Alkass Digital
Premier Padel, the official new global padel tour – governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) – yesterday announced another landmark broadcasting deal, with Sky named as the Official tour’s broadcast partner in Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Sky has penned an initial one-year agreement covering the 2022 Premier Padel season, and will begin its Premier Padel coverage with the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 which gets underway on March 28 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
The news comes just days after ESPN agreed on a major four-year deal to showcase Premier Padel in almost 50 countries across LATAM, covering South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. These agreements will elevate the sport to a global audience like never before. Further broadcast agreements are set to be announced in the coming days, as the excitement around the spectacular new official tour grows.
Since its launch a month ago, FIP, PPA and QSI have made a flurry of major announcements connected to the new Official tour, including confirming at least 10 new events will be held this year – including four Majors.
Registrations for the first Official tournament, the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022, have already seen records broken, with 123 pairs registered including players from 19 different countries.
The prize money for each Major – which is also a record – has been disclosed as €525,000 for each event, while significant new ranking points for the new tour have also been announced.
“Week after week we are bringing on board the most incredible new partners, while also breaking records and elevating the sport and its players at completely new levels. We have said from the start that we want to take padel truly global, so having Sky as our trusted broadcast partner is exceptional news. Sky are renowned as the gold standard-bearer in global media, and that’s exactly the standard of partner this new tour is based on. There is so much more to come, and I can’t wait for the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 that will kick-start this new global era for our sport next week,” Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation (FIP) said.
Last week, the new official global padel tour revealed its innovative brand. Premier Padel is a dynamic and exciting global brand, capturing the essence and spirit of the new dawn for padel – professionalism, dynamism and premium standards delivering on a new global vision. ‘Category one’ Premier Padel tournaments will be known as ‘Majors’, all getting under way in Doha with the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022.
This new chapter for padel under the leadership of FIP sees the professionalisation and globalisation of the sport fully supported by the world’s leading players, represented by the Professional Padel Association (PPA); and a new global strategic partnership with QSI. QSI is the investment group behind several world-leading sports brands and businesses, and will provide unparalleled expertise and business acumen in developing sports and brands on the global stage.