December 2024: FIFA releases World Cup Hosts, WNBA Delivers Record-Setting Season & More
The Buffalo Bills secured the AFC East title for the fifth straight season with a 35-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night with this touchdown from Josh Allen. Photo by Ben Ludeman
Welcome to Challengers Newsletter, your monthly update on the world of sport.
Major News š°
- Caitlin Clark is named Timeās Athlete of the Year. (read)
- FIFA urged not to give 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia in report. (read)
- FIFA prepares to give Saudi Arabia its biggest sports win yet as host of the 2034 World Cup. (read)
- FanDuel, Verizon deepen NFL integrations with Netflix ad partnerships. (MD)
- Iga Swiatek handed one-month ban after testing positive for prohibited substance. (read)
- LaMelo Ball FINED $100,000 by NBA for saying “no homo” in postgame interview. (watch)
- LPGA, USGA gender policy updates include female-at-birth clause. (read)
- Milano Cortina 2026 reveals sports competition schedules. (read)
- Mr. Beast video with only male athletes makes 65 mio views. (you donāt need to watch it)
- Novak Djokovic announces Andy Murray as his new coach at 2025 Australian Open. (read)
- PLL launching Womenās Lacrosse League. (watch)
- The best Scenes from Atoms Stadium: Bengals TAKE OVER Dallas | The Simpsons Funday Football. (watch)
- The instagram account of Paris2024 is deleted. (read)
- US Biathlon officials ignored sexual harassment and abuse of female racers for decades, athletes say. (read)
- WNBA Delivers Record-Setting 2024 Season. (read)
Sports MarketingĀ šÆ
- A fitness club where energy is usefully converted. (watch)
- A throwback at this 2013 NHL Thanksgiving Ad. (watch)
- Bluesky already delivering more referral traffic than X for some publishers. (read)
- Decathlon Canada encourages people to āMake Time for Sportsā. (read)
- Foot Locker celebrates sneaker culture in star-studded holiday campaign. (read)
- French table tennis players Lebrun brothers announce bank sponsorship in a very funny ad. (in french)
- LeBron James stars in Hennessyās social campaign, heās pretending to read again or is he? (read)
- Mercedes bids emotional farewell to Lewis Hamilton with global ad. (watch)
- Powerade and the Olympic Movement release the āAthletes Codeā. (watch)
- Spriteās early Christmas campaign starring Anthony Edwards remixes āThe Night Before Christmasā. (watch)
- Sunrise Marco Odermatt Short Powerbreak. (watch)
- Swatch “SKATE BREAK” Andy Anderson. (watch)
- X Adds āNFL Portalā To Encourage Sports Engagement. (read)
Playbook š
Donāt aim at success, the more you aim at it and made it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, can not be persued, it must ensue. And it does so as the unintended side effect of a personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself, or as the byproduct of ones surrender to one person other than oneself. You must let it happen without caring about it, like happiness. I want you to listen to what your conscious commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will see that in the long run, success will follow you, precisely because you have forgotten to think of it.
Manās search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
Athletesā Toolkit š½
- Kylian MbappƩ interviewed by Clique X. (in french)
- Instagram launches new ability to reset your algorithm. (read)
- It only matters about us. Not the lights, not the cameras, itās about the action! (watch)
- Lakers star LeBron James says he’s taking social media break. (read)
- LeBron James’ fitness routine and the one thing he wishes he could have more of. (read)
- Mentors and tutors are shortcuts to success. (watch)
- The Odds of Going Pro – Using 40,000 Marbles. (watch)
- Read our articles that help your sports career
Sport Tec š²ļø
- Summon the Wave composed by Hans Zimmer at the LA Clippers stadium. (watch)
- When will drone film trail, ski or climbing like on the Matterhorn? (watch)
- Transformation of a soccer field in a rugby field. (watch)
- Schemi su corner e parastinchi, lāIntelligenza artificiale gioca giĆ a calcio. (in italian)
- Las Vegas repaves itās roads for the F1. (watch)
- MLB will test robot umpires at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams. (read)
- Swiss company POMOCA gets a new factory. (watch)
- Engineering professor makes helmet inserts to lessen crowd noise for Michigan State football players. (read)
Sport Docs šæ
- It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football. (trailer)
- Saudi Pro League: Kickoff. (trailer)
- How Arenas Transform Overnight. (watch)
- The Online Gambling Epidemic documentary, linked to US sport gambling. (watch)
- Candide Thovex, the daring French skier. (in french)
- The Story of GoPro: Crisis to Hell. (in french)
Upcoming Events š
- 4-14.12: IWF Weightlifting World Championships, Manam.
