Arena Pernambucu owners in Recife, capsule Brazil, has “opted to alter the project” to speed up construction and get it ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup in June.

This is significant as the Confederations Cup is set to take place in June. The roof and the façade of the stadium will both see changes “in the material used and the construction process.”

The façade, which was supposed to be constructed from aluminum panels and glass, will now be made “with a plastic membrane similar to the one used at the Allianz Arena in Munich.” The stadium itself will have “a rounder format” than the original project suggested. The changes “should increase the cost” of the stadium, which already stands at R$532M ($261.6M), but the arena will now be ready for April instead of Dec. 2013.

With three years left until the Rugby World kicks off in Twickenham, the England Rugby 2015 (ER2015) organising body and tournament owners Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) are confident of creating a lasting legacy for England and the development of the sport worldwide.

Besides organising a successful tournament, both ER2015 and RWCL face the difficult challenge of providing international class facilities for visiting teams and supporters.

Brett Gosper, RWCL Managing Director, said: “Rugby World Cup Limited is confident that, as we reach this key landmark, the planning and preparation is on track and in line with previous Rugby World Cups.

“Three years to go traditionally and naturally sees a step up in planning triggered by the Pool Allocation Draw and through a strong partnership with ER 2015 we are perfectly positioned to kick on into a significant year for the delivery of what promises to be the biggest Rugby World Cup to date.

“Sport is very much at the forefront of people’s minds in Britain thanks to a phenomenal Olympic and Paralympic Games and we will learn from that experience and continue to focus on the delivery of a tournament that will be great for sports fans in Britain and great for the global Rugby family.”

ER 2015 Chairman Andy Cosslett believes the three year landmark offers the perfect opportunity to pen in the next steps for the tournamed.

“The number one priority for ER 2015 is to ensure the organisation of a first class event that meets the needs of players, coaches, spectators and the global development of the Game,” said Cosslett.

“We’ve been working very closely with tournament owners Rugby World Cup Limited and the RFU, and are confident that the groundwork is in place for an outstanding Tournament.

“We have a big year in front of us and Rugby fans around the world can look forward to the selection of the venues that will be at the very heart of this nationwide festival of Rugby and culture, the match schedule that will bring together the world’s top teams, the high-level ticketing strategy and the continuation of the global qualification process.”

Nike’s Twitter promotion to publicise its ‘Make It Count’ campaign has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The watchdog upheld a complaint that tweets from Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere, both sponsored by Nike, where not obviously identifiable as marketing communications.

Rooney, who has nearly 4.4 million followers, recently tweeted: “My resolution – to start the year as a champion, and finish it as a champion…#makeitcount gonike.me/makeitcount.”

While, Wilshere, who has recently quit Twitter, posted: “In 2012, I will come back for my club — and be ready for my country. #makeitcount.gonike.me/Makeitcount.”

While the ASA [Advertising Standards Authority] acknowledge that certain players are paid to promote brands, they state that any tweets must clearly indicate that they are an advertisement and not the player’s own thoughts.

The ASA concluded that the Nike reference was not prominent, consumers would not have already been aware of the #makeitcount campaign and that not all Twitter users would be aware of the footballers’ and their teams’ sponsorship deals with Nike.

In a statement, the ASA said: “We considered there was nothing obvious in the tweets to indicate they were Nike marketing communications.

“In the absence of such an indication, for example #ad, we considered the tweets were not obviously identifiable as Nike marketing communications and therefore concluded they breached the Committee of Advertising Practice code.”

Chinese-based BMW Masters has become part of the European Tour this year.

The event in which Rory McIlroy won the biggest first prize in golf in October, £1.24million, will again be hosted in Lake Malaren in Shanghai for the BMW Masters on October 25-28, with 78 players competing for £4.3million prize money.

“I am already looking forward to teeing off,” said McIlroy, who beat American Anthony Kim in a play-off last season.

“Thanks to the involvement of BMW (it was previously known as the Shanghai Masters) the tournament will now be one of the very best events in the world.

“That obviously makes it all the more exciting to defend my title there.”

Open champion Darren Clarke helped to launch the event during the Beijing Auto Show in the Chinese capital today, teeing off from the BMW exhibition stand using an exploding golden ball.

