Lou Imbriano, former chief marketing officer of New England Patriots, believes there is “huge potential” for the NFL in Europe.

In an exclusive interview for his iSportconnect featured profile, Imbriano said: “I think the NFL views themselves as a global game. I went to Wembley and saw the Patriots play Tampa Bay.  The place was jammed packed and the fun part about it was that they were wearing every jersey from every team. It’s a great game to watch, it’s a great game for television and it’s a great game to gamble on. With all those three things, I don’t care where you’re from, there’s a tendency for a majority of folks to migrate to that sort of sport.

I think there’s some huge potential in Europe, because of the proximity. The only real drag is the time difference, but you’re talking only two hours so you just need to prepare and plan differently. I don’t see any reason why it can’t be done, and that you won’t see a team in London in the not too distant future.”

Lou Imbriano Joins iSportconnect as Advisory Board Member

iSportconnect is pleased to announce Lou Imbriano has joined as an advisory board member. Imbriano is a fantastic acquisition for iSportconnect’s US office; he has vast experience in the sport business industry having held prestigious marketing roles at top US sports clubs New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Revolution (MLS).

Imbriano studied at Boston College, where he is now a Professor of Sports Marketing, before he began his career as Executive Sports Producer at WHDH in 1987. Between 1997 and 2006 he was Chief Marketing Officer of The New England Patriots. He held the position of Chief Operating Officer at MLS club, New England Revolution between 2001 and 2005.

Since 2006 Imbriano has been President and CEO of TrinityOne, a Marketing Strategy and Business Advisory Consultancy that helps businesses, particularly in the sports industry, to attain and retain customers.

Imbriano wrote a highly-acclaimed business advisory manual ‘Winning The Customer,’ which was published in summer 2011 by McGraw-Hill.

Chris Campasano, iSportconnect’s US Managing Director said: “We are very excited that Lou is joining iSportconnect. His knowledge, insight, and experience in sports marketing will be invaluable in helping iSportconnect grow in the US and globally.”

Imbriano added: “The sports business has many brilliant minds around the world and it’s time that we stop looking in our own backyard and truly begin to communicate and consult with everyone in our business. I love the concept of iSportconnect because it will allow the varying points of view in the sports industry to connect and collaborate with ease and efficiency across the globe. I am looking forward to working with Sree, Chris and the board to help the concept flourish.”

Read Lou Imbriano’s featured profile.

Jack Warner, the CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president suspended alongside former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam last month, is refusing to meet with the organisations investigators tasked with probing bribery allegations.

Warner, along with Bin Hammam, was alleged to have paid bribes totalling US$1m to Caribbean associations and stated: “I have not received any summons asking me to speak with them [the investigators] nor do I plan to.”

A total of 25 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) associations are alleged to have been paid or offered bribes of $40,000 (£25,000) each – and up to 18 of these have refused FIFA’s call to go to Miami to provide evidence.

Warner will not be among those questioned after FIFA agreed to move the venue for the interviews with those CFU members who refused to travel to Miami.

However, a CFU source said that its associations were prepared to co-operate with any “independent and unbiased” investigation.

The president of the Barbados Football Association, Ronald Jones, has insisted that neither he nor his officials were offered any bribes by Bin Hamman or Warner.

“None of our delegates were offered any inducements or gifts to support any of the candidates during the meeting on 10 May,” said Jones in a statement.

“The Barbados Football Association was made aware that the trip and accommodation were sponsored by Mohamed Bin Hamman under the auspices of the CFU.

“The BFA did not and does not see this as akin to bribery or any inducements as in the past trips by Caribbean delegates to meetings have been sponsored by the organisation and agency that wanted to put on the programme.”

The Soccerex European Forum on 30-31 March in Manchester has announced that Nike, Konami, Facebook and Lionside will feature in a special session on Digital Media in soccer.

The session, titled ‘Digital Media: The Changing Face of Fan Interaction’, will feature a series of interactive presentations looking at how digital media has moved the goalposts of fan engagement and the different challenges and opportunities presented to the football industry by the new media landscape.

The presentations will be made by Rick Kelley, Head of Mid Market Sales EMEA, Facebook, Florian Stronk, Head of Online Business Development, Konami and Mario Turza, Global Digital Lead, Nike Football. The panel will be chaired by Michael McBride, VP Business Operations at leading sports social gaming company Lionside.

Konami’s Florian Stronk commented on his involvement, stating: “The European Forum is a great opportunity for us to present our involvement in football, including but beyond the gaming aspects that Konami has been known for. It is a rapidly changing business field for license owners as well as for sponsors. This session should bring everyone ‘up to date’ and will surely provide interesting insights into the rapidly evolving monetization and promotion opportunities in the digital space.”