- 10-15.12: FIN World Swimming Championships, Budapest.
- 11.12: Geneva International Horse Show.
- 13.12: FIS Cross Country World Cup.
- 14.12-15.02: Opening of the ice rink in front of the Swiss Parliament. (visit)
- 21.12: FIS Snowboard Worldcup Davos.
- 26.12: Spengler Cup Davos.
Volunteering & Jobs š§¢
- 10-12.01.2025: Audi FIS Ski World Cup Adelboden. (volunteer)
- 10-12.01.2025: FIS Para World Cup, St. Moritz. (volunteer)
- 11.01.2025: Gymotion 2025, Vaudoise arƩna Lausanne. (volunteer)
- 20-23.02.2025: Europe Top16 Cup Montreux, table tennis. (volunteer)
- Marketing Coordinator at World Aquatics, Lausanne Switzerland. (apply)
- Intern Sustainable Development, IOC. (apply)
- TMS Rights Activation Intern, IOC. (apply)
- Administrator ā World Football Remission Fund, FIFA. (apply)
- Team Lead Customer Relationship, FIFA. (apply)
- Digital Marketing Specialist, Volleyball World. (apply)
- Sports Centre Coordinator, UEFA. (apply)
- Senior Media Rights Manager, UEFA. (apply)
- Commercial Manager, International Skating Union. (apply)
Happy Sport š
- Artistic cycling. (watch)
- Menās only Senior French Synchronized Swimming Team. (in french)
- Football Team Struggle to Break Through Inflatable Tunnel in Hilarious Mishap. (watch)
- British Speedgolf Team Sprint Across 18 Holes to Win World Cup. (watch)
- Man competes with Cyr wheel in 2024 German championship. (watch)
- Competitive stationary biking. (watch)
- Neilly Ross sets a waterskiing world record with a run worth 11,380pts. (watch)
- Football team take to pitch despite floodwaters during Storm Bert. (watch)
Challengers WorldĀ š
Two weeks ago, I decided to focus on increasing my Instagram following. I put in some effort, gained over 100 followers in just one week, and even had a post reach +65k views. However, out of those 100 followers, only one subscribed to the newsletter via email. Thatās a very low conversion rate, which led me to question the effectiveness of Instagram for my project. Here are some of my thoughts:
- By forcing myself to share content on Instagram, I spend too much time editing posts, doubting my work, and doing shallow tasks. I would prefer a solution that allows me to focus more on thinking, writing, and learning.
- On the other hand, Instagram is a universal tool widely used for communication and discovery. The main reason I created an account was to connect with more athletes for interviews and promote new podcast episodes. Finding an alternative that matches Instagramās versatility is challenging. Recently, I came across an interesting postabout fragmented attention on social media, and now Iām considering reading this book to explore better strategies for spreading my project.
- I dislike being dependent on an algorithm, and I dislike forcing athletes to use social medias to access my content.
- I have a complicated relationship with Instagram. I deleted my personal account two years ago and rarely used it before that. But since I started using it again, I find Instagram makes me feel obsessed, stressed, and sometimes depressed after the initial dopamine rush of discovering interesting content. Deleting my personal account was a relief in 2022, and after a few months, I no longer felt the fear of missing out.
Therefore Iām considering stepping away from Instagram entirely in 2025, as I believe it would be best for my mental health. LinkedIn, on the other hand, remains practical, and I have a healthier relationship with the platform, so I plan to keep using it. Stay informed without relying on social media by subscribing to this newsletter via email.
Thank you for reading and see you next month. -Nicola
P.S. You are now familiar with Olympic breaking, but did you know there is another type of breaking competition ? š