The recent recession plaguing America has helped build TV audiences for NFL games according to commissioner Roger Goodell.

Speaking on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which aired on Sunday, Goodell says the nearly 60 million people tuning in to watch last Sunday’s conference championships show that.

“People want to feel part of a group, feel like they’re connected, and right now during these difficult times, they can turn on free television and watch the greatest entertainment that’s out there,” Goodell says. “They can forget their worries for just a few hours.”

Goodell also expresses his concern about getting fans to come to the stadium rather than watching at home.

“Our biggest challenge going forward is how do we get people to come to our stadiums because the experience is so great at home,” he says. “When you turn on (a football game), you want to see a full stadium.”

Goodell was given a five-year contract extension this week, through March 2019.

The NFL recently signed nine-year extensions with its broadcast partners and could bring in as much as $3 billion in broadcast revenues by 2022. The league’s overall revenues for this year are projected to exceed $10 billion.

Players from USA’s American Football league, the National Football League (NFL), say they want to settle multiple legal cases simultaneously as part of a new labour agreement that would end the four-month lockout of the country’s most popular sport.

George Atallah, a spokesman for the NFL Players Association, said that work remains to be done even though the sides are close to an agreement that would reopen the league before the scheduled start of the season.

He said: “Nobody cheers for you at mile 25 of a marathon.You still have to cross the finish line. There still are things that can get you tripped up and we’re going to push through.”

NFL owners could ratify an agreement at a meeting scheduled for July 21 in Atlanta.

The Associated Press said that if an agreement is ratified that day, team executives would be briefed on the effects on league business, including rookie salaries and guidelines for player transactions.

Any agreement would also have to be approved by players.

NFL owners in March locked out players, who sued in federal court claiming antitrust violations and wage fixing, behind Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. A federal appeals court upheld the lockout two weeks ago, saying a lower court erred in blocking it.

Atallah said players would prefer a “global settlement” that ends all cases. The sides also await a decision by U.S. District Judge David Doty, who ruled in March that owners didn’t negotiate television contracts fairly. Players then asked him to place US$4 billion in escrow during the lockout.

The sides are trying to reach a deal before missing one or more rounds of preseason games, which the league estimates are worth about US$200 million in revenue each week.

The start of the NFL regular season is scheduled for September 8.

Soccerex has announced this year’s roster of past and present soccer icons at this month’s European Forum in Manchester, 30-31^st March.

The list of football VIPs at this year’s event includes the likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Carlos Alberto Torres, Ossie Ardiles, Peter Shilton, Bryan Robson, Patrick Vieira, Denis Law, Gerard Houllier, Gareth Southgate, Oliver Bierhoff, Graham Taylor, Paul Merson, Brad Friedel, John Scales, Ade Akinbiyi, Geoff Thomas, Iain Dowie, Lawrie McMenemy, Alan Curbishley, Darren Peacock, Joleon Lescott, Mike Summerbee, Quinton Fortune, Aaron Makoena, Clarke Carlisle, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, and Sebastian Bassong.

The event organisers have also confirmed a large number of big name club executives in attendance such as David Gill, CEO, Manchester United, Ian Ayre, Commercial Director, Liverpool FC, Peter Ridsdale, Former Leeds & Cardiff Chairman, Peter Pannu, Chairman, Birmingham City FC and Robert Elstone, CEO, Everton FC. Other key business names include Peter Kenyon, Creative Artists Agency, Dan Jones, Partner, Deloitte, Marcin Herra, President, PL 2012, Martin Kallen, Euro 2012 Director, UEFA, Andrea Traverso, Head of Club Licensing, UEFA and Ian Ritchie, CEO, The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Wimbledon.

The Forum includes a diverse agenda reflecting the latest issues in European Football including Financial Fair Play, sponsorship, rights holder relationships, digital media and fan interaction, Euro 2012 commercial opportunities and International FA development.

UEFA has insisted it has taken into account the spending ability of fans in Ukraine and Poland in confirming the prices of tickets for Euro 2012 which will go on sale for the entirety of next month.

Ticket prices have been aimed at the general public, with the lowest priced tickets costing half of the equivalent tickets in Austria and Switzerland’s Euro 2008 with wide ranging prices are in place from Eur30 (US$40.60/£25.25) to Eur600 ($811.33/£505).

