iSportconnect to Launch London 2012 Networking Tool

iSportconnect, the world’s leading sports business networking platform, is excited to announce the London 2012 Olympics Networking Tool will be live as of the 20th June.

Following on from the Euro 2012 Networking Tool, which allowed members to schedule meetings with others attending the event, as well as keep up-to-date with the latest news and discussions, iSportconnect will be launching the London Olympics very own Networking Tool for this global event attracting millions of people worldwide.

Will you be attending any of the events at the London 2012 Olympics?
Want to see who else is and schedule a meeting with them?
Look no further than iSportconnect!

As of the 20th June, iSportconnect members will be able to utilise the London 2012 Networking Tool by logging on to dev.isportconnect.com/london2012

iSportconnect’s CEO Sree Varma said “The London Olympics is such a unique event that is bringing excitement across the country. The amount of business that can be made at these events is incredible and we are certainly giving people that platform.”

Sponsorship opportunities are available for this Networking Tool. For More information contactmark.thomas@isportconnect.com

Purdue University Athletics Partner with Family Express

Purdue University Athletics and its multimedia rights holder, Purdue Sports Properties, have announced a multi–year sports marketing relationship with Valparaiso–based Family Express.

Effective with the upcoming fall football season, the Purdue–Family Express partnership will center on various social media promotions and contests throughout both football and basketball seasons. Specifically, Purdue fans have the opportunity to win free gas for a year at select football and basketball games and can download the Family Express mobile app to monitor gas prices at certain locations.

“This partnership is a great fit for both Purdue University and Family Express, as both institutions are recognized for their innovation and leadership,” said Morgan Burke, Purdue’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Family Express operates retail gasoline and convenience stores throughout Northwest and North Central Indiana.

PGA Tour Saves Canadian Tour with Loan

The PGA Tour have bailed out the Canadian Tour by loaning the golf organisation money, discount assistance in tournament development and much needed sponsorship.

“Understanding its current financial issues, for sale the PGA Tour has agreed to lend support to the Canadian Tour in 2012, medic ” said Ed Moorhouse, the PGA Tour’s co-chief operating officer. “Our goal is to help lend stability to the Canadian Tour, which we believe plays an important role in professional golf and has proven to be a valuable system for developing players over the years.

“We will assess the situation with the Canadian Tour during the course of the coming year to determine what level of PGA Tour support should be provided moving forward.”

The Canadian Tour has been a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours since 2009.

Canadian Tour Commissioner Rick Janes said: “Whether this leads to more direct involvement by the PGA Tour beyond 2012 will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to strengthen and grow the Canadian Tour across Canada from coast to coast. In the meantime, it is a great opportunity to work with the pre-eminent brand in golf and we can only benefit from that experience.”

Ecclestone: Crown Prince to Decide on Bahrain F1 by Tomorrow

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the decision as to whether it is safe to stage the opening Grand Prix race of the season in Bahrain will be left to the country’s crown prince. 

Fears have been mounting rapidly over the safety of drivers, teams and spectators alike as the country is currently in the middle of large-scale protests that have seen six people killed after police fired live rounds at protesters demanding reform.

Human rights protesters are believed to have targeted the high profile event as a way of getting more exposure to their cause.

However, according to media reports, Ecclestone has said that crown prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifah was in the best position to make the call having stated: “He will decide whether it’s safe for us to be there, I’ve no idea. I’m not there, so I don’t know.” 

Ecclestone said a decision on whether the race on 13 March could go ahead would be made on Tuesday, February 22.

Holding the race on that date in another location has been ruled out as there would not be enough time for alternative organisers to make the necessary arrangements, but Ecclestone confirmed that the Bahrain race could be moved to another date later in the year.

Tissot Extend Contract as MotoGP Timekeeper

Dorna Sports have extended their long-standing partnership with Swiss watchmaker Tissot as the Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of MotoGP. The partnership began over 10 years ago with the renewal seeing Tissot continue as the official timing partner of the FIM’s flagship motorcycle racing championship.

Today, for sale alongside its partnership with MotoGP Tissot has a wide sporting sponsorship portfolio. The company is also the Official Timekeeper of the World Championships of Basketball (FIBA), Cycling (UCI), Ice Hockey (IIHF) and Fencing (FIE).

Commenting on the news, Francois Thiébaud, President of Tissot said: “At Tissot, we strive to produce top quality products for our clients all over the world. MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing and, hence, is a perfect match for our brand. We look forward to our continued work together in the future.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports commented: “At Dorna Sports, we are extremely proud of MotoGP’s long and productive relationship with Tissot. Their long-standing involvement with the world’s premier motorcycling championship showcases their dedication to precision and innovation, whilst also allowing the sport, the athletes and the fans to benefit from their years of top level sports timekeeping expertise.”

BCCI serves IPL Kochi 30-day notice

ampoule helvetica,sans-serif;”>IPL Kochi was on Wednesday served with a termination notice by the BCCI, giving the franchise a time period of 30 days to resolve “infighting”, failing which their IPL contract will be terminated on the 31st day.

“The Governing Council received replies from two parties, the Rendezvous group and the other co-owners, and they both felt that the dispute still exists,” BCCI President Shashank Manohar told reporters after the meeting.

With this decision, Kochi may become the third team after Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab to face the axe. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals were ousted earlier this month due to several violations of their contract.

Fuse Sport Appoints Naomi Hall as Senior Account Director

Fuse Sport + Entertainment, part of the Omnicom Media Group, has appointed Naomi Hall as Senior Account Director.

The agency, which last month won the Sponsorship Agency of the Year title at the UK Sponsorship Awards, is the fastest growing agency of its kind in the country and now has over 65 employees at its London HQ.

Hall has a wide range of experience within the marketing and media sectors.  From 2005 to 2011 she was based in London as a key member of the organisational team for Benchmark Sport working specifically on the Sport Industry Awards and then for Carat Sponsorship working on accounts including GM, Luxxotica, adidas, Shop Direct, Beiersdorf and J&J.

For the past 2½ years she has been based in New York where she was Senior Partnerships Manager for The Entertainment & Sports Partnerships (ESP) consultancy within GroupM, the world’s leading network of media agencies which includes, Maxus, MEC, MediaCom and Mindshare.  Her clients there included Harman Kardon, Chevron and Texaco. At Fuse, her role will involve working with clients such as Google, Bentley and other new business projects.

Commenting on the appointment, Mark Bullingham, Managing Director of Fuse Sport + Entertainment said, “We are delighted to welcome Naomi to the growing Fuse team.  This is a key period for the agency and having just secured some major new business wins with some top brands our priority is to secure top people, such as Naomi, to deliver outstanding results for these clients”.

Fuse has also made two other significant appointments this month. James English, Account Director, joins from TEAM Marketing. He will be working on Nissan’s sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League. Also Michaela Bilton, Senior