MotoGP organisers have confirmed that this year’s Japanese Grand Prix has postponed until later in the season following the deadly earthquake and tsunami last week. 

Despite the race circuit staged in Motegi not suffering irreparable damage itself,  the road network between Motegi and Tokyo has been heavily damaged, making the staging of a major event in the MotoGP season unlikely. 

The race, set for 24th April, has now been moved back to 2nd October, and is the second year in succession the Japanese race has been rescheduled, following the volcanic ash crisis in Iceland last year.

The MotoGP season begins on 20th March in Losail, Qatar, and runs until the 6th November with the final round in Spain – the home of reigning World champion Jorge Lorenzo. 

A recent poll by auditors Global Research has shown the British public are unsure about which companies are sponsoring this summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The research, which was conducted the day before the tournament began on 11 June, shows the 1,005 polled across Great Britain struggled to correctly identify eight sponsors and partners (Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Adidas, Sony, Visa, Budweiser, Emirates and Hyundai) of the event from a list of well known brands.

Coca-Cola was the only sponsor to be correctly identified by more than half of those polled (57 per cent), while Hyundai by recognised by the least (ten per cent).

Those polled were also sceptical over the companies’ motives, with 81 per cent believing the reason to be, “to get their company name or logo on TV”, while 50 per cent thought it was “to sell more of their products within South Africa”.

Echo’s Group CEO, Sandra Macleod, said: “These findings show that, as the tournament gets underway, sponsors have much work to do to raise awareness of their role in the World Cup, and to convince the British public that they are motivated by a genuine concern for the host nation and for football and its supporters, as much as by commercial gains.

“Should confusion in these areas continue as the World Cup unfolds, sponsors will not realise the brand and reputation benefits that sponsorship should bring.”

British horseracing commercial group the Jockey Club has appointed two new members to the Cheltenham Racecourse committee, William Rucker and William Vestey.

Both William Rucker and William Vestey have a long association with the course and have joined the committee as of June 1, 2014.

William Rucker is Chief Executive of Lazard in London. He is also Chairman of Crest Nicholson Holdings plc and Quintain Estates & Development plc. He has many horses in training with Evan Williams and his horses have finished in the top four in the last six runnings of the Grand National, with familiar names such as Cappa Bleu and State Of Play, the latter of which also won the  2006 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. He also has horses in training with Fergal O’Brien and with Sir Mark Prescott on the Flat.

William Vestey has grown up with Cheltenham Racecourse as a big part of his life, as his father Lord Vestey was Chairman for over two decades. He is Lord Vestey’s elder son and is Associate Director for the family business, Vestey Group. William has horses in training with Jeremy Noseda, Nicky Henderson and Charlie Longsdon.

Robert Waley-Cohen, Chairman of Cheltenham Racecourse commented: “I am delighted that William and William have agreed to join the committee at Cheltenham. William Rucker has a wealth of experience both as a racehorse owner and as a businessman and William Vestey has experience of Cheltenham as a long-term member during his father’s time as Chairman. I look forward to working with them both.”

William Vestey added: “I am thrilled to be joining the committee for Cheltenham Racecourse, having grown up with my father as Chairman. I have many happy memories of racing at Cheltenham over the years and look forward to my first season as part of the committee.”

The Cheltenham Racecourse committee is led by Robert Waley-Cohen, with support from Vice Chairman Christopher Hodgson, a director at KBIS Insurance, CEO of Talk Talk Dido Harding, Head of the Country House Department at Knight Frank Rupert Sweeting and Chief Executive of the Injured Jockeys Fund Lisa Hancock.

England’s fifth tier, the Skrill Football Conference, has announced the Press Association (PA), the UK’s leading multimedia news agency and digital content supplier, as their official and exclusive data supplier.

The agreement, which commences immediately, will run until the end of the 2015/16 season; and will see PA collect and deliver high level data from every Skrill Conference Premier game, including information on matches in the Skrill North and South divisions.

Margaret Hicks-Clarke, PA’s Head of Operations, said: “We have considerable experience both in the collection and commercial use of football data on behalf of rights holders and we look forward to a successful partnership with the Football Conference.

“Our partnership will further enhance the profile of the Football Conference within the media sector of grass roots football, while also delivering a high level data service to the market place through standalone statistics, plus PA’s industry leading graphics and datatorials.”

Brian Lee, chairman at the Football Conference, added: “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with the Press Association – a renowned and well-respected supplier of sports data to media outlets throughout the country.

