TEG is steadily expanding its footprint in global sports entertainment, leveraging strategic acquisitions and major event partnerships to bring international sport to new markets – in Australia and beyond.
As TEG Group CEO, Geoff Jones oversees the company’s dedicated sport division, TEG Sport which has grown rapidly in recent years.
In a strategic move to bolster its sports portfolio, TEG acquired Left Field Live and Rugby Live in mid-2023. This acquisition enabled TEG Sport to collaborate with British football clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and the USA Basketball men’s national team to drive its growing portfolio of international events.
Last year, this included Rivals in Red USA 2024 Tour featuring Arsenal, Liverpool FC, and Manchester United competing at iconic US stadiums.
Additionally, TEG Sport partnered with Gravity Media to deliver the inaugural Perth International Football Cup, showcasing top women’s football teams and reaching audiences both in Australia and globally.
The Perth International Football Cup was held in 2024.
“We started this football part of the business ten years ago,” Jones explained to Mediaweek. “We brought Real Madrid and Manchester City to the Melbourne Cricket Ground back in 2015 and since then, we’ve grown it.”
TEG Sport now organises a packed schedule of football matches around the world and has worked with 19 of the top 20 football clubs globally, building long-term relationships with many of the sport’s biggest brands.
Last July, there were 15 games of European football across the US.
“Football is the biggest game in the world so there’s a real appetite there,” Jones said. “The notion first came to us because a lot of Australians and Americans follow football and specifically the English Premier League,” said Jones, a seasoned Tottenham Hotspur fan.
“Last year aside from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United playing, we also had Chelsea, Wrexham and Bournemouth playing games across the west and east coasts of the US.”
The company’s focus is on pre-season and out-of-season matches, allowing them to bring top talent to markets hungry for elite football.
“This year there’s no Euros, no World Cup, so we’ll get all of the good players because they’re not being rested,” Jones noted, hinting that there could be a big announcement very soon.
‘We’ll have a very active schedule of football games in July and August’
“We’ll have a very active schedule of football games in July and August this year. I’m including Australia in that but also the Asia Pacific, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc.”
The company is also heavily involved in rugby, where there is a similar passionate fan base who are willing to spend money to see iconic teams.
“We promote the biggest rugby nations,” said Jones. “The All Blacks, South Africa and Wales in London and the US. Plus, this year we’re going to have games in the Middle East which will be great.”
International rugby also returns to the US in Chicago in November 2025, with Ireland taking on the New Zealand All Blacks.
“It’s a great growing area for us, and something we will continue to expand on,” Jones said.
‘Golf is probably not a sport we will potentially promote’
The company also organised pre-Olympic basketball games featuring the US Men’s and Women’s teams, as well as boxing and polo events in Perth, Singapore, and New York.
There’s even the new Professional Darts Corporation ANZ Premier League being introduced in 2025 and held in eight arenas across Australia and New Zealand in October and November.
As the global appetite for live sports content continues to grow, TEG Sport is well-positioned to capitalise and expand its reach even further.
But there has to be mass appeal to the sport.
“We make our money from selling tickets,” Jones said. “So we need big crowds to make that work. Golf is probably not a sport we will potentially promote or work as a service provider for that reason.
“Tennis, similarly, is a great sport, but you can’t get the huge crowds and there are lots of competitors for us in that field. Having said that, there are lots of competitors in our space in football but I think we’ve got a really good, established model and reputation, and we’ve got the trust of all the major clubs in the world.”
So how does Jones ensure that?
“There’s a lot of people pretending to be, and wanting to be promoters, trying to get involved with these brands, but I think we’ve established a really strong reputation.
“With the delivery, and for transparency, we do what we say we’re going to do. We make sure the teams are looked after, and, we’ve established ourselves as reliable, and that’s never going to stop. We’re always moving forward.”