Sprint have kicked-off of its CONCACAF Gold Cup sponsorship.

The summer sponsorship includes the unveiling of an official Fancaster who will rally Gold Cup fans around the country via traditional media, grassroots and social outreach. This marks the 4th time since 2007 that Sprint has been the official wireless sponsor of the Gold Cup tournament.

“Sprint is dedicated to celebrating our customers’ passion points and is proud to champion the spirit of soccer with our continued Gold Cup sponsorship,” said Kymber Umaa, Sprint Hispanic Marketing Manager. “We are thrilled to unveil our official Fancaster this summer who will take to the streets to promote the games, celebrate fans, and offer commentary and analysis of each game.”

“We are extremely excited to welcome Sprint back as a sponsor for the fourth consecutive tournament. They are a natural partner for a tournament with such a passionate fan-base,” said CONCACAF General Secretary, Enrique Sanz. “Sprint is an amazing brand known for providing great services to its consumers and will without doubt offer our fans unique activation and promotional initiatives.”

“Their support validates the increasing growth of the Gold Cup Championship as it continues to become the most important regional tournament in the United States,” said Marcelo Radice, Director of Sponsorship Sales & Marketing for Traffic Sports USA. “Sprint is a perfect fit for the Gold Cup as they can leverage their mobile phone technology platform to engage soccer fans directly.”

The Indonesian Golf Association (PGI), discount Asian Tour and IMG have signed a landmark three-year agreement to stage the Indonesian Open from 2013 onwards, officials announced today. 

The new partnership will focus on elevating the stature of the Indonesian Open into one of the most prestigious national championships on the Asian Tour, which is the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia.

The Indonesian Open has been played under the OneAsia umbrella in the last few years but now reverts to the Asian Tour. The last time the event was played as an Asian Tour event was when Thongchai Jaidee was victorious in 2009.

While OneAsia has suffered a setback there, their fortunes have been boosted by the fact that the opening two events of their season (The Indonesian PGA and the Thailand Open) are now fully co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour, extending the Japan Tour season and providing OneAsia players the opportunity to leapfrog their way on the Japan Golf Tour.

As a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours, all Asian Tour tournaments receive the highest allocation of Official World Golf Ranking points in the region.

With golf returning to the Olympic Games in 2016, the exciting development will provide a clear pathway for Indonesian golfers to try and play their way to Rio de Janeiro in four years’ time through the accumulation of Official World Golf Ranking points.

The return of the Indonesian Open onto the Asian Tour platform will see the country welcoming an array of stars from the Asian Tour whose members hail from nearly 30 different nationalities. This will ensure a truly cosmopolitan field when the 2013 Indonesian Open is staged in the second half of 2013. The venue and tournament dates will be announced at a later time.

By being on the Asian Tour’s television platform, the Indonesian Open will beamed to over 200 countries and 650 million homes around the world, ensuring that Indonesia’s golf credentials are promoted extensively through the championship.

The Indonesian Golf Association (PGI) President Arifin Panigoro said: “On behalf of PGI, we are delighted to announce that we have entered into a partnership with the Asian Tour and IMG which will benefit our country immensely through a myriad of wonderful opportunities for junior development, the golfing industry and tourism in this country.

“This agreement marks a new dawn for our national championship and we are convinced the staging of the Indonesian Open in 2013 and beyond will be hugely successful so that the entire golfing fraternity in Indonesia will be proud of our flagship tournament.

“Through our association with the Asian Tour, we believe this will also mark the start of our quest to push the leading Indonesian golfers towards qualification for the Olympic Games in 2016. We are looking forward to exciting times for the PGI and the Indonesian Open.”

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said: “The Indonesian Open has always been one of the finest golf championships in Asia where our leading stars such as Thaworn Wiratchant, winner of the 2012 Asian Tour Order of Merit, and Thongchai Jaidee have won the tournament in the past.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to work closely with the PGI and we believe the Indonesian Open is right up there amongst the best of national Opens in Asia. Our players enjoy visiting Indonesia as the golf courses, facilities and hospitality are first class and we look forward to returning for the 2013 Indonesian Open.

”Through this new partnership, it will create the opportunity for Indonesian players to advance their golf careers and develop their games to a higher level in view of the qualification process for the 2016 Olympics. We believe the Indonesian Open will also provide the catalyst for more Indonesian players to compete on the Asian Tour.”

