Moves and Mergers Roundup for Sept. 26, 2025

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

PERSONNEL

Group Led by Scott Staples Takes Ownership of MLTT’s Atlanta Blazers

Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) announced Friday that the Atlanta Blazers are now under the ownership of a group led by Scott Staples, CEO of First Advantage. The ownership update comes during a season in which MLTT grew to 10 teams, expanded its national television partnership with CBS Sports and introduced TableTennis.TV, a new streaming platform. The Blazers made their 2025–26 debut in Charlotte, N.C., last weekend.

F1 Crypto.Com Miami Grand Prix Selects Katharina Nowak as President

Katharina Nowak has been named president of the Formula 1 Crypto.Com Miami Grand Prix. Nowak previously served as the vice president of business operations for the Grand Prix. At 28 years old, Nowak becomes the youngest president of a Formula 1 race and one of only two women in the role across the world. Nowak follows Tyler Epp, president since 2022. Nowak joined the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium enterprise in 2019 and has held numerous roles for the organization across events, corporate partnerships and business operations. In 2023, she was promoted to oversee business operations for the Grand Prix, and in 2024, she was named vice president

Ellen M. Zavian Named USA Football General Counsel

USA Football, the sport’s national governing body, has announced Ellen M. Zavian as its new general counsel. Zavian will serve as advisor to USA Football, supporting risk management, contract negotiation and compliance. Most recently general counsel for USA Lacrosse, Zavian has more than three decades of experience with athletes and organizations. She became the first female attorney/agent in the NFL, representing Pro Bowlers Troy Brown, Erik McMillan and Steve Tasker, and quarterback Frank Reich. Zavian worked on the 1996 CBA for the U.S. women’s national soccer team and helped create the Women’s National Team Players Association, Women’s National Team Softball Association and the United Professional Skateboarder Association.

Shannon Washington Joins NYC Sports Creative Studio 11 Ounces

11 Ounces, an NYC-based creative studio, announced the addition of Shannon Washington to its leadership team as partner & chief creative officer. The advertising executive will help 11 Ounces co-founders Corey Nocco and Thomas Harris with creative storytelling and business growth. 11 Ounces’ client roster includes the NBPA, St. John’s Red Storm men’s and women’s basketball, Amazon Prime Video, Bose, EA Sports, Bleacher Report, NBA 2K and Snipes. Washington most recently served as the global chief creative officer at Gotham/McCann Worldgroup.

Joe Hand Promotions Taps Ghazi for Business Development & Strategy

Joe Hand Promotions, a provider of live sports content to commercial establishments, announced the appointment of Neema Ghazi as executive vice president, business development & strategy. Ghazi, who has served in a consulting role at the company for the past year, brings nearly two decades of experience in sports media, content strategy, licensing and distribution. Most recently, Ghazi served as vice president of sports content strategy & business development at Showtime Sports.

Nonprofit Shoes That Fit Appoints D’wayne Edwards to Board

Shoes That Fit has announced the appointment of D’Wayne Edwards to its advisory board. Edwards currently serves as president at Pensole Lewis College, Michigan’s only HBCU and the only HBCU in the nation focused on design. The founder of Pensole Footwear Design Academy and holder of more than 50 patents, Edwards has held senior positions at Brand Jordan, Nike and Skechers. Shoes That Fit gives children in need new athletic shoes. Named a California Nonprofit of the Year, Shoes That Fit delivered new athletic shoes to over 180,000 children across 50 states last year.

Cal Poly Names Carter Henderson as New Director of Athletics

Cal Poly has named Carter Henderson as its new director of athletics, effective Oct. 13, president Jeffrey D. Armstrong announced. Currently deputy athletics director for external relations at Stanford University, Henderson brings experience in intercollegiate athletics from around the country. He succeeds Don Oberhelman, who announced his retirement from Cal Poly in June after leading the university’s athletics department for more than 14 years.

PARTNERSHIPS

Charlotte Hornets, Judi Health Enter Multiyear Jersey Patch Deal

Hornets Sports & Entertainment (HSE) announced a long-term partnership with Judi Health, a health technology company, as the Exclusive Jersey Patch Partner of the Charlotte Hornets. As the team’s jersey patch partner, the Judi Health logo will be featured on the official Charlotte Hornets team jerseys and will be available for fans at all team-controlled retail channels. Judi Health will also serve as the presenting partner each year of the team’s City Edition uniform unveiling.

