Budapest has been announced as the host of the inaugural Women’s EHF FINAL4 in May 2014, the European Handball Federation (EHF) has announced.

The winning joint bid from Hungarofest, a leading event management company, and the Hungarian Handball Federation (MKSZ), will organise the final event of the Europe’s four best female club teams in close co-operation with EHF Marketing GmbH, the marketing arm of the EHF.

The two-day event will be played in the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena in the capital – an arena with a capacity of 12,500 seats.

The arena played host to the final weekend of the Women’s EHF European Championship in 2004 and will once again host the event in December 2014.

The official launch for the event will take place at a press conference in Budapest on Wednesday, 4 December 2013, where the commencement of ticket sales will be announced.

Semi-finals will be played on Saturday, 3 May 2014, the third place match and the final will follow on Sunday, 4 May 2014. Playing times will be confirmed later.

EHF President, Jean Brihault, said: “The Budapest bid was very impressive and we are convinced that this event will be a great success in its first year.

“Handball has a huge following in Hungary and we know that this first event will attract fans from across Europe. We’re looking forward to a fantastic atmosphere in Budapest in May.”

The awarding decision of the 2014 event to Budapest was made by the EHF Finance Delegation on behalf of the EHF Executive Committee.

Slovenia’s Ljubljana with its Stozice Arena was the other possible venue in the race for the premiere of the Women’s EHF FINAL4.

MediaCom Sport has announced the launch of their first Asian office expanding their global reach.

The Singapore hub will act as the Asian headquarters for the WPP-owned sports consultancy. 

MediaCom Sport Singapore will be headed up by Jin Wei Toh, adiposity previously Singapore managing director at sports marketing, advice media and event management company Parallel Media Group Asia. Prior to PMG Asia, he held a series of executive level positions at IMG Group and has also worked at IQPC Worldwide. 

In his final role at IMG, Jin Wei Toh led the development of golf’s Asian Tour as Vice-President, Director of Sales at IMG and Asian Tour Media, helping create four new events in Indonesia, Macau, Thailand and Korea. 

The new Asian hub is the latest stage in the rapid expansion of MediaCom Sport which was set up in 2011 to give MediaCom clients both better understanding of the opportunities around the world’s biggest sporting events and ensure advertisers could maximize the benefits of these unique opportunities. 

MediaCom Sport will work closely with GroupM’s ESP division across the region to ensure best practice and full integration across the GroupM network. 

It has offices in the UK, Russia and Germany with plans to open in Brazil and the US later this year. 

“Asia is a fantastic, growing region with a young, digitally enabled consumer audience. Building strong relationships with the sports they care about will enable brands to connect and engage much more powerfully than traditional advertising. Jin Wei’s success at establishing new events and new opportunities for sponsorship will ensure MediaCom Sport continues to grow rapidly,” said Marcus John, Global Head of Sport at MediaCom Worldwide. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining MediaCom Sport and leading its development in Asia. During my time in sports marketing I’ve seen many brands fail to take maximum advantage of sponsorship rights, aligning these rights within the media agency ensures that they become part of every message to create a truly integrated communication,” said Jin Wei Toh, Managing Director, Asia ,MediaCom Sport.

MediaCom Sport currently represent global sports legend Pelé and currently works with clients such as Dell, Allianz, Shell and Proctor & Gamble. It is also the exclusive commercial partner for the world’s first electric powered racing series Formula E.

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) have announced pre-tax profits of 6.2 million rand (US$684,393) for the year ended December 31, 2012, it announced at the organisation’s annual meeting today.

Group revenue rose 15 percent to US$75 million from $65 million, due mainly to an increase in income from broadcasting rights, sponsorships and home tests, which were typically depressed in the 2011 rugby World Cup year.

That rise was offset by group operating expenditure, which increased by 20 percent, largely due to costs associated with the hosting of the test at FNB Stadium and the IRB junior World Cup.

SARU CEO Jurie Roux said: “The overall position remains reasonably healthy – despite the macroeconomic situation.

