French Sports Minister Questions F1 French Grand Prix Deal

Valerie Fourneyron, order the newly appointed France sports minister has questioned the French Grand Prix possibly returning to the country in 2013.

Under the previous government a deal was close to being signed which would have seen the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France alternate hosting the race with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

However, the Socialist party was voted into government earlier this month and it is thought they favour the race returning to Magny-Cours – if at all.

“There was a remarkable acceleration on a potential race return,” Fourneyron told French radio station RMC.

“We need to have transparency on the issue, on the financial costs and on the seeming lack of concern by the F1 boss (Bernie Ecclestone) for the environment.

“There are major accessibility problems to the Castellet circuit (Paul Ricard) and all this deserves more than 10 minutes of debate.

“We are not opposed to the race, but are not sure we will see a race in France next year.”

Green Bay Packers to Sell Stock to Raise Money for Stadium

The Green Bay Packers, reigning Superbowl champions and the NFL’s only publicly owned team, are heading towards a new stock sale by the end of the year to raise money that would help pay for $130 million in renovations at the historic Lambeau Field.

Each share likely would cost about $200 and include voting rights, though the value wouldn’t appreciate and there would be no dividends. Stockholders would be able to attend annual meetings at Lambeau, and they’d enjoy such perks as tours of the playing field and locker rooms and will be officially recognised as NFL owners.

An owners’ vote will not be needed because the proposal meets the same conditions established in 1997, the last time Green Bay sold stock, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. He said the league allows the Packers to sell stock as long as the money is used only for capital costs such as stadium improvements.

The Packers plan to add thousands of seats and other stadium amenities in time for the 2013 season. While other teams often ask taxpayers to help pay for building upgrades, the Packers will foot the entire bill themselves through the stock sale and private financing.

The stock sale would be the fifth in Packers’ history. There are currently 112,205 shareholders who own a total of 4.75 million shares.

Just as businesses have to enter a quiet period before going public, the Packers say they can’t reveal much until regulatory issues are resolved.

Jason Wied, the team’s vice president of administration/general counsel, said: “We intend to keep our fans informed of further developments to the greatest extent possible.”

If the team gets final approval, the stock sale could begin within weeks. However, shares of stock can’t be resold, and transfer of shares is generally limited to immediate relatives and heirs.

The Packers have been a publicly owned nonprofit corporation since 1923. The team held its first stock sale that year, followed by sales in 1935 and 1950 that helped keep the franchise afloat while other small-markets teams were going under.

The team’s only other stock offering was in 1997. The team president at the time, Bob Harlan, was looking for ways to cover stadium renovation costs. He recalled that other owners balked, worried that the Packers would use the money to compensate their coaches or improve their roster in a way other teams couldn’t.

It only was after Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney joined commissioner Paul Tagliabue in supporting the idea that the proposal passed. Rooney argued that the Packers deserved unanimous support because they were a vital part of NFL history. The subsequent vote was unanimous.

Some 400,000 shares went on sale for $200 apiece. About 120,000 shares were sold, raising $24 million.

“We tried to come up with a figure that would be affordable to everyone,” Harlan said. “We never got one complaint about them being too expensive.”

While the Packers organization couldn’t say much about a new stock sale, Aiello, the NFL spokesman, said the team plans to sell the shares left over from 1997. The new price hasn’t been released but it’s expected to be in the similar $200 price range.

Shamed Banned FIFA Members Begin Appeals with CAS

Amos Adamu, one of the disgraced former FIFA Exco members banned from the body for three years for seeking bribes during the 2018/2022 World Cup bid campaign, has appealed to sport’s highest appeal body to overturn the sanction.

The Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) confirmed yesterday, May 5, that the Nigerian will appeal against his three year ban from all soccer-related activity. 

Adamu was caught in the midst of last year’s World Cup bid race by Sunday Times journalists posing as lobbyists for the USA bid asking for an US$800,000 bribe in return for his support on the December 2 vote.

Along with Oceania’s representative, Reynald Temarii, Adamu was suspended just two weeks prior to the voting process. Four other senior football administrators – Slim Aloulou, Amadou Diakite,Ismail Bhamjee and Ahongalu Fusimalohi – also received bans of up to four years after being caught out by the reporters.

Fusimalohi is also appealing against a two year ban given after he was caught on camera claiming that Morocco sought to bribe officials when bidding for the 2010 World Cup. He also discussed receiving $100,000 from the covert reporters. 

The CAS released a statement, saying: “In both cases, the appellants request that they be found not guilty and the sanctions against them be annulled.

“The cases will be handled in accordance with the procedural rules set out in the Code of Sports-related Arbitration.”

