PRODUCT & MARKETING
+++ Adidas has unveiled the UWCL Pro Ball Eindhoven, the official match ball for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League knockout stages and final
+++ Galvin Green has announced six-time DP World Tour winner and 2018 Ryder Cup player Thorbjørn Olesen as a new member of its 2023 tour staff
+++ British sportswear company Castore has signed four-time DP World Tour winner and 2016 Ryder Cup player Andy Sullivan to a sponsorship deal
+++ Swiss sportswear brand On has announced that Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon and Gregoire Curmer have joined the brand’s roster of trail athletes
+++ Following the World Athletics ban of certain high-tech running shoes featuring thicker soles and carbon plates in triathlon competitions, also the Ironman will no longer accept those from 2023 on, as is stated in the championship’s updated global competition rules
+++ Skechers has been named ”company of the year” by industry magazine Footwear Plus for the tenth time, picked in an online voting open to industry members and consumers
+++ With the new Recon and Anthem Boa boots, K2 Skis has leveraged its long-standing partnership with Boa to introduce a new fit technology for alpine ski boots
+++ On has signed Ethiopian 5000m runner and double Diamond League winner Telahun Haile Bekele to its roster of track athletes
+++ The television and radio presenter, actress, writer, and social media influencer Nuria Roca is Skechers’ first brand ambassador for the Spanish market
+++ For the first time, On is an official partner of the Ochsner Sport Zurich Marathon, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023, hosting the popular 10 K Cityrun category at the event on April 23
+++ After Balmain and Puma’s partnership began in 2019 with a boxing-inspired collection, the second joint collection, featuring pro basketball players Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kyle Kuzma as campaign faces, will be all about the sport of basketball and will include a limited-edition Balmain Court sneaker, jogging suits, jackets, sweatshirts and jerseys, as well as a black and gold basketball with the Balmain logo
+++ Having first partnered with O’Neill in 2021, Polygiene announced that all Polygiene-treated products in the surf brand’s SS23 Training Collection will feature both Polygiene StayFresh™ and Polygiene OdorCrunch™ technologies
+++ Oakley has announced baseball pro player Julio Rodriguez as a brand ambassador +++
CORPORATE AND M&A
+++ eBay is planning to cut 500 jobs worldwide, or 4 percent of its total workforce
+++ eBay has acquired 3PM Shield, an AI-based solutions provider +++
EXECUTIVE CHANGES
+++ PGA of America has appointed former Topgolf executive Craig Kessler as its new chief operating officer
+++ Six Nations Rugby has hired Teresa Gebski, previously at the National Football League (NFL), as its new senior partnerships and business development manager
+++ As Complex reports, Adidas has hired former Moncler head of footwear design and Nike veteran Nathan VanHook as vice president of design for its basketball division
+++ Gymshark has appointed fitness influencer and bodybuilder David Laid as creative director for its lifting category
+++ Scottish Golf has reportedly appointed Fraser Thornton as interim chief executive while recruitment is underway to find a new CEO, although current chief executive Karin Sharp is still part of the governing body and her role remains unclear, according to The Scotsman +++
LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL
+++ The Kazakhstan Athletics Federation (KAF) has been placed on the World Athletics “Competition Manipulation Watch List” +++
RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
+++ Under Armour is expanding its store network in the U.K. with new stores in Liverpool and London as part of its overall strategy to strengthen the DTC channel, a key element of the brand’s new growth plan in the U.K. and wider EMEA region
+++ French sporting goods retailer Decathlon is closing its store in Forum Schwanthalerhöhe, one of its four locations in the southern German city of Munich
+++ AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s tech fashion brand, will launch in the U.S. in fall/winter 2023 and has celebrated the occasion with a presentation during New York Fashion Week
+++ To support and train the staff of its affiliated partners and thus ensure more competence on the sales floor, Sport 2000 is now working with the digital training platform Myagi, which combines digital learning and live training +++
TRADE SHOWS & CONFERENCES
+++ Due to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the European Footwear Confederation (CEC) is postponing the 7th edition of the World Footwear Congress, which was scheduled for May 9-11 in Istanbul, to a date yet to be confirmed in November 2023 +++
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