Goulston & Storrs, an Am Law 200 firm, is pleased to announce that it represented client Winners Alliance in its exclusive, long-term global commercial partnership with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), which will create the first group commercial program on behalf of cricketers worldwide. As part of the deal, Winners Alliance will represent and manage select global group rights for more than 500 of the world’s best cricketers from FICA’s 13 country affiliates, with the goal of optimizing players’ collective commercial value through novel marketing and licensing opportunities. The partnership was announced on January 10, 2024.
With help from attorneys Andrew Ferren, Kristen Ferris, and Linh Lingenfelter, the deal team was led by director Jonathan Calla, who serves as outside general counsel to Winners Alliance, which was founded as the for-profit arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) with the purpose of generating off-the-court commercial opportunities for players. The firm’s work for Winners Alliance includes handling all capital-raising efforts and leading name, image, and likeness rights transactions for the company with key strategic partners in the sports ecosystem.
Among its first initiatives with FICA, Winners Alliance will create a sustainable group licensing program encompassing video games, trading cards, collectibles, and various related categories. This is the first player-led and endorsed group licensing program combining the name, image and likeness rights of professional cricketers around the world. In addition, Winners Alliance will provide direct funding to FICA, which will assist the association’s core advocacy work and ensure better protections for players globally into the future.
FICA is the second players association to team up with Winners Alliance since its establishment in 2022. Following its PTPA collaboration, Winners Alliance pioneered the first-ever group licensing program in professional tennis history. This initiative has led to various opportunities for tennis players globally, partnering with premier brands such as Fanatics Collectibles (Topps), TUMI, and La-Roche Posay.
About Winners Alliance
Winners Alliance is a global, athlete-centric commercial solution focused on optimizing, protecting, and maximizing athletes’ collective value through the creation of novel group licensing, partnership, sponsorship, content, event and investment opportunities. Launched in August 2022, Winners Alliance serves as the for-profit affiliate of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), representing the group commercial rights of hundreds of athletes worldwide and creating scalable commercial opportunities that are impactful for athletes and brands alike. To learn more, visit www.winnersalliance.com and follow @WinnersAllianceon LinkedIn,Instagram and X
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