Venmo Teams With Drew Allar to Launch Penn State Debit Card

Venmo announced a new NIL partnership with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who will serve as the face of a new Penn State Venmo Debit Mastercard. Available now for Penn State, Michigan State, Rutgers University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, and coming soon for University of Washington, the Venmo Debit Cards come with promotional deals for holders.

Playtomic Renews Partnership With Premier Padel Through 2026

Playtomic, a community of racket sport players and clubs, has renewed its collaboration with Premier Padel, the official professional padel tour, extending the partnership through the 2026 season. First launched in 2024, Playtomic will work to create opportunities for players to participate in amateur tournaments, activations and competitions connected to Premier Padel events.

HSBC Announces Partnership With Global Rugby Players Foundation

The Global Rugby Players Foundation (GRPF) has a new global partnership with HSBC. HSBC will provide career guidance for rugby players and try to help them build their own businesses and better manage their financial health. In addition, HSBC UK will provide players with support in their international banking needs. In alignment with this partnership, GRPF will add five online learning modules to its “Beyond the Game” learning platform.

Sports Illustrated Tickets, Tottenham Hotspur in 12-Year Deal

Sports Illustrated Tickets announced a 12-year, signature agreement with Tottenham Hotspur to become the EPL club’s Official Fan Experience Partner. As part of the agreement, Sports Illustrated will join as the inaugural member of The Collective, Tottenham’s new sponsorship program designed to deliver bespoke activations to every stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As the Official Fan Experience partner, Sports Illustrated Tickets will debut “Defining Moments,” a curated storytelling exhibition that draws on 70 years of Sports Illustrated’s award-winning covers, stories and photography.

PRODUCTS

Tampa Bay Lightning Launch New DTC Streaming Service with ViewLift

The Tampa Bay Lightning and ViewLift announced the launch of direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription streaming service ahead of the Lightning’s first preseason game on Sept. 26. The platform is accessible across web, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Google TV and Roku devices. This marks the first time the Lightning have introduced a team-owned DTC streaming option.

Inter Launches FAST Channel

Serie A soccer club Inter announced the launch of Inter 24/7, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel dedicated to the team—the first initiative of its kind for a club in Italy. Available in Italian in Italy and in English worldwide, the channel offers a blend of Inter’s past and present, with historic matches and archival content available at no cost, as well as highlights, training clips, magazine shows and full replays of current-season games. The new FAST channel is the result of a collaboration with Globant, the strategic tech partner behind the digital project, and includes contributions from Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology provider for broadcast and streaming TV.

Penn Station East Coast Subs Joins With Barstool in Sandwich Launch

Penn Station East Coast Subs, a fast-casual sandwich franchise, is introducing the Mega Cheesesteak, developed in collaboration with Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger, hosts of Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, alongside the team at Virtual Dining Concepts. This concept builds on VDC and Barstool’s earlier creation, Pardon My Cheesesteak. A restaurant collaborator, Penn Station, is the exclusive producer of the sandwich.

PURCHASES

Padel 100 Unveils €5m Raise for Growth in Ireland

Padel 100 announced the launch of a €5 million raise under the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme to fund a rollout that promises 300 courts installed nationwide in Ireland by December 2027. Installations are to begin this month, with a planned 100 new courts to be built by April 2026. Padel 100’s rollout is underpinned by strategic partnerships with Acenta Group (Sweden), Playtomic and NXPadel.

U.S. Soccer Player Gio Reyna Invests in Fort Lauderdale United

Fort Lauderdale United FC announced the addition of USMNT and Mönchengladbach player Giovanni “Gio” Reyna to the club’s ownership group. The investment comes as Fort Lauderdale United prepares to launch its men’s team at the start of the 2026 season. Reyna became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to reach 50 appearances with Borussia Dortmund and is the youngest goal scorer in the German Cup. He has also played for the U.S. men’s national team, winning three CONCACAF Nations League titles.

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