Grant Slack, Senior Vice President, IMG Golf said: “We are very much looking forward to working with the PGI and our partners, the Asian Tour, to develop the Indonesia Open into one of Asia finest tournaments. We believe the players will really enjoy adding Indonesia to their schedules. It is a wonderful country to visit with fantastic golf courses and facilities and we look forward to delivering an Indonesian Open that will truly showcase all that Indonesia has to offer the global golf market.”

This weekend’s WTCC races will benefit from a record domestic and international TV coverage through fourteen channels in Macau and the Asia Pacific Region.

TDM, ampoule  Macau’s terrestrial channel, and Macau Cable TV will broadcast both races live at 11:00 and 12:00 local time respectively. The same live coverage is granted for Mainland China by Guangdong TV and the CSPN Network (Shandong TV, Hubei TV, Xinjiang TV and Jiangxi TV).

Highlights of the races will be shown next week during the “Auto Times” magazine, aired by CCTV 5, China’s national state broadcaster, and in a 30-minute programme produced by TVB in Honk Kong.

The WTCC races will also receive live coverage in twenty-four countries through Asia Pacific Pan-regional broadcasters Eurosport Asia and ESPN Star Sports, and in Japan through Gaora Sports.

Speed Channel in Australia and Sky Sports in New Zealand will broadcast the races on a delay basis, on the week following the event. In the Americas, Speed 2 in USA and Televisa Deportes in Central America will air both races live.

Including Eurosport, that broadcasts in 59 countries and twenty different languages, the WTCC Guia Race of Macau will benefit from an extensive coverage through 93 broadcasters over 180 countries worldwide.

Spa Francorchamps has secured a deal with Formula One to continue to host the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix for at least the next three years.

Jean-Claude Marcourt, economics minister for the local Wallonia region, told public broadcaster RTBF that the “agreement in principle” for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons was reached with Formula 1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone.

“We were able to negotiate a contract extension for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015, where there will be the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps in Wallonia,” he said.

The current contract expires after this September’s race at the hugely popular circuit.

“What I wanted to do was to reduce the size of the expenditure budget for the Walloon region,” Marcourt continued, “and I would say we have accomplished the mission.

“There was no way we could continue to lose as much money as we have been.”

The minister said earlier plans to annually alternate the event with France ended along with Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration.

Marcourt said that plan “was considered at the request of our French friends. Unfortunately or fortunately, they did not give practical effect to those proposals, and so we decided to sign for a further three years”.

Sports equipment brand Li Ning has praised the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) after renewing its partnership with the federation for five years.

Li Ning released a statement saying basketball still has a rapid growth trend and “massive market capacity” in China that allows the CBA to have a strong influence on young consumers.

The statement said he CBA has built substantial commercial value as well as brand value and has grown to become one of the most popular sports leagues with the highest fan loyalty in China.

According to the statement the CBA also has mautre commercial operations and its media coverage, TV viewership, attendance figures and the scale of sponsorships demonstrate the organisation’s strong commercial value.

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Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham has won the right to host the final of one of world cricket’s biggest tournaments, stuff the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Champions Trophy in 2013.

The world’s top eight One Day International teams participate in The ICC Champions Trophy – including England, Australia and India amongst others – and Edgbaston will become the first venue outside of London to host the final of an official ICC event on Sunday 23 June 2013.

Colin Povey, Chief Executive of Edgbaston Stadium, said: “Staging the final of such a prestigious tournament as the ICC Champions Trophy is not just fantastic news for Edgbaston, but for the City of Birmingham, which will host many of the world’s greatest players and their supporters during the course of the competition.

“The £32 million redevelopment of Edgbaston was designed to bring great tournaments and the world’s biggest cricket matches like to the City, so we are delighted to be chosen for the final.”

Edgbaston hosted five matches in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004, including a semi-final where England famously beat Australia by six wickets and ended their run of 14 consecutive ODI defeats by their Ashes rivals. In 1999 the venue also staged the legendary tied World Cup semi-final between Australia and South Africa.

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “It is fantastic to hear that Edgbaston Stadium will be hosting the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, underlining its status as one of the world’s premier cricket grounds.

