Sports Ticker 4 – Epic Games, acquisition of Charlton and tackling mental health

Welcome to the fourth edition of the RPC Sports Ticker - providing fortnightly bite-size updates from the sports industry.

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January sports news is often dominated by the football transfer windows - but in this edition, we highlight an innovative collaboration involving cycling, sailing and Formula 1, a legal challenge facing an eSports titan, together with a couple of updates about players and clubs changing hands with mixed success (we couldn't resist!). 

As always, if there are any areas you'd like more information on (or if you have any questions or feedback), please contact us or your usual RPC contact.

1. Epic Games sued (again) for Fortnite dance

Two former University of Maryland basketball players are suing Epic Games for its use of the "Running Man" dance emote in video game Fortnite. 

2. Mercedes drives innovation in partnership with Ineos

What happens when you take one of Formula 1's top teams, and combine it with Team INEOS' cycling and sailing teams?

3. Sporting bodies continue to tackle mental health stigma

Major sporting bodies, including the FA, are continuing to build on decades of work to change the conversation on mental health.

4. Sheffield Wednesday to take legal action against Leicester City

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. is set to take legal action against the Foxes over the transfer of England U20 forward, George Hirst.

5. Charlton Athletic FC score new owners in time for the January transfer window

Championship strugglers Charlton Athletic F.C. have been acquired by East Street Investments, a consortium based in Abu Dhabi. 

Extra time...

Manchester City F.C have become the first football club to launch a dedicated channel on YouTube Kids. The new channel will be home to a wide variety of children's content such as match highlights, behind-the-scenes videos, and bespoke short-form content aimed at children under 12. As ever with targeting minors, clubs should bear in mind the regulatory hurdles involved when collecting and processing children's personal data. For example, if you are relying on consent when offering online services to a child, it's worth remembering that in the UK only children aged 13 or over are able to provide consent without parental approval.