“However, cash reserves ($1.09 million) are significantly lower than those of the previous year.”

Qantas has been awarded the Australian Olympic Committee’s inaugural Gold Inspiration Award for excellence in Olympic marketing.

The AOC created the Inspiration Awards to recognise excellence in Olympic sponsorship leveraging. This inaugural award is presented to Australian Olympic Team sponsors who have achieved extraordinary success through the innovative and effective use of their Olympic sponsorship across any or all aspects of their business, cialis having regard to the particular circumstances of the different industries and the diversity of the leveraging programs.

The independent judging panel involved a wealth of experience from the corporate, cheap advertising, media, marketing and Olympic worlds and comprised former advertising Chairman/CEO, Ian Elliott, Olympian and Commonwealth Games representative, Lisa Forrest, media and communications executive, Harold Mitchell AC and AOC Executive Committee member, Russ Withers.

The panel regarded the Australian Olympic Team program from Qantas as one of the most comprehensive campaigns ever witnessed in Olympic marketing, adding that it integrated all aspects of the Australian Olympic Team brand and delivered unsurpassed results for the airline.

Lewis Pullen, Executive Manager Marketing. “Qantas is proud to accept this award. We’ve been getting behind the Australian Olympic Team for over 60 years because we believe in the values the Olympics represent. We are pleased to have played our part in supporting the Team, as a sponsor and as official airline and the Gold Inspiration Award is testament to our commitment to the Australian Olympic Team.”

Telstra was awarded the Silver Inspiration Award with a program that galvanised Australians to inspire the Olympic Team. The campaign leveraged not only sport but also the educational and cultural pillars of the Olympic Movement as well as national pride to deliver exceptional metrics throughout the business.

Not dissimilar to the Olympic Games, there was a dead-heat between Swisse and Coles for the Bronze Inspiration Award. Swisse generated outstanding results across all key metrics by leveraging an integrated campaign that included opportunities such as Olympic Day and the AOC’s ASPIRE Schools network, while Coles enjoyed strong business results by promoting the benefits of health, fresh food recipes and encouraging sport participation in conjunction with the Australian Team.

AOC Secretary General, Craig Phillips said the inaugural Inspiration Awards demonstrated the pride and efforts of Australian Olympic Team’s sponsors.“The Australian Olympic Team enjoys extraordinary support from our sponsor family, which includes the TOP Worldwide Olympic Partners, AOC Partners and Suppliers. These companies help make it possible for Australia’s Olympians to achieve their goals at the Olympic Games but importantly, also help perpetuate the Olympic Values to inspire the nation. We are most grateful for their support,” said Mr Phillips.

Judging Panel Chairman, Mr Withers said the submissions illustrated the uniqueness of the Australian Olympic Team as a sponsorship property. “All our Partners had great campaigns that worked brilliantly for them and generated fantastic results for their business. But as in the Olympic Games, there has to be a winner and we congratulate our gold, silver and bronze medallists,” he said.

Having witnessed unprecedented sales increases, double-digit lifts in brand awareness, improved favourability ratings, and entire workforces energised by the Olympic Team across a wide range of industries, Mr Mitchell said “Judging this prestigious award has left me with no doubt that Olympic sponsorship really works.”
Mr Elliot commended the Team sponsors for their marketing strategies, adding:

“The creativity displayed by brands, both big and small, in leveraging their Olympic sponsorship has been remarkable. They demonstrated, from the most integrated and comprehensive to very targeted campaigns, how brands can effectively connect with consumers through the Olympic Team.”

Ms Forrest said Australia’s Olympians are fortunate to count of the financial and promotional support of some of Australia’s leading brands. “But the big winners are the partners who can engage with communities through an unmatched set of brand values,” said Ms Forrest.

KB Financial Group has become a major sponsor of the Korea Golf Association and become title sponsor of the Korea-Japan Women’s National Golf Team Match Play tournament.

