Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: former Premier League footballer jailed for match-fixing, Veikkaus pens Finnish Ice Hockey Association extension and Zeal reaches 25-year milestone.
A former Chinese footballer who played in the English Premier League for Everton has been jailed for 20 years for match-fixing.
Li Tie, who also managed China’s national team, pleaded guilty in March to taking over $16.0 million (£12.7 million/€15.2 million) in bribes. The BBC reports that Li also admitted to both accepting and offering bribes.
The court said the offences occurred while Li was an assistant coach at the Hebei China Fortune Club, which previously played in the Chinese Super League but was declared defunct last year. Li worked for the club from 2015 until 2021, when he quit as national coach.
Li would accept bribes to select certain players for the national team. He also helped certain clubs win competitions.
During his playing career, Li made 92 appearances for China and played at the 2002 World Cup. Li initially joined Everton on loan in 2002 before making the move permanent a year later. He made 40 appearances in total for Everton and also had a brief spell at Sheffield United before returning to China.
Norsk Tipping distributes millions to sports organisations
In more positive sports news, the Norwegian Gambling Authority has revealed that Norsk Tipping has distributed NOK930 million to sports organisations in the country.
Most of the funding is going to the Norwegian Sports Federation and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee (NIF). The total being distributed is NOK60 million more than last year.
The grant supports the NIF with its work on sports inclusion in Norway, including children and young people and people with disabilities.
In addition, NOK11 million is being allocated to Tverga, a resource centre for self-organised sports in Norway.
Veikkaus scores extension with Finnish Ice Hockey Association
Staying in the Nordics, Veikkaus has signed a long-term extension to its partnership with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.
The new deal, confirmed by Veikkaus, will run through to 2030. Veikkaus has been working with the Association for a number of years across various activities and initiatives.
The multi-year partnership covers the Finnish men’s and women’s national teams, the under-20 national team and the Aurora League.
“At Veikkaus, we have a long-standing and successful cooperation with Finnish ice hockey,” said Reija Laaksonen, executive vice president for people, culture and communications at Veikkaus. “It’s very important to us that this long and successful journey continues for many years to come.”
The Pools confirms more senior appointments
In the UK, The Pools has continued its restructuring with a double senior appointment. Chris Williams is becoming head of product and Matt Knowles is taking on the role of head of CRM.
Williams joins with a decade of experience in the sports betting industry. He has previously worked for SIS Betting, Sky Betting & Gaming and LiveScore Group.
Knowles has spent time at BV Group, Betfair, Gamesys and, most recently, the Betway Group. In his previous role at Betway, Knowles led global projects aimed at optimising customer engagement and retention, loyalty and satisfaction.
In recent weeks, The Pools has also named Sharon Wright as marketing director and Phillip Donegan as chief technology officer.
Zeal celebrates 25 years
Finally this week, Zeal Network has been celebrating a major milestone, marking 25 years in business.
Founded in 1999 as Tipp24, the company was the first in German to offer online lottery sales. An IPO in 2005 saw the business rebrand as Zeal Network, while it grew further in 2019 when it acquired Lotto24.
Now headquartered in Hamburg, Zeal Network has over 1.3 million monthly users across its various brands.
“We are very proud of a quarter century of Zeal,” CEO Helmut Becker said. “What began 25 years ago as a two-man start-up in Hamburg has now developed into a group of companies with more than 250 employees.
“We are more successful than ever in our core business of lottery brokerage and are continuously expanding our market share and our business model.”