UEFA released a statement, saying that its aim was to “put in place a transparent and fair ticketing policy with the aim of offering affordable prices for all 31 matches”, adding: “The purchasing power of local citizens has been taken into account when deciding on prices and the cheapest tickets will cost 50% less.”

The statement continued: “Residents of Poland and Ukraine will also be able to pay in their local currency, either via credit card or by domestic bank transfer, whereas international applicants will need to pay via credit card and in euros.”

The lowest price tickets in the ‘category three’ price range for the final of European international soccer’s showpiece event are at a highly affordable Eur50 ($67.60/£42).

In other news, European soccer’s governing body have appointed Contact Center as an official ticketing customer services provider for the event, responsible for first line general public support for next summer’s European Championship.

Contact Center, the biggest call centre firm in Poland, will provide customer services to all general public customers who may have questions concerning the ticketing process. The service will be available on working days from 08.00 to 20.00 in six different languages; English, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, German and French.

Uefa’s agreement with Contact Center does not include the sale of match tickets, which will be carried out exclusively through the official ticket portal in the Euro 2012 ticketing section of UEFA.com.

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Related Dicussion: UEFA financial fair play rules by Michael Cunnah

The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), the second largest sanctioning governing body of drag racing, and IRG Sports + Entertainment have appointed Steven Cole as Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for IHRA Motorsports.

Cole brings over 20 years of sports marketing experience to the IHRA, with the past 17 years almost exclusively in motorsports with NHRA, NASCAR and IndyCar. Cole resides in southern California and will be handling corporate partnerships under the guidance of IHRA President Scott Gardner and IRG Sports + Entertainment CEO Jason Rittenberry.

“I am really looking forward to Steve joining our team. Having worked directly with him in the past through several different racing ventures and projects, I am confident that he is going to make an immediate and far-reaching impact on our company,” said Jason Rittenberry, President and Chief Executive Officer of IRG Sports + Entertainment.

“I am really excited to have this opportunity to work with IHRA Motorsports and the entire IRG team. As a fan of drag racing, I really like where the IHRA is taking the sport and I know that the future is bright,” Cole said. “I have been fortunate throughout my career to work with some of the best people in the motorsports industry and I look forward to bringing that experience to the IHRA. Together I think we can make a positive impact on the sport for all of the great racers, fans, tracks and sponsors of the IHRA.”

Cole will primarily work out of his southern California office and the IHRA Headquarters in Norwalk, Ohio, in addition to attending national touring series events. He will be responsible for all sales and sponsorship revenues, official partnerships and licensing for the IHRA, including its national touring series, the Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series and Sonic Rush Tour.

“We are thrilled to welcome Steven Cole to the IHRA Motorsports family. Steven has an extensive and very successful background in motorsports, working with some of the biggest names in the sport, and we look forward to Steven bringing that expertise and passion to the IHRA,” said Scott Gardner, President of IHRA Motorsports. “With Steven’s experience and IHRA’s momentum, we look forward to our continued growth and expansion of the IHRA brand around the world.”

IMG Productions, look part of IMG Worldwide, allergist has announced it will provide consultancy services on a new sports channel as part of a five year deal with Forever Group Co. Ltd in Myanmar. 

The deal is the first Production partnership that IMG have entered into within Myanmar.

Based at Forever Group’s HQ in Yangon, IMG worked with the broadcaster in the build up to the launch of the channel, For Sports 2, in July. 

IMG also delivered onsite training in contemporary production techniques to staff and will provide ongoing consultancy in the running of the channel, with a view to launching subsequent channels at some point in the future as well as advising on planned new studio programmes. 

Graham Fry, Managing Director, Sports Production Worldwide at IMG Media said: “This is a very important deal for IMG as we will be entering the Myanmar market as a production company for the very first time. Our experience of producing sports programming across the globe ensures we are extremely well placed to advise our colleagues at Forever Group, and we are very pleased to be working with them.” 

In addition to a global HQ in London, IMG Productions also has offices in Singapore, New York, Oslo, Stockholm, Glasgow and Sydney.