KB Financial Chairman and CEO, arthritis Euh Yoon-dae, view said the serious golfers and recreational players in Korea has increased substantially, demonstrating the nation’s enthusiasm for the sport. He said the company is keen to help the sport expand further in Korea.

KB Financial will sponsor the last KLPGA game of the season- the KB Financial Group STAR Championship, which will be played this weekend.

The Korea-Japan Women’s team competition will be played in December.{jcomments on}

 

Die dem Land Rheinland-Pfalz gehörende Besitzergesellschaft der berühmten Rennstrecke Nürburgring GmbH geht – wie die FAZ berichtet – in die Insolvenz. Laut Kabinettsbeschluss soll die Gesellschaft ein Verfahren wegen drohender Zahlungsunfähigkeit einleiten. Dafür soll der Vertreter des Landes in der Gesellschafterversammlung eintreten. Ministerpräsident Kurt Beck (SPD) rechnet für Montag oder Dienstag mit dem Beginn des Verfahrens.

Grund ist nach Angaben von Beck, apoplectic dass die EU-Kommission die vom Land beantragte Rettungsbeihilfe von 13 Millionen Euro voraussichtlich nicht vor dem 31. Juli genehmigen wird. Die Kommission hat demnach für eine Finanzspritze von Rheinland-Pfalz an die staatliche Besitzgesellschaft am Ring mehr Prüfbedarf angemeldet und Bedenken im Hauptverfahren um 524 Millionen Euro an möglicherweise unerlaubten Beihilfen geäußert.

Beck übte scharfe Kritik an der Kommission: „Das ist eine Vorgehensweise der EU-Kommission, abortion die ich für bedenkenswert halte“, sagte er. „Das ist eine bittere Wahrheit, ist auch ein Stück Rechtsgeschichte, das da geschrieben wird.“

Das Land Rheinland-Pfalz ist Hauptgläubiger von Krediten im Umfang von 330 Millionen Euro, die die landeseigene Investitions- und Strukturbank der Nürburgring GmbH gewährt hat. Dieses Geld muss Rheinland-Pfalz im Insolvenzfall wohl abschreiben. Bis zuletzt hatte Ministerpräsident Beck versucht, das Debakel zu vermeiden. Dem Vernehmen nach soll er sich sogar an Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) gewandt haben, um einen positiven Bescheid aus Brüssel zu bewirken. Auch die Rechtmäßigkeit des Kredits von 330 Millionen Euro für den Bau wird von der EU überprüft.

Beck und sein damaliger Finanzminister Ingolf Deubel (SPD) hatten das Projekt 2006 auf den Weg gebracht, um neue Einnahmen an der Rennstrecke in der Eifel zu erzielen. Damit sollten die Verluste ausgeglichen werden, die dem Land durch Zuschüsse für die Ausrichtung von Formel-1-Rennen entstehen.

Die Suche nach privaten Investoren für das Vorhaben scheiterte jedoch und führte zum Rücktritt Deubels im Juli 2009. Mit den Pächtern des Nürburgrings überwarf sich das Land. Die Besucherzahlen am Ring bleiben weit hinter den Erwartungen zurück, die Einkaufsmeile „Ringboulevard“ blieb oft menschenleer. Die Pächter verweigerten daraufhin Pachtzahlungen und pochten auf Tourismusbeihilfen des Landes, das daraufhin die Verträge kündigte. Jetzt haben sich beide Parteien geeinigt, dass Besitz und Betrieb zum 31. Oktober 2012 an die Nürburgring GmbH zurückfallen. Streitfragen sollen in einem Schiedsverfahren geklärt werden.

Sollte es nun zur Insolvenz kommen, stünden neben dem Schuldenberg für das Land, dem Verlust von Arbeitsplätzen auch künftige Formel-1-Rennen und andere Veranstaltungen wie „Rock am Ring“ vor dem Aus. Schon in den Vorwochen hatte der Veranstalter Lieberberg eine Verlagerung des Festivals auf den Flugplatz im Mainzer Stadtteil Finthen laut erwogen.

Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone has said the Bahrain Grand Prix is definitely going to ahead. 

Formula One teams and sponsors have no concerns about racing in Bahrain this year and the grand prix is definitely on despite continuing unrest, the sport’s chief Bernie Ecclestone has said.

Anti-government demonstrations and the deaths of many protesters a year ago forced the cancellation of a race that had been scheduled to open the season.

Last week’s anniversary of the ‘Day of Rage’ saw sporadic clashes between locals and police who were forced to combat petrol bombs with rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas.

The violence, however, was not enough to deter the island kingdom from proclaiming they are ready for F1 to return, with the grand prix just eight weeks away on April 20-22.

Tickets finally went on sale for the event on Monday, operating under the slogan ‘UniF1ed – One Nation in Celebration’.

Although it is understood there remain misgivings behind the scenes, asked if there were any concerns, Ecclestone said: “Not at all.

“Nobody is saying we’re not going or we don’t want to go or anything. Everybody is quite positive.

“I’ve told all the teams there’s no problem at all. I’m absolutely 100 per cent sure we’ll go there and there will be no problem.”

Ecclestone, however, does believe the Bahrainis will take extra precautions when it comes to security and guaranteeing the safety of everyone connected with F1.

“I am sure the people there will make sure, just in case there’s a problem. I am sure there won’t be a problem,” added Ecclestone.

by Ismail Uddin

It has been reported that Sri Lanka is in talks to host Indian Premier League (IPL) games.

Cricinfo.com claims that the new president of Sri Lanka Cricket, Upali Dharmadasa, has identified the move as a key potential money-spinner for the international board

Dharmadasa is said to have opened up negotiations with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to host some of the Twenty20 league matches on the island.

The next edition of the controversial tournament, which launched in 2008 and has seen players sacrifice test cricket for the riches of the shorter form of the game, is already reputed have a brand value of $3.67 million.

Having accrued debts of approx $70 million, it appears that Sri Lanka Cricket want a piece of cricket’s cash cow to off-set their expenditure on new stadiums in Pallekele, Hambantota and the renovation of the Premadasa Stadium, Colombo prior to the 2011 ODI (One-Day International) World Cup.

Dharmadasa has already asked India to forego their three test schedule in Sri Lanka this July in favour of ODI and Twenty20 matches to raise funds.

The Sri Lankan president told BCCI president, N. Srinivasan, that test matches would be less financially beneficial to Sri Lanka.

Dharmadasa’s focus on limited overs cricket is now unquestionable.

The fifth IPL will commence of April 4th 2012 and run through until May 27th 2012.

 

---

BREAKING NEWS It has just been announced that Sri Lanka has failed in their bid to host IPL matches with the release of this year’s IPL fixture list which, once again, will feature games across India alone. No explanation has yet been given for Dharmadasa’s request not being granted.

 

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) mediated labor negotiations will continue today after its players union concluded last night with the sides agreeing to continue talks today following the league’s Board of Governors meeting.

Full negotiating committees for the league and the National Basketball Players Association met yesterday for about 8 1/2 hours at a midtown New York hotel, order about half the length of the group’s first session supervised by federal mediator George Cohen, pharm which ran through the day yesterday and ended at 2 a.m. this morning.

The mediation will continue tomorrow at 2 p.m. and both sides have agreed to uphold a gag order imposed by Cohen, store director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

“Everyone is extremely focused on the core issues, the difficult issues that confront them,” Cohen said at a news conference, declining to take questions.

NBA Commissioner David Stern and Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck departed the talks about an hour early to begin a planning committee session that had been moved from earlier today, Mike Bass, a spokesman for the league, told reporters. The planning committee is responsible for reshaping the league’s revenue-sharing policy.

The initial 16-hour mediated session was more than twice as long as any previous meeting between the two sides since the NBA locked the players out 111 days ago after they were unable to agree on a new labor deal.