Playon Appoints ATPI Sports Events As Official Tour Partner For 2017 Soccer Sevens Tournament

Published on 2017-05-24 Playon, the international network of retired sports professionals, has appointed leading global sports travel management agency ATPI Sports Events, part of the ATPI Group, to manage the travel arrangements for the team participating in the 2017 Soccer Sevens. Playon’s tournament debut in Hong Kong will feature names such as ex-England stars Emile Heskey and David James as well as Scottish defender Colin Hendry and Dutch icon Regi Blinker.

Playon, the international network of retired sports professionals, has appointed leading global sports travel management agency ATPI Sports Events, part of the ATPI Group, to manage the travel arrangements for the team participating in the 2017 Soccer Sevens. Playon’s tournament debut in Hong Kong will feature names such as ex-England stars Emile Heskey and David James as well as Scottish defender Colin Hendry and Dutch icon Regi Blinker.

The Soccer Sevens is an international seven-a-side football tournament held annually in Hong Kong. The event follows a two-stage format, firstly the group stage which is then followed by the knockout stage. Teams are made up mostly of academy squads from clubs in Europe who compete against players from leagues across Asia.  

The ATPI Sports Events team will be responsible for the management of travel arrangements for Playon including flights and hotels bookings and on the ground transportation with on-site project management for the duration of the tournament. ATPI Sports Events has extensive experience in managing team and tournament travel programmes for Premier League, Championship and National Football teams

The business also has involvement in managing major sporting events, including ticket packages for the Rugby Union World Cup 2015. In the wider sports arena, ATPI Sports Events is the global official hospitality agency for the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.  The company is the Official Ticket & Travel Agent (NL) for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and was recently appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) as its Official Ticketing and Hospitality Services Partner. ATPI Sports Events will also be managing the travel arrangements for the England, Wales, Scotland and Armed Forces teams participating in the upcoming Rugby League Festival of World Cups which takes place in July this year in western Sydney.

Kate Suddards, Head of Sports at ATPI Sports Events commented:

“The ATPI Sports Events team working with Playon are experts in tour travel management and logistics. Working with an experienced provider is key to ensuring the delivery of an efficient and successful travel programme, in what can be a changeable environment. Our global network of 100 offices, including Hong Kong, means we can utilise our local knowledge of the market and connections to ensure the most efficient delivery for our clients”

Viv Anderson, Founder, Playon commented:

“Appointing ATPI Sports Events to manage the logistics for our team travel to this year’s Soccer Sevens has been integral to the success of our participation in the tournament. The team’s understanding of our requirements, coupled with their on the ground support is invaluable and we’re looking forward to a successful working relationship and success in Hong Kong.”

Playon’s concept in providing retired sportspeople with the opportunity to extend their playing career means that the organisation also creates its own tournaments worldwide in America, the Far East, the Middle East and China.