Clarke, en route to South Korea for this week’s Ballantine’s Championship, was the last man to win the BMW Asian Open in 2008.

The tournament will come the week before the WGC-HSBC Champions, which this year switched from Sheshan near Shanghai to Mission Hills in Shenzhen.

European Tour chief executive George O’Grady said: “We are proud of many partnerships we enjoy across the world of golf, but one of the most enduring is with BMW.

“This tournament represents the third title sponsorship on the tour in 2012 and the 45th in total over the past 23 years.

by Ismail Uddin

Rupert Murdoch owned media giant News Corp and Italian investment company Exor, who have strong ties with leading Formula One marquee Ferrari, confirmed yesterday, May 3, that they are collaborating on a possible bid to take over the sport.

CVC Partners, the championship’s parent company has insisted that it is not looking to sell, and FIA chief Bernie Ecclestone has also played down the likelihood of an agreement.

John Elkann is CEO of Exor and also chairman of Fiat, the owner of Ferrari. Exor is controlled by the Agnelli family, who also own Serie A soccer club Juventus.

In a joint statement, News Corp and Exor stated that they “are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of creating a consortium with a view to formulating a long-term plan for the development of Formula 1 in the interests of the participants and the fans”.

The statement added: “Exor and News Corp will approach minority partners and key stakeholders in the sport. There can be no certainty that this will lead to an approach to F1’s current owners.”

Last month, Ecclestone, who runs F1 on behalf of CVC, said reports that News Corporation was in talks to buy F1 were “rubbish”. However, since then, CVC has confirmed that it had received a “friendly” approach from the Exor-News Corp consortium.

A statement from CVC read: “(News Corp chairman and CEO) James Murdoch has informed us that the approach is friendly, and that they acknowledge that Formula One is privately owned by CVC and not currently for sale. Any investment in Formula One will require CVC’s agreement and will need to demonstrate that it is in the interest of the sport and its stakeholders, taken as a whole.”

The signing of an historic 10-year-contract bringing MotoGP to the new Circuit of the Americas facility in Austin, drugs Texas, from 2013 has been agreed by Dorna Sports, S.L., 3FourTexasMGP, LLC and Full Throttle Productions.

This agreement includes the three categories of the World Championship; the MotoGP class -the pinnacle of motorcycling-, Moto2 and Moto3.

The circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas is currently under construction to host the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix and this deal is coupled with that 10-year-agreement.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, S.L. said: “We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas™ to the MotoGP calendar. It’s an honour to expand our Championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing World Championship riders. We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin (Schwantz) for twenty years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the U.S. and raising our already successful worldwide profile. Now, with what Tavo Hellmund (Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions) is doing in Austin, we have realised that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The 10 year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin.”

Kevin Schwantz, Manager of 3FourTexas MGP, and LLC and the 1993 FIM MotoGP World Champion, added: “For me this is a dream come true, that the FIM MotoGP World Championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success.”

Hellmund stated: “We are extremely pleased to add the best motorcycle World Championship to our annual schedule. This is a fantastic opportunity for the State of Texas and this region and I believe it is the first time in American Motorsports history that both the cars and the motorbikes world championships are held at the same facility annually. We are very proud of becoming the United States international facility for motorsports”.

“Kevin and I have been close friends for a long time and I enjoy a great relationship with Carmelo. I respect so much what they (Dorna) and the FIM have done for MotoGP globally. It’s going to be great for the State, the product is fantastic and you never know, we may even have a reigning Texan in Ben Spies as World Champion for our first event…that would be icing on the cake.”

National Football League (NFL) franchise the San Francisco 49ers has announced a new multi-year agreement with technology company HP which will see it become presenting partner of the 49ers for the 2010 season.

49ers chief sales officer, John Vidalin, said: “We are very excited to have our first ever season presenting partner in HP. HP will have a strong brand presence integrated into the presentation of 49ers football – from training camp to the 2010 season.

“Similar to the 49ers international relevance in football, HP’s technology innovation is international in scope so we’re excited to see a partnership between a pair of iconic brands headquartered in the Bay Area.”