Crystal Palace set to exit administration

English Championship side Crystal Palace is set to come out of administration after no appeal was lodged from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) objecting to the move.

Palace went into administration in January and only avoided going out of business last month thanks to a consortium stepping in.

And the news now means that the CPFC 2010 consortium, led by Steve Parish, can now apply for a transfer of Palace’s Football League share and take full control of the club.

Club administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said: “This is now the beginning of the end of the rescue of Crystal Palace.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Steve Parish. Without his determination and tenacity, it would not have been possible to resolve the many difficulties that arose during such complex and lengthy negotiations.”

 

Horacio Muratore Elected New FIBA President

FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, have announced Horacio Muratore will succeed Yvan Mainini as the new president of the organisation.

The decision, made at the FIBA World Congress on Thursday, was confirmed by delegates from the 116 national federations in attendance. FIBA elected 13 of the potential 29 members that will make up the Central Board for the 2014-2019 term of office.

Muratore will be joined on the Central Board by the following elected members:
– Anibal Manave (MOZ) and Clotaire Celestine Adjanohoun (BEN) of FIBA Africa
– Jim Tooley (USA), Michelle O’Keefe (CAN) and Marcelo Bedoya (PAR) of FIBA Americas
– Tian Xiao (CHN) of FIBA Asia
– Jose Luis-Saez (ESP), Cyriel Coomans (BEL), Lena Wallin-Kantzy (SWE) and Jean-Pierre Siutat (FRA) of FIBA Europe
– Scott Derwin (AUS) and Deborah K Shoniber (MIS) of FIBA Oceania

They join the presidents of FIBA’s five continental zone: Hamane Niang (MLI) of Africa, Usie Richards (USV) of the Americas, Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani (QAT) of Asia, Turgay Demirel (TUR) of Europe and Burton Shipley (NZL) of Oceania.

Ingo Weiss will take over as FIBA Treasurer from the outgoing Manfred Stroher, who retires after more than 40 years of loyal service to FIBA.

The newly-appointed Central Board will meet for the first time on Saturday 13 September in Madrid, on the occasion of the final weekend of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

One of the main items on the agenda will be to appoint the NBA representative and players representative. The Board may also co-opt six additional members.

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NFL Partner with Zebra Technologies to Enhance Player Tracking Stats

The National Football League (NFL) announced today that it will install Zebra Technologies’ real-time location system (RTLS) for sports in 17 stadiums during the 2014 NFL season. 

This innovative technology will track players and officials, allergist providing location based data known as “Next Gen Stats” to fans.

Zebra receivers installed throughout the stadium will communicate with radio-frequency identification (RFID) transmitters placed inside the shoulder pads of each player to capture precise location measurements, in real-time, during the game.  Zebra’s technology will collect data such as position, speed, and distance that will be registered and compiled into a database.  This data can then be outputted to generate new experiences built around this additional data.

For the first time, this technology enables the NFL to accurately capture real-time player tracking statistics, such as acceleration and total distance run.  The real-time nature of these statistics enables end-users to gain immediate insight into the action on the field.

“Working with Zebra will give fans, teams, coaches and players a deeper look into the game they love,” said Vishal Shah, NFL Vice President of Media Strategy. “Zebra’s tracking technology will help teams to evolve training, scouting and evaluation through increased knowledge of player performance, as well as provide ways for our teams and partners to enhance the fan experience.”

“Zebra’s legacy of providing visibility solutions to a variety of industries gives us extensive knowledge in how to collect important real-time data that helps organizations make smarter decisions – we call this enterprise asset intelligence,” said Anders Gustafsson, chief executive officer of Zebra Technologies. “It’s exciting to partner with an innovator like the NFL, where we will provide real-time data and information to coaches, broadcasters and fans to enrich the game experience.”

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FIFA Reiterate Commitment to Russia 2018 Despite Conflict

Football’s world governing body FIFA has reiterated their committment to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukraine government has led to calls for a boycott which FIFA believes would not reduce the tension. The tension was triggered last week after a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane was reportedly shot down, leading to the deaths of 298 people.

Moscow denies supporting the separatists, but following the disaster senior German lawmakers raised the possibility of stripping Russia of the hosting rights to the World Cup.

The Dutch football association said it wanted to postpone discussion over participation in the next World Cup until after a national day of mourning to remember the victims, two-thirds of whom were from the Netherlands.

“As a world governing body of football FIFA takes its responsibility in governing football seriously and we support any peaceful and democratic debate,” the Zurich-based organization said in a statement.

“FIFA deplores any form of violence and will continue to use its tournaments to promote dialogue, understanding and peace among peoples.

“History has shown so far that boycotting sport events or a policy of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to solve problems.”