“This move will increase publicity and awareness of the Football Conference’s growing brand, while satisfying the appetite of sports fans to tap into match data on a regular basis. Our partnership has been cemented already through close cooperation to produce a first class web based app which is FREE to all football followers world-wide and will supplement our current exposure to an ever increasing fan base.”

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today showed the sport’s increasing popularity with the announcement that they have received record broadcast numbers in the first quarter of the 2013 World Triathlon Series season.

“The increase in television exposure so early in the season is fantastic,” said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. “What’s more is that the numbers only reflect the first two races of the season, and we have exciting, innovative courses planned in the second half of the year that will undoubtedly attract an even bigger audience.” 

Following the ITU World Triathlon races in Auckland and San Diego, an independent analysis by REPUCOM demonstrated TV contacts, audience and broadcast time have all doubled in value for each of the races. 

In the first event alone, TV contacts reached over a billion contacts, which is twice the size of the 2012 Auckland Grand Final and six times the popularity of last year’s season start in Sydney. 

In 2012, San Diego acquired 227 million TV contacts and an audience of 6.56 million. This year, the race produced 485 million TV contacts, attracting nearly three times as many viewers, with 15.11 million having tuned in to see Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee and America’s own Gwen Jorgensen win the men’s and women’s races. 

In 2012 the World Triathlon Series reached over 5.43 billion TV contacts and 1045 hours of broadcast time. At the current rate of growth, TV figures are expected to see a six fold increase from the Series inaugural year in 2009. 

To continue building on this success, Casado explained, “Shorter distances are also attractive for television. At ITU, we are very conscious about this evolution and have included sprint distances at various races, as well as revolutionary courses such as the World Triathlon Kitzbühel, a unique mountain stage.” 

“Mixed Relay also makes for very exciting television, as the race produces constant unpredictable lead changes. We know it would add value to the Olympic broadcast schedule, which is just one of the reasons why we are campaigning to include it into the 2016 Olympic programme.” 

The spike in television numbers was made possible through commercial deals brokered by ITU partner Upsolut with 23 broadcast companies to show the WTS races live, while 25 TV partners aired ten 52-minute magazine programs in more than 160 countries. 

“I anticipate our largest increase in triathlon’s media value is yet to come this year,” Casado said. “We still have four more WTS races this year, which includes a sprint course, Mixed Relay, the world’s toughest triathlon course and the Grand Final returning to the iconic Olympic venue in Hyde Park. With all of that in store, the outlook for overall television growth is very positive.”

Professional Sports Group has announced structural changes in its golf marketing division at senior management level.

The sports marketing organisation, with a 17 year heritage in the golf industry, will say goodbye to David Silvers after 11 years and has promoted Jed Moore to become General Manager, Golf. 

“Whilst it is sad to say goodbye to David, Jed will thrive in his new role,” commented Jamie Cunningham, Founder and CEO. “We would like to thank David for his hard work and his leadership, and wish him every success in his new role. We are looking forward though to a new and exciting chapter in the golf division under Jed. The business has some great opportunities ahead and Jed has our full support in directing the golf business into a new era.” 

Professional Sports Group has forged an enviable reputation in the golf industry, running award winning international PR and Marketing campaigns for leading brands, courses and destinations – as well as creating unique B2B and B2C events. With a team of dedicated professionals and golf enthusiasts, the business is at the forefront of delivering cutting edge marketing practices on behalf of its client portfolio. 

“The department is driven by a group of passionate golf marketing experts, delivering dynamic programs for its clients. I am looking forward to the new role and adding value to both our clients and PSG’s business.” commented Moore.

Construction has begun on state-of-the-art sports facility LakePoint Sporting Community & Town Center in United States.

The more than 1, ed 200-acre development, just north of Atlanta, will feature state-of-the-art venues for more than 20 of America’s favorite sports, and 5 million square feet of mixed-use development consisting of commercial, retail and entertainment options.

The sports and entertainment complex of the future, LakePoint will stimulate the economy through job creation and tourism dollars, and with the help of some of the biggest names in professional sports, including former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox, current Braves manager Fredi González and Kansas City Royals manage Ned Yost. The project is expected to bring approximately 26,000 jobs and more than 4 million visitors each year.

“LakePoint promotes a healthier youth,” said Bobby Cox, development partner of LakePoint Sporting Community & Town Center and former Atlanta Braves Manager. “After all our youth are the future and this project will have a two-fold positive effect not only for economic stimulus, but also the physical and developmental well-being of our youth,” said Cox.

