Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for May 8

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

Elevate Appoints Olly Dale as Managing Partner, Europe and Asia

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Elevate, the full-service global sports and entertainment agency, announced that Olly Dale has been appointed as the group’s first managing partner of Europe and Asia, effective immediately. In his new role, he will oversee Elevate’s operations and client partnerships across Europe and Asia, providing senior leadership and strategic counsel to marquee clients across the Premier League and beyond. Dale most recently served as general manager of Kroenke Signature Properties.

Keith McCloat Named VP, CFO of NWSL Atlanta 2028

Further establishing the leadership team for Atlanta’s NWSL club, AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE) has named Keith McCloat vice president, chief financial officer of NWSL Atlanta 2028. As CFO, McCloat will oversee all day-to-day finance and operational support functions, driving accuracy, efficiency and responsiveness across financial planning, budgets, systems, reporting and business support services. He will report to president of soccer, AMBSE Mauricio Culebro, and he will begin his tenure on May 11.

Sports Facilities Companies Names Amanda Shank Partner and EVP

The Sports Facilities Companies named Amanda Shank partner and executive vice president after more than nine years with Unrivaled Sports and its portfolio company Ripken Baseball. Shank most recently served as executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Unrivaled Sports, which was founded in 2024 by Josh Harris and David Blitzer. Shank joins SFC as the company continues to expand its work as a resource for the management and development of sports, recreation, wellness and events facilities.

PARTNERSHIPS

WNBA and Skechers Announce Multiyear Partnership

The WNBA and Skechers announced a multiyear deal making the global footwear company an official partner with the league. Skechers continues its ongoing global support for women’s sports, and it will be a fixture throughout the league as the WNBA celebrates its milestone 30th season. In 2024, Sky forward Rickea Jackson became the first athlete to play in Skechers Basketball footwear in the WNBA. Skechers expanded its roster in 2025, welcoming Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen and Aces guard Jackie Young.

USA Lacrosse, Caddix Sign Multiyear Agreement

Caddix, a footwear company launched in 2023, has signed a multiyear partnership with USA Lacrosse that will make the brand an official footwear provider for the U.S. National Team and Youth National Team athletes. Under the agreement, Caddix will outfit athletes across USA Lacrosse’s national team programs. The relationship between Caddix and USA Lacrosse began with an initial activation at the 2025 Atlas Cup, where the brand first appeared on the feet of elite players.

Soccer.com Renews TST Retail Partnership, Nike Joins as Apparel Partner

The Soccer Tournament (TST), a 7v7 soccer festival featuring three $1 million, winner-take-all competitions, announced that Soccer.com will return as the Official Retail Partner of The Soccer Tournament. As part of the agreement, Nike will join as the Official Apparel Partner for TST 2026. Soccer.com has partnered with TST since its inaugural event in 2023 and will have a retail activation at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., providing access to gear, officially licensed team jerseys and exclusive TST-branded merchandise. Nike will join as the Official Apparel Partner, offering items exclusively on site at TST.

PLL Opens 2026 Season With Two Partnership Updates

The Premier Lacrosse League will open its 2026 season this weekend at Zions Bank Stadium in Utah, with a pair of partner announcements. PLL and Dude Wipes expanded their partnership through a multiyear agreement making Dude Wipes the official jersey back partner across all eight PLL teams through 2027, including jersey branding, youth apparel placement, broadcast integrations, field-side signage, sampling, social and digital content, out-of-home signage and a creator program. PLL and Athletic Brewing Company also launched Crease Crusher, a nonalcoholic hoppy pale collaboration brew.

Victory+ Secures Second WNBA Deal With Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream announced a new partnership with Victory+, a premium, ad-supported sports streaming service, to make all locally broadcast Dream games accessible to fans for free. While games will remain available on Atlanta News First, this digital expansion adds another viewing option. Beginning this season, fans can stream every non-nationally televised game live and on demand through Victory+ across major connected TV and mobile platforms.

Just Women’s Sports Named WNBA Emerging Media Partner

Just Women’s Sports has been named an Emerging Media Partner of the WNBA ahead of the 2026 season, deepening its investment in women’s basketball. JWS will distribute official WNBA game highlights across its digital and social channels, support league marketing efforts and collaborate on sponsored content opportunities while maintaining full editorial independence. The partnership builds on JWS’ expanding basketball slate, including Court Vision with Angel McCoughtry and Ros Gold-Onwude and Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie.

SailGP Sets Strategic Partnership With Butterfield, Mastercard

SailGP announced a partnership with Butterfield and Mastercard for the upcoming Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix (May 9-10), enhancing the event experience through premium financial services, innovation and on-site activations. The partnership names Butterfield and Mastercard as the Official Payment Partner of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix and Butterfield as an Official Partner of the event. A key highlight of the collaboration is the 20% discount available at the Race Stadium fan store for guests who make purchases using their Butterfield Mastercard card throughout the event weekend.

Major League Rugby, Recover 180 Partner for 2026 Season

Major League Rugby, North America’s highest rugby competition, and Recover 180, an organic beverage brand, have announced a partnership that will make the Los Angeles-based company the league’s Official Hydration Partner for the 2026 season. Recover 180 will be on MLR sidelines during games, and it will also be hosting on-site sampling opportunities for fans and working with the community and youth programs of MLR teams.

FIFA, Fanatics Expand Collectibles Agreement

FIFA and Fanatics have signed a long-term, exclusive collectibles licensing deal that features trading cards, stickers and trading card games. The agreement, which will begin in full in 2031, covers both digital and physical collectibles such as player jersey patches. All products will be designed and developed through Fanatics Collectibles and produced under the Topps brand.

PURCHASES

X Games League Announces Sale of NY’s Summer, Winter Teams

The MoonPay X Games League announced the sale of both its New York Summer and New York Winter teams to UNA Sports Group (“UNA”) in an eight-figure transaction. UNA is the first single group to own two X Games League Clubs. UNA is an investment firm focused on acquiring and partnering with global professional sports franchises and platforms. UNA is led by a partnership of executives: Del Wright, CEO and managing partner; David Rader, president; and Andrew Thau, founder and partner. Thau is the former COO of United Talent Agency and will serve as governor of the New York X Games franchise.

Greater Sum Ventures Announces Majority Investment in Tapin2

Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) announced a majority investment in Tapin2, a provider of self-service, suite catering and mobile ordering technology for sports and entertainment venues. The transaction marks GSV’s second major investment in the live venue technology space, following its majority investment in MyVenue, the cloud-native point-of-sale platform, one year ago. The combined organization will continue to operate the existing brands, with expanded opportunities for collaboration on product, go-to-market and customer success.

Betterguards Acquires Wearable Sports Tech Startup Nextiles

Betterguards announced the acquisition of Nextiles, a materials science and wearable sports technology company. As part of the acquisition, Nextiles founder and CEO George Sun will join Betterguards as chief technology officer. The integration of Nextiles and Betterguards creates a new wearables ecosystem and data platform designed to unlock capabilities across injury prevention, athlete recovery and performance monitoring.

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