Alpine F1 Partners With Valvoline, PREM Rugby and Basketball England Updates
BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team has secured a long-term strategic partnership with Valvoline, designating the automotive brand as a Global Team Partner ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza running from 4th to 6th September. This agreement broadens Valvoline’s footprint in top-tier motorsport, bringing prominent branding to the cars driven by Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Alpine F1 Expands Global Footprint with Valvoline Partnership
The multi-year alliance places Valvoline branding across the team’s wider operational environment starting this weekend at Monza. Michael Kirtman, Chief Brand Officer at Valvoline Global Operations, stated that Formula One represents one of the world’s most influential stages for performance, innovation, and competition, noting that motorsports have anchored the brand’s DNA for more than a century across its 160-year history operating in over 140 countries.
Guy Martin, Global Marketing Director at BWT Alpine Formula One Team, added that the team shares a deep passion for innovation, engineering excellence, and competition with its new partner. The performance-driven environment of Formula One provides the ideal platform to push technological boundaries as the team builds out this long-term commercial relationship.
PREM Rugby Retains Free-to-Air YouTube Strategy for 2026/27
Shifting from the racing circuit to domestic rugby, PREM Rugby confirmed that selected PREM Rugby Cup matches will continue to stream free-to-air on YouTube during the 2026/27 season following substantial digital audience growth. The opening broadcast features Sale Sharks hosting Bath Rugby on September 6 at 3 pm, followed by Exeter Chiefs against Bristol Bears on September 12.
These YouTube broadcasts run alongside TNT Sports coverage, which includes Bristol Bears versus Gloucester Rugby on September 5 and Harlequins against Northampton Saints on September 12. The digital strategy follows strong engagement during the 2025/26 campaign, where the initial two streamed Cup matches drew over 200,000 live viewers. Total views across the league’s YouTube channel surged by 438% over the course of the season, encouraging leadership to maintain the platform alongside traditional broadcast agreements.
Basketball England Finalizes Elite Academy Pathway for 2026-29
In youth sports development, Basketball England has confirmed its Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) partnerships for the 2026-29 cycle following a comprehensive review of its elite academy talent pathway. Eighteen programmes earned Category 1 Basketball Academy status after satisfying the organization’s rigorous Academy Delivery Standards, with 13 of those programmes selected to deliver the DiSE qualification framework.
The evaluation process also established the line-up for the Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL) and Women’s Elite Academy Basketball League (WEABL) for the 2026/27 season, which begins on October 7. Reigning EABL champions Myerscough College open their title defence away against Nottingham Academy Wildcats, while WEABL champions City of London Academy – Southwark face Itchen College. Basketball England also extended invitations to two additional programmes for the WEABL to foster greater equity within the women and girls’ performance pathway.
Sam Messam, Talent Pathway and Programme Manager at Basketball England, emphasized that Category 1 academies form an essential component of the Player Pathway by providing athletes aged 16 to 19 with daily training environments characterized by high contact time, technical instruction, and physical robustness.
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