New York and Newport Beach, USA; and Melbourne, Australia.  For more information, please visit www.tlaww-plc.com.

About International Champions Cup

In the summer of 2013, Relevent Sports revolutionized the international soccer landscape by organizing the inaugural Guinness International Champions Cup, an innovative transformation of the traditional European club preseason tours into a competitive tournament.

The inaugural edition featured eight top clubs -  Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, A.C. Milan, Valencia, Everton and the L.A. Galaxy - and culminated with a spectacular final in Miami won by Real Madrid over Chelsea (3-1) in front of nearly 70,000 fans.

While the inaugural edition was played in six U.S. cities and one European city, 2014 will be played in a total of 12 cities and 13 stadiums across the United States and Canada.

This year's format will consist of two groups of four in a round-robin format.  Each team will play a total of three matches in group play and the two group leaders will face off on August 4 in the final at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. 

 

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