Spanish La Liga football club Real Madrid has reported an almost 50 per cent increase in ticket revenue thanks mainly to an increase in foreign visitors to its Bernabeu Stadium.

The nine-time European champions made €27 million (US$34.4 million) in ticket revenue for the year to 30 June –  a 48 per cent increase on the previous 12 months, health according to its annual report.

The report also said that Spanish-based season ticket holders handed back more than 100,000 match tickets for resale over that period, while sales to visitors from the UK and US climbed.

The club sold 15,500 match tickets abroad last season, which was a 29 per cent increase.

Spain is currently coming out of its worst economic slump in 60 years, with an unemployment rate of 20 per cent.

CEO of Spanish marketing agency Prime Time Sports, Esteve Calzada, said: “More tickets are available to foreigners because of the economic crisis.”

The Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) today announced the appointments of two new Non-Executive Directors and two new Restart Trustees.

Harry Keogh and Joe Ryan will assume the roles of Non-Executive Directors whilst Jeremy Beard and Simon Vaughan-Edwards will become trustees of Restart, erectile the official charity of the RPA.

Having served as a Non-Executive Director of the RPA for over ten years Bill Page will stand down from the role on August 31st.

Current Non-Executive Director, cough Vic Luck, help will step down from his role as a Restart trustee with Jeremy and Simon joining current trustees Bill Page, Mark Campion and Ben Kay with immediate effect.

Vic, who acts as Chair of the RPA Management Board, will relinquish the position in the summer of 2015 and the appointments of Harry and Joe will ensure a smooth transition and the best interests of our members are protected.

The RPA Management Board is responsible for the governance of the Rugby Players’ Association, working in conjunction with the RPA Players’ Board, which comprises of elected Player Representatives.

The Women’s Squash Association (WSA) has reached an agreement with NextSquash to provide support to the association at both strategic and operational level. 

The appointment of NextSquash, which is led by former Dutch champion Tommy Berden, is the first major decision of the entirely new WSA Board, which was installed last month at the association’s AGM in New York during the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.

Australia’s world No11 Kasey Brown, the newly-elected WSA President, explains the appointment of NextSquash as WSA’s new partner: “Our members have asked for quite some time now to get Tommy and his company involved. They have proven to be successful promoters and are highly respected by the players and fellow organisers.”

WSA’s Chairman Latasha Khan added: “NextSquash has a wealth of squash knowledge and an extensive network within the global squash community. They know how to run events at all levels and can contribute a great deal to our association. We are excited to work with them as we continue the WSA vision to Inspire; Empower; and Entertain while strengthening our tour.”

NextSquash has an extensive and proven track record in event management. Amongst many PSA and WSA events, the Dutch-based company was responsible for the execution of the Women’s World Open 2009 in Amsterdam and the highly-successful combined Men’s & Women’s World Opens 2011 in the spectacular New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam.

“We are looking forward to working with WSA,” said 34-year-old Berden. “The women’s game has improved tremendously over the past decade and I’ve experienced first hand as a promoter that the girls are well-received wherever they compete. We have always been committed to grow the sport and I am very upbeat about the opportunity to work with the current WSA crew to secure an even better future for women’s professional squash.”

The Malaysia Stadium Corporation has appointed PHAR Partnerships to evaluate commercial opportunities at the National Stadium and Putra Indoor Stadium including the potential naming rights.

The Malaysia Stadium Corporation manages the largest collection of sports and entertainment arenas in South East Asia including the National Stadium, bronchi Putra Indoor Stadium, National Hockey Stadium, National Aquatics Centre and the National Squash Centre.

The research work by PHAR Partnerships is part of the Malaysia Stadium Corporation’s vision to become the leading sports city for the region. The Malaysia Stadium Corporation are looking to develop ancillary revenues through commercial partnerships which will improve the experience of the consumer, attract major international events and introduce an increasing variety of events and experiences for sports and entertainment fans in the region.

Dr Helmie, CEO of Malaysia Stadium Corporation, said: “PHAR Partnerships are world leaders in stadia research and evaluation. Working with PHAR Partnerships will provide us with a unique insight and understanding into the value of our stadia to commercial partners and how best to package commercial opportunities.”

Alastair Macdonald, Head of Research and Insight at PHAR, said: “We are thrilled to be working for Malaysia Stadium Corporation. Our research will provide comprehensive and transparent analysis on the true value of Malaysia Stadium Corporation’s commercial opportunities, which will be invaluable for both the rights holder in helping inform its decision-making and support its negotiations with brands in justifying the value of the commercial partnership.”