Senior vice president and chief marketing officer for HP, Michael Mendenhall, added: “HP is synonymous with innovation. Pairing our brand with the San Francisco 49ers, one of the most storied franchises in the NFL creates a dynamic combination that can bring together fans of both organisations.”

Emirates Airline believes the US$100 million price tag to become an official partner of football’s governing body FIFA is worth it because of the amount of exposure gained from this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

The airline signed up one of six official partners ahead of the 2006 World Cup and has since renewed that deal to run until the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

The agreement allows FIFA to be associated not only with the World Cup, but with all the FIFA events held over a four-year period.

Emirates has also spent a further $100 million on advertising and marketing to leverage its association with the World Cup.

Director of Corporate Communications at Emirates, Boutros Boutros, said: “Our aim with the sponsorship was to raise our visibility and position the airline as a global brand. This was the most cost-effective way to do that, allowing us to reach up to two billion people over the tournament.

“To get the same kind of exposure online that we get from the World Cup sponsorship, for example, would cost about  $3 billion. When viewed in that light we believe that we have done well with the sponsorship.”

Bob Nicholson has been announced as the new Vice-Chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG), abortion a new sports and entertainment company.

The new company will manage the Katz Group’s growing family of sports and entertainment assets, and operate Rogers Place, the new home of the Edmonton Oilers.

Mr. Nicholson recently retired as President and CEO of Hockey Canada and will assume his new role following a brief transition period. He will continue to serve as Vice-President of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

In his role as Vice-Chairman, Mr. Nicholson will work closely with Daryl Katz, Kevin Lowe and Patrick LaForge to expand the group’s sports and entertainment offerings, deliver outstanding fan experiences, secure major new sponsorships and events, and operate Rogers Place. Currently under construction, Rogers Place will be North America’s leading sports and entertainment venue when it opens its doors in September 2016. Mr. Nicholson will also serve as an Alternate Governor for the Edmonton Oilers on the NHL Board of Governors.

Kevin Lowe has been named Vice-Chairman of the new organization, and will continue to play a leadership role with the organization’s Hockey Operations. Patrick LaForge has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of OEG and will be responsible for the group’s business operations.

“Bob Nicholson is an exceptional talent with a world-class reputation and deep relationships across the hockey world, from junior player development to world-scale events and large corporate sponsors,” said Daryl Katz. “He has been an innovator in driving new sport-based revenue models and we feel very fortunate he has chosen to move to Edmonton and become part of our team as we build a leading Canadian sports and entertainment company.”

“This was an opportunity for me to stay connected to the game I love, work with a hugely promising franchise and be part of an organization that fully understands the power of sports and entertainment to build brands, strengthen communities and inspire young people to excellence,” said Mr. Nicholson. “I am very excited to be joining Daryl, Patrick, Kevin and the rest of the team, and look forward to saying more about our plans once I get my feet on the ground.”

In addition to the Edmonton Oilers, OEG owns the 2014 Memorial Cup Champion Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL), the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) and the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), as well as Aquila Productions, an award-winning producer of film and television, live events and broadcasts, and corporate and branded messaging services.

Channel One in Russia, symptoms which will air the Sochi 2014 Olympics, viagra has selected Elemental Technologies, the leading supplier of video solutions for multiscreen content delivery, to stream the Games.

In a system delivered by Open Technologies, one of the country’s leading IT suppliers, Elemental systems will process nine channels of Channel One Olympics programming for delivery of high-quality video over IP networks to multiple devices.

Channel One is Russia’s largest broadcaster and the primary content distributor for the host country of the Games. Broadcasting across Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Channel One offers programming free of charge to an estimated 250 million viewers around the clock, 365 days a year.

During the Games, solutions from Elemental will stream Channel One live and time-shifted TV content in 12 Adobe HDS H.264 profiles to set-top box, PC, iPhone, Android, tablet and smart TV devices.

“Channel One is a premier broadcaster and acknowledged technology leader,” said John Nemeth, VP sales EMEA for Elemental. “We are honored to support its work in providing rich multiscreen experiences during the premier event in winter sports and for its ongoing programming requirements.”