Croke Park bosses are optimistic of staging an NFL game in 2013 following the American Football organisation’s decision not to come to Dublin in 2012.

NFL heads have been looking for a second European venue to host a game in 2012 with Croke Park touted as a possibility but in a year crammed with sporting events and with a college football game already scheduled for Dublin this autumn, NFL bosses have decided to defer any further expansion.

On Friday the NFL confirmed details of this year’s International Series in Wembley when the St Louis Rams take on the New England Patriots this October, the first of the annual “home” games which the Rams have signed up to play in London over the next three seasons.

The announcement came as no surprise to Peter McKenna, stadium director of Croke Park, who said that the Dublin bid committee have been looking beyond 2012 for some time now.

“There has been an ongoing dialogue between ourselves and the NFL, so we’ve been aware for a while now of their decision to only hold one game in Europe in 2012,” McKenna said.

“There’s a lot of activity in the European sports market in 2012, which they had to take account of. But we’re still very much in the running for 2013, so we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to bring the NFL to Dublin then.”

The case for a Dublin game in 2013 gathered pace earlier this week when Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II conceded that any game involving his franchise was “more likely” to happen next year, thus avoiding a clash with the college game between Notre Dame and Navy in the Aviva Stadium on 1 September.

Rooney’s father — Dan Rooney, the American Ambassador to Ireland — has made no secret of his desire to bring the Steelers to Dublin, but the final call on teams and a venue will be “very much an NFL decision,” McKenna says.

No timeline for a final decision on 2013 has been set by the NFL, although a date in January or February of next year would be in keeping with previous announcements. Details of Wembley’s first-ever American football game, between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins in 2007, were publicly confirmed in February of that year.

Regardless of when the decision is made, Croke Park will be prepared, McKenna insists.

“From a stadium perspective, we’d certainly be able to manage a quick turnaround and get ready in a short space of time. From a marketing perspective, I’d imagine that the sooner plans are put in place, the better,” he added.

“But the NFL are experts at this, they know exactly what they’re doing.”

An estimated 10,000 American football fans are due in Dublin for Notre Dame v Navy this autumn, providing a much-needed cash injection for the Irish economy. Considering the bigger stadium capacity and the higher profile of an NFL regular-season match, a successful bid by Croke Park is projected to be worth about €50 ($65m) million, although McKenna admits that “it’s very hard to know.”

“At an estimate, it might generate somewhere in the region of €50 ($65m) million. There’d be a lot of visitors flying in and that will obviously be of huge benefit for hotels, restaurants, bars, taxis. It’s a multi-million euro stimulus anyway.”

Whats your take on NFL’s latest expansion plans, discuss here

Three Besiktas officials have been arrested as the match-fixing investigation that has shocked Turkish football continues.

Soccerex has announced that Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports entertainment group, has become the Premium Media Partner for the Soccerex European Forum until 2014.

Under the terms of the three-year partnership, Eurosport will provide news coverage of the Soccerex European Forum, 30-31 March 2011, Manchester, across their channels as well as broadcasting a dedicated programme on the Forum post-event.

The European Forum brings together the leaders of the soccer industry, from some of the biggest clubs, brands, leagues and federations from across Europe and the World for two-days at the Manchester Central.

Soccer is key to Eurosport’s editorial strategy and this year Eurosport’s TV soccer offering includes the FIFA Women’s World Cup, live Bundesliga, as well as the award-winning interview series Eurogoals One-to-One.

David Wright, Marketing Director at Soccerex commented: “I am delighted to be working with Eurosport. They are a great partner for Soccerex as there is a natural synergy between the two brands – in particular with the European Forum. Eurosport is a recognised brand in the football industry and this partnership will bring great positive attention to our Forum and will also provide fans across Europe with exclusive Soccerex content for the next 3 years.”

Heather Bowler, Eurosport’s Global Communications Director, added: “Football is a pillar sport for Eurosport and it makes perfect sense for us to partner with Soccerex, a global leader in the business of football. The European Forum is an opportunity to showcase our superb year-round multi-platform football offer featuring top football live events, coverage and news on our TV, online and mobile platforms.”

Brewer Fosters Group has signed an agreement between its beer VB and Surfing Australia.

The new deal guarantees VB the tag as “The Beer” of Surfing Australia for the next three years, discount along with its state branches (NSW, allergist VIC, TAS and WA).

VB will be supporting the grass roots of Australian surfing via the new Surfing Australia “VB Boardriders Club” program.

Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark said he was excited to be partnering with VB.

“VB is such an iconic national brand and a great partner for the iconic national sport of surfing,” he said. “This sponsorship will flow down to state branches, grass roots club surfing and even something for the recreational surfing community. The partnership greatly assists Surfing Australia with its mission to develop the sport across Australia.”

Fosters Group representative Paul Donaldson said working with Surfing Australia would allow VB to reach the lifeblood of Australian surfing.

“VB is keen to really support grass roots surfing in Australia. You won’t see VB logo’s on the boards of the next super-grom – that’s not what this is all about. We want to support the clubs and surfers who are in the carpark at Winkipop, Newcastle or Yallingup at 6am in the middle of winter and run the club events rain, hail or shine. We know VB is loved by many real surfers all over the country, so this is one way we can give something back for all their support over decades. After all, there is simply nothing better than an ice cold stubby or longneck after a long session.”

Adding to the agreement, VB will be offering support sponsorship to the Australian Surfing Festival, comprising of the Australian Longboard, Open Surfmasters and Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Titles, as well as an array of events on the state branch calendars and Australian surfing’s night of nights, the Australian Surfing Awards.

The deal also incorporates VB’s support sponsorship of some of the country’s most iconic events including the Margaret River Prime Pro Surfing event in Western Australia and the Noosa Festival of Surfing in Queensland.

Financial details of the deal were not released

The European Triathlon Union and the German Triathlon Federation have announced today that the ETU European Aquathlon Championships will return to the 2014 race calendar.

The ETU Aquathlon Championships will be held in Köln for the second time on May 31st 2014, store integrated into the Rheinauhafen Triathlon, anesthetist part of the Willpower Race Series.

The last European Aquathlon Championships were also held in Köln back in 2011 and Matthias Zöll, Secretary General, is pleased to see the competition return.

“The European Aquathlon Championship will be held in a great location at the Köln Rheinauhafen,” he said. “It is a good sign that the Jeschke & Friends organisational team have successfully applied and received this European Championships after problems over the last few years. These have fortunately been resolved.

“This is proof that everyone in the triathlon scene is working hard to promote triathlon and all multi-sports in Germany.”

ETU President, Renato Bertrandi, said “I am very pleased that our European Aquathlon Championships will take place in Köln.

“The end of May is a perfect date for all athletes that are willing to compete in the waters of the Rhine. It is great that Germany, a country with a great history in Triathlon is organising this ETU event in such an iconic city.”

A total of €6,000 prize money will be awarded to Elite starters. 

Livestream, a live streaming video platform, has announced its biggest partnership deal Wednesday with IMG Media Worldwide, a sports and fashion talent and marketing agency. 

Livestream’s Chief Executive and co-founder Max Haot told CNET about its partnership with IMG. “This partnership will see IMG and Livestream stream tens of thousands of high-quality live sports events every year, from the US, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.”

Hoat has a long history with IMG, having cut his teeth working on interactive media at the company in London for nearly a decade.

David Salmon, IMG’s head of technology and strategic partnerships, said Livestream was attractive for providing a good set of tools to connect to mobile devices, televisions, and desktop computers.

“In general, live streaming as a medium is still kind of convoluted,” he said. “Live streaming is still far harder than it should be, and you are dealing with lots and lots of immature technologies. Livestream really helps bridge that gap.”

IMG, traditionally an agency for athletes, in recent years has expanded into marketing, sports training, and media for fashion, music, and collegiate sports enterprises. IMG tested the waters with Livestream before signing the long-term partnership by working with the service to stream Wimbledon, The Open Championship, the National Rugby League, and major European football league games.

Golf apparel company Byron Nelson USA has been acquired by 37-year industry veteran Bob Friedman, and will be headquartered in the north Atlanta suburb of Norcross.

Friedman commented on the deal: “There was no finer gentleman on or off the course than Mr. Nelson. We are honored to share his lifestyle line of American heritage apparel with no compromises, just a passion to bring you the best apparel we can produce.”

Byron Nelson apparel will be sold in full collections that include golf shirts, cashmere and merino wool sweaters and vests, outerwear, casual wear, shorts and even waterproof rainsuits.

Byron Nelson USA will be run as an independent company from Friedman’s existing interests in Divots Sportswear, which he founded in 1976, and Sope Creek Apparel Company, which Divots acquired in 2010. Byron Nelson USA will, however, take a portion of the Divots booth at the PGA Show (6563) to exhibit the 2013 line.