The LakePoint Sports Village will features 16 major league sized baseball fields, 14 soccer/lacrosse fields, 16 fast pitch softball and junior baseball fields, a 20 acre wake park, 2 Miracle League fields, and a 100,000 SF indoor facility for gymnastics, wrestling, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and other sports, as well as an Olympic caliber track & field training facility. LakePoint will be the largest installation of synthetic sports surfacing in the world.

LakePoint Sporting Community & Town Center will be home to three major tenants. Perfect Game, USA, the “gold standard” resource for baseball recruiting for collegiate, minor and major league scouts. LB3 Lacrosse, one of the nation’s premier organizers of Lacrosse camps, clinics and tournament travel teams, and North Atlanta Soccer Association (NASA), the largest youth soccer organizations in the Southeast.

The privately-funded LakePoint project will see its first pitch, kick and shot in 2014.

Images Now Available >>

iSportconnect, health the online sports networking community hosted an impressive panel of high-profile executives at the iSportconnect Directors’ Club London.

The event, order in closed room Question Time format, medicine delved into topics ranging from the role of social media in activating sport sponsorship, to the influence of technology in how we consume sport content.

The event, in partnership with Generate Sponsorship and Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, was hailed a huge success, with the esteemed sports business executives including Geoff Cousins, Jaguar Global Director, Sponsorships and Brand Partners; Philip Beard, Chief Executive Officer, Queens Park Rangers Football Club; Roger Draper, Chief Executive of the Lawn Tennis Association and Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker and Leyton Orient Football Club.

The role of social media was debated at length as the speakers, representing both rights holders and brands, shared their views. The general consensus was that social media, particularly twitter, is breaking down the traditional models and gives brands a level of targeting and evaluation that other platforms do not currently provide. The ability to instantly activate a sponsorship through social media was agreed with an on-going requirement to monitor how sport talent use the various platforms being crucial.

Barry Hearn commented: “The biggest education is we need to listen to more young people, we need to get more creative, we need to realise our own shortcomings and be prepared to learn.”

The debate turned to the changes in how people are consuming and engaging sport content and how the rise of Smart TVs and multi-platform viewing will revolutionise the sports industry. The panel agreed that content remains king.

Philip Beard shared his insight: “I maintain that the most important thing is to keep live events attractive enough for us to go to and then we can watch it on platforms as well.”

In addition, the attraction of short-form sports for younger audiences was discussed with the success of Rugby 7s, Power Snooker and Twenty20 cricket highlighted as good examples of extending and broadening the appeal to youth, while also encouraging participation.

Andrew Shelley, Chief Executive at World Squash Federation said: “Nobody doubt the importance of listening and learning from those at the forefront of the sports business. Combine that with the opportunity to link with others in the field and it is quite a heady mix. The iSportconnect Directors Club provides exactly that!”

Founder and CEO of iSportconnect Sree Varma, said: “The second iSportconnect Directors Club was the best yet, with an excellent panel, high profile delegates and engaging debate. We are delighted to hear the positive feedback from the attendees and believe the unique Question Time-style format is ideal for getting the best out of our speakers and ensuring an engaging session for the audience. We look forward to welcoming the sports industry to future iSportconnect events.”

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50 invitation-only attendees include:
Andrew Shelley – CEO, World Squash Federation
Jane Purdon – Director of Governance, English Premier League
Rupert Daniels – Partnership Development Director, Arsenal FC
Paul Barber – CEO, Brighton FC
David Harker – CEO, Durham Cricket Board
Keith Harris – Chairman, Seymour Pierce
Weronika Abramowicz – Head of Sponsorship, Fulham FC
Barry Webber – Commercial Director, West Ham FC
Sophie Morris – Head of Marketing, Killik
Roger Devlin – Non Exec Director, The FA
Mark Blundell – Former F1 driver
Keith Wyness – Former CEO, Everton FC & Aberdeen FC
Nick Blofeld – CEO, Bath Rugby
Zoe Ward Club – Secretary, Liverpool Football Club
Tracey Keenan – Head of Global Partnerships, Tottenham Hotspur
Giancarlo Bernini – Head of Sponsorship, Sony Mobile Communications
Michael Cole – Head of Marketing and Communications, London 2012, BT Global Services
Paul Vaughan – Former CEO, England Rugby 2015
Colin Povey – CEO, Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Andrew Hooks – Head of Sponsorship Ebay

Follow the iSportconnect Directors’ Club event with @iSportconnect and through #iSCDirectorsClub.

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Here are some links to a video and other information about the last meeting.

Directors Club a Huge Success
Directors Club Video

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