Sportel Monaco: "Javier Tebas’s keynote speech is historic and a must at Sportel" (Marine Picoulet)
"The presence of Javier Tebas
President @ LALIGA
(president of LALIGA
Sector: Spanish professional football league
Exclusive commercial agency (for global deals): IMG (since 2018-19)
Title Sponsor:
• EA Sports (video games publisher): since 2023-24, €30m per…
) is historic for Sportel
Activity: convention for sports marketing & media industry leaders.
2026 Edition at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 19-21/10/2026
Headquarters: Monaco
Address: 5 Rue du Gabian - 98000…
. It is his ambition, at the request of the Spanish league, to come every year for this event. He gives his presentation for nearly an hour, in Spanish, with interpreters. It is LALIGA’s wish to show what it does, and this keynote is a must at Sportel," Marine Picoulet
Executive Director - Sportel Monaco @ Sportel • Executive Director - Sportel Awards @ Sportel Awards
, executive director of Sportel Monaco, said to News Tank on 23 October 2026.
The 36th edition of Sportel Monaco, held at the Grimaldi Forum from 19 to 21 October 2026, brought together 1,962 participants and 780 companies (including 166 attending for the first time), according to Monaco Mediax, the event’s organiser of which News Tank Football / Sport is a media partner. A total of 73 countries were represented (49% Europe, 18% Asia, 13% Americas, 20% other).
The 2027 edition will take place at the same venue, from 25 to 27 October 2027. Prior to that, Sportel will organise its first event in Canada, in Toronto, on 23 and 24 March 2027.
"We want to make the CMO Brand Programme permanent" (M. Picoulet)
How would you sum up this 2026 edition?
We have the same attendance figures as in 2025, and we are pleased with that. There was a lot of buzz on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. We gave clients the business opportunities they were expecting. That was one of our challenges this year, as every year, and the coffee breaks, happy hours and lounges, which we already had but sponsored in 2026, created many more. On the conference side, every session was full, with themes always as close as possible to market developments, notably with YouTube.
YouTube took part in Sportel for the first time, with three sessions.
YouTube was indeed at Sportel for the first time with three sessions, leading figures and specific themes. How is the platforms’ distribution business model evolving? The topics are of the moment. Our generation consumes in a certain way, so how will the next generation consume sports content? Pedro Pina (VP EMEA) was notably the most noticed speaker in the YouTube sessions (see the report of his presentation in the "Further reading" section).
The CMO Brand Programme took place for the first time. What is its objective?
We launched this programme to include brands and sponsors from the very start of media and TV conversations. Brands are now part of the conversation from the outset, and we wanted to open up different profiles to our participants and give them the opportunity to meet our clients.
We chose speakers who know what they are talking about and who work in the sports business, not necessarily in sports products:
- Rory Miller Cheever, partner & executive director at Revolut;
- Garrett Ponder, head of brand and partnerships and activations at Qualcomm, which sponsored this conference day;
- Paddy Carberry, global marketing manager at Guinness and head of sport at Diageo;
- Ashish Babu, CMO Global Market at TCS.
As a small anecdote, the Guinness representative went to visit bars in Monaco to see how Guinness was distributed there.
What feedback have you had on this programme?
It is good. There are already discussions for 2027, in particular to have more profiles. CMOs are interested in understanding how media rights work and in being included in the conversations from the start. This is something we want to make permanent.
The Women’s Lunch is also well established now. It has many participants and very good speakers. We have made it permanent and it will return for the 2027 edition.
The figures released by Sportel show an increase in participation by African companies. How do you explain this?
There is an expansion. In 2025, participation was somewhat more American or European. In 2026, it is somewhat more African. We did not put in place any targeted marketing action for this.
Every year, the countries of origin of our participants change. Some companies do not return the following year because they concluded their deal for two years, and new companies arrive every year. We are thinking about certain territories, since we are always thinking about the following edition, but nothing is in place for now.
Sportel will be held in Toronto in March 2027, for the first time in Canada. Why this choice?
We alternate every year. In addition to Sportel Monaco, we try an edition in the Americas or Asia. We have done Miami several times, Singapore, Bali and Buenos Aires. We are looking for a place to bring clients together, simpler for them than Monaco, and to reach a target that we are unable to bring to Monaco. The feedback is already very good for Sportel in Toronto. Sportel Monaco participants have an early bird rate for Toronto, and we already have a lot of interest.
Which market outside Europe offers the most opportunities?
Asia generally works well, the United States a little less. Toronto should work a little better than Asia, and we are pleased to have found it.
Is the current economic situation having an impact on Sportel Monaco?
We had no impact this year. The only problem encountered concerned registered people who wanted to come but were unable to travel for technical or geopolitical reasons, including a large client. They had invested amounts and the desire was there, but they could not come. This concerns two or three companies, not a large majority.
Have you already thought about the next edition of Sportel Monaco and the main themes?
The market is evolving fast. The conference programme is built from February-March, to stay as close as possible to developments. AI will still be a topic in 2027. It is no longer about testing AI and seeing how it works, but about how to integrate it into the business model.
For now, everything has to be analysed. We are in the post-event phase. The directions and strategies that may result will be defined afterwards.
Marine Picoulet
Executive Director - Sportel Monaco @ Sportel
Executive Director - Sportel Awards @ Sportel Awards
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# 57123, created on 23/10/26 at 10:34 - Updated on 23/10/26 at 11:26
Sportel
2026 Edition at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 19-21/10/2026
Headquarters: Monaco
Address: 5 Rue du Gabian - 98000 Monaco
Founded: 1990
Business type: public administration
Workforce: 11 to 50 employees
Specialist area: event management
Category: Events & Venues
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# 2886, created on 09/02/15 at 06:02 - Updated on 19/10/26 at 17:11
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