The owners of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) Kochi franchise have initiated a new contest inviting fans to name the team.

The franchise has provided two options to choose the new name which must include Kerala or Kochi as the first name, and Titans, Commandos, Tigers, Tuskers, Heroes, or United as the last name.

KCPL Director Mukesh Patel said in a press release: “We would like to give an opportunity to all our fans to be a part of our team and select a name for their IPL team.”

Former Union minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor had posted on his Twitter page: “As a Kerala MP & cricket well-wisher, had a frank talk with owners of IPL team. Convinced serious changes are coming, including of name.”

The Kochi franchise was initially named Indi Commandoes without having Kerala or Kochi attached to it, however within minutes the team was re-named as Indi Commandoes Kerala after facing flak from fans belonging mostly to Kerala.

This years Business India Forum was held on July 22, 2010 and the event once more organised by Celebrasian UK was held this year in London at Christie’s. A lovely small, niche auditorium amongst all those works of art from around the world.
The mix of topics this year was once more quite interesting with sports business meeting luxury and lifestyle in an Indian context, something with the exception of IPL isn’t really the case for India just yet. So something which is set to become more and more real for India in the coming years.

It was a half day forum with over 100 delegates attending. The opening session had the title “Overview of the Indian economy and three sectors”. Ridhika Batra, Director – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, UK; was in the chair with Vijay Goel, Indo-EU Business Forum; Deepak Lalwani, Astaire Securities; and Farid Haque, Global Markets, Accenture as panellists and they all gave their views on how business could and should be done in India plus where the opportunities and possible problems lie. This set to tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The second session had the topic “The Business of Sports” with myself as the moderator with the focus mainly on cricket and football. My panel included Ishan Saksena, Chairman, Queen’s Park Rangers FC; Ashish Ray, Author and journalist; Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director, Sport Business Group; Anders Grundberg, Partner, McGuire Woods; and Clive W. Leach, Chairman, Durham County Cricket Club.

I started off giving a general overview on the Indian sporting field with the IPL the often mentioned example of commercialisation of sports in India, but I also gave the audience the information that football is a fast growing sport in India with the question to be asked on how and where can cricket grow further. My aim was to give an overview not only of cricket and football, which still where the main focus. My seasoned colleague Ashish took the discussions to another level as he is a cricket purist and was more interested in Test cricket, while most of the world was interested in 50 Overs and T20. An interesting discussion developed as India has clearly shown that Test cricket is of no real interest for the general public these days, while T20 is the new craze through the IPL; while in England Test cricket still has its place of its own. An interesting comparison was made as a strong league doesn’t automatically mean a strong national side. England and the EPL in football were compared to India and its IPL in cricket. And yes, it scarily sounded correct as both national sides have failed in recent major competition.

We also focused in the session on the main topic of business of sports in India. There are numerous opportunities not only in cricket and football with the example of the 30 year deal signed by IMG-Reliance with the Basketball Federation of India recently made, but there are also chances in Formula 1 and Golf.

After a tea break “Session Three – The Burgeoning Luxury and Lifestyle Markets” was held with Amin Jaffer, Director Indian Art, Christies; in the chair. The panel included Fiona Sanderson, Managing Director, The Luxury Channel; Onita Prasada Vashish, Owner, Onitaa Fashion; and Kevin Rego, International Head of Sales and Marketing, B4U TV.

The fourth and final session was on “Doing business in India”. It had Carl Nisser, Board member, Europe India Chamber of Commerce Counsel & McGuire Woods; as the moderator. The panel included Atul Gupta, Director, Euro Max Capital; and Parvinder Bhatia, Wasserman Media Group – India. They talked about the does and don’t in the Indian market. One thing that came out clear of this session was anyone interested to do business in India needs to know and then also understand how to do it in India. And that is the difficulty for international business across all fields as even multinationals have failed in India.

By Arunava Chaudhuri

http://arunfoot.blogspot.com/2010/07/business-india-forum-london-review.html

The English football Premier League has signed a deal with gaming giants EA Sports for it to become the League’s first sports technology partner.

As part of the deal EA’s on-screen branding will be shown during all live Premier League broadcasts, including coverage on Sky, ESPN and all overseas broadcasts.

EA will also sponsor the Premier League’s player performance index, replacing Actim as the league’s player rating system.

As well as this, the US gaming company will also publish a team of the week on the Premier League’s website.

Premier League director of sales and marketing, Richard Masters, said: “We are extremely pleased that EA Sports has had the foresight to enter into this exciting new partnership that will connect with Barclays Premier League fans in new and inventive ways.

“Fans have a thirst for statistics and and information and that is something that the Premier League, working with EA, will provide to a level not seen before in professional football.”

EA Sports said the deal would help it further establish itself as the leading football gaming experience.