“Birmingham is proud of its sporting heritage, earned because it attracts world-class events like this. Clearly, it is a major coup for the city, and I am delighted for everyone at Edgbaston.”

Edgbaston’s £32 million redevelopment programme completed last summer and was opened by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh ahead of England’s Test Match against India.

This summer England will play at Edgbaston in all three forms of the game, starting with the Investec Test Match against the West Indies (7 to 11 June), a NatWest Series ODI against Australia (4 July) and a NatWest t20 International against South Africa (12 September).

Neil Rami, Chief Executive, Marketing Birmingham said: “Sport is one of the greatest means of promoting a city’s name and image across the world, so the decision to award Edgbaston Stadium with five matches of the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy, including the final, will provide invaluable global exposure for Birmingham.

“Edgbaston’s recent £32 million redevelopment cemented Birmingham as the home of sport in this country, with the city boasting an unrivalled sporting heritage and playing host to more national, European and world sporting championships than anywhere else in the UK.

“We look forward to welcoming fans to a number of exciting and diverse sporting events in the region in the coming months, including Diamond League athletics and international tennis at the Edgbaston Priory Club.”

 

 

Brian J. Barker has become a minority owner of NFL team, Atlanta Falcons, after agreeing a transaction with Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

“We are very pleased to include Brian among our limited partners,” Blank said. “Brian’s business acumen and his passion for our sport complement those of our other limited partners. We look forward to his partnership in the years to come.”

Blank will continue to hold over 90 percent of the ownership interests in the team. Barker is owner and CEO of AFS, a freight forwarding company in Shreveport, La.

“As I looked closer at this opportunity, I realized it was not solely about the investment but about family, friends and winning,” Barker said. “As an entrepreneur for 30 years, I was drawn to the Falcons’ business model, as well as to Arthur’s desire to put the very best on and off the field.”

It was confirmed yesterday, July 5, that the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) had launched an independent investigation into its “internal stadium procedures” following the suspension of its director of services, Dionne Knight. 

Knight received sanctions after it emerged that she had carried out consultancy work on behalf of West Ham United – the club that won the bid to take over the Olympic stadium after next year’s London games over then Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

In February, the OPLC board voted uinanimously in favour of West Ham’s bid (14-0) to move into the Stratford site to the detriment of their rival bidders Tottenham, who later launched a judicial review against the decision making process.

In what has become a bitter public row between the two London clubs, West Ham has confirmed that Knight carried out consultancy work for them but vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

However, it has since been revealed that Knight is in a relationship with West Ham director Ian Tompkins, who spearheaded the club’s bid to move to the Stratford ground.

An OPLC statement said: “The Olympic Park Legacy Company has launched an independent investigation into its internal stadium procedures as a result of the allegations made concerning employee Dionne Knight.

“The auditors Moore Stephens have been appointed to carry out this investigation into our procedures.

“They have put together a team led by their specialist forensic unit.

“We are also investigating the nature of the consultancy work that Dionne Knight undertook without our knowledge or permission.

“An independent barrister will be instructed to conduct the employment elements of this investigation.

“We will communicate the outcome of both investigations when the work is complete.

“We remain confident that the integrity of our processes has not been compromised.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, one of those who ratified the OPLCs decision to award West Ham preferred bidder status, insists there was “no reason” why the case should be re-examined.

“The woman concerned made her relationship known to the OPLC and was immediately excluded from having anything to do with the bid process,” he said.

“Obviously they took steps, quite rightly, to exclude her of any involvement with the bid process and it now transpires there was a financial relationship – that is a matter that is currently under investigation.

“I have no reason to believe that this in any way will blow the decision off course.”

Delegate places for the upcoming 2011 SportAccord Convention in London have been sold out, the event organisers have announced.

The sell-out is not the first in the event’s history but is the earliest, coming one month ahead of the ninth annual edition. The 2011 SportAccord Convention will take place from April 3-8 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bride Hotel in London.

Anna Hellman, executive director of the SportAccord Convention, stated: “We are of course delighted to be sold out again, especially so early, although it’s unfortunate that we will not be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend.

“We are very concerned with preserving the exclusive networking environment we provide and therefore we put a ceiling of 1,500 delegates on attendance,” added Hellman.