FIFA said the World Cup could be a “powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments”, uniting teams and nations.

“FIFA is convinced that, through football, particularly the FIFA World Cup and its international spotlight, we can achieve positive change in the world, but football cannot be seen as a solution for all issues, particularly those related to world politics,” the ruling body added.

“We have seen that the FIFA World Cup can be a force for good and FIFA believes this will be the case for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.”

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Over One Billion Global Viewers Watch Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony

More than one billion people worldwide tuned in to see the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony last night in Celtic Park.

An estimated one billion people across the 71 Commonwealth nations and territories tuned into the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games last night.

For the BBC, try a peak audience of more than 9 million viewers watched the opening to the Games in Glasgow on BBC1.

The spectacle had an average of 7.6 million viewers (41.1%) between 8pm and 11.40pm on Wednesday with a five-minute high of 9.4 million at 9.30pm. 

It topped the peak of 8.9 million viewers who tuned into the opening ceremony the last time the games were held in the UK, in Manchester in 2002, but could not match its average audience of 8.2 million. 

The Glasgow opener, did however, beat the last two Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi in 2010, when the opening ceremony was watched by an average of 3 million viewers and a peak of 3.8 million, and Melbourne in 2006, which had an average of 1.3 million and peak of 2.2 million.

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Qatar to Host 2014 Men’s World Squash Championship

The 2014 Men’s World Squash Championship will be held in Qatar, asthma the Professional Squash Association (PSA) has announced today. 

It will be the fourth time the Middle Eastern nation has hosted the most prestigious event in the squash calendar, allergy having begun their association with the World Championship in 1998 with further events following in 2004 and 2012.

“We are delighted to be taking the 2014 World Championship back to Qatar, mind a country which has shown a true desire in recent years to be at the forefront of displaying world class squash,” said PSA CEO Alex Gough.

“The Qatar Squash Federation have been one of the sport’s strongest supporters since first hosting the World Championship in 1998 and they have a proven record of delivering top class events and we look forward to working with them over the coming months to prepare for the 2014 Championship.

“The 2013 World Championship in Manchester was a huge success for the sport and has set a standard that all other events are striving to emulate but I feel confident that Qatar will be up to the task of building on that legacy in 2014.”

Nabeel Ali Bin Ali, President of the Qatar Squash Federation said: “World Class squash and Qatar have become synonymous with each other in recent years and we are pleased to be able to continue our long association with the World Championships in 2014.

“We look forward to working with the PSA and all players throughout the coming months to help us put on the best show possible and ensure that the 2014 World Squash Championship is one that delivers on all expectations.”

The 2014 World Squash Championship will take place at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, from November 14 – 21, 2014.

HTC Appoints Fuse to Handle UEFA Sponsorships

Fuse, patient a leading sport and entertainment agency and subsidiary of Omnicom Media Group, has been appointed by HTC to work across its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

This appointment will run across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, following successful project work during the end of season 2012/13. 

Based in Taiwan, HTC is one of the leading global manufacturers of smartphones.  It became a partner of UEFA during the 2012/13 season, securing a three year agreement as an official supplier company for the UEFA Champions League and an official partner of the UEFA Europa League.  The agreement runs through to the end of the 2014/15 season. 

As part of the project Fuse has been managing all creative approvals relating to the sponsorship as well as advising on rights clearance and usage.  The team is also consulting on sponsorship strategy providing advice centrally and locally to over 30 global markets. 

In addition, Fuse’s specialist guest experience team has been running a hospitality and ticket management programme for HTC. For the project Fuse is using bespoke online tools and systems which have been developed over years of work with blue chip clients across many hospitality platforms. 

Karina Pereira, Global Head of Partnership Activations at HTC said: “Fuse impressed us from the start of the sponsorship with the work on our guest experience programme.  The agency has responded to our complex brief in a way which was not only innovative but also realistic and achievable. We have been very impressed by the personnel involved and the creativity and experience that they have brought to the sponsorship, which will enable us to significantly develop our involvement over the next two years.”

Mark Bullingham, Managing Director of Fuse EMEA said: “It’s great to be working with HTC, as a cutting edge brand with a fantastic portfolio. Their innovative approach to global football is refreshing, with some exciting plans for the future.”

Fuse has significantly expanded lately. The agency, which specialises in sports and entertainment, has grown from 4 to 50 people in the UK and to more than 120 throughout Europe over the past four years. Along the way it has established a portfolio of high-profile clients, including Standard Chartered, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Nissan, Renault, Carlsberg, Intel, Virgin Media, Waitrose, John Lewis, Starbucks, Pepsi, Specsavers and Visa.