The International Olympic Committee through its Executive Board have granted the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) provisional IOC recognition during their meeting in Lausanne, pharmacy Switzerland.

IFAF is American Football’s international governing body with 64 member nations spanning six continents.

“IFAF is proud to receive this recognition and join the Olympic family, purchase ” IFAF President Tommy Wiking said. “The enduring ideals of sport that comprise the Olympic Charter reside in our game’s timeless values and in the spirit of the millions who love to play it.

“We thank the IOC Executive Board and administration for its support throughout this process as well as our dedicated National and Continental committees, symptoms ” Wiking added. “It is especially gratifying to share this recognition with American Football athletes of all ages across the world, past and present. They have made and continue to make this an exceptional sport that captures our imaginations and unites us through competition in mind, body and heart.”

“On behalf of the IOC, we are delighted to welcome the IFAF into the Olympic Family. The federation has long demonstrated strong youth appeal and are making great progress in developing their sport around the world. We trust that this provisional recognition will generate momentum in the further universal development of their disciplines.” says Christophe Dubi, IOC Sports Director.

As American Football’s international governing body, IFAF looks after its three disciplines: tackle, flag and beach football.

Newly elcted IOC president Thomas Bach has welcomed the Italian government’s support for a 2024 Summer Olympics bid while also suggesting it’s “time for the United States to present a strong bid.”

Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis, and also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta.

“The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 2024, because he has realised that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country,” Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday.

While Rome has not yet been officially selected, the capital – which hosted the 1960 Games – would be Italy’s likely candidate.

Other potential 2024 bids could come from Paris; Doha, Qatar; and cities in Africa and the United States.

“I think it’s time for the United States to present a strong bid,” Bach said. “And I’m happy to hear that the USOC is undertaking everything to prepare such a bid.”

Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington are among the cities that could form a US bid.

The country’s last Summer Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996. Italy’s last Olympics were the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

The Irish Football Association have applied for planning permission to redevelop Windsor Park.

If permission is granted Northern Ireland’s stadium, which is also home to IFA Premiership club Linfield, will have its seated capacity increased to 18,000.

Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson said: “We had made it a key target to have our planning application submitted by this date and I am delighted that we have achieved this.

“The design for our redeveloped national stadium truly is impressive, and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to give their thoughts and ideas to us during the community consultation process.

“I know that the new Windsor Park will be a stadium that we will all be proud of.”

The IFA now hopes a £29.2m project, with £25.2m provided by the Government, will begin in September next year.

Canterbury Crusaders and Wellington Hurricanes are set to be run by private investors after the New Zealand Rugby Union granted licences to private investors for the Super League clubs.

NZRU chairman Steve Tew revealed a joint-ownership deal has already been struck for the Hurricanes licence and a similar arrangement is expected to be finalised for seven-time Super Rugby champions the Crusaders within a month.

As part of the Wellington sell-off, existing owner the Wellington Rugby Football Union will jointly run the team with a business consortium that includes investors linked to the Wellington Phoenix A-League football club.

The NZRU, which is eager to improve its finances, did not disclose how much the consortium paid for a 50 percent stake in the Hurricanes licence until 2016 and the option for a five-year renewal after that.

Expressions of interest were invited by the NZRU last December in four of the country’s five Super Rugby teams – the Otago Highlanders were not included – but no deals were finalised in time for the 2013 season for the Auckland Blues and Waikato Chiefs.

NZRU chairman Steve Tew said: “These new arrangements are a step forward in terms of putting Super Rugby on a stronger financial footing to ensure the game at the professional level is better placed to prosper and deliver for its fans.”

TaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG), denture the largest and most profitable golf equipment, ed apparel and footwear company in the world comprised of four powerful brands (TaylorMade, adidas Golf, Ashworth and Adams), today announced global sales of $514.7 million in the second quarter of 2012 — a 25% increase over the prior year on a currency-neutral basis.

TMaG’s strong second-quarter showing elevated its first-half sales to $1.02 billion (+29% over last year), making it the best first-half, in terms of sales, in the company’s 33-year history.

The company’s strong Q2 success was based on growth in all categories, with metalwoods, irons, putters and footwear all recording growth rates above 20%.

In terms of first-half 2012 sales, TMaG experienced currency-neutral, year-over-year growth in metalwoods (+25%), irons (+37%), putters (+29%), balls (+16%), footwear (+29%), apparel (+9%) and bags (+110%).

“Part of our definition of being a great golf company is to make every product we bring to the marketplace the best in its class,” said Mark King, TMaG CEO and President. “With that in mind, we’re very pleased to have recorded significant sales growth in all of our key product categories in the second quarter and the first half of 2012. That kind of balanced excellence is an indicator that our methods of product development, marketing, sales and service are strong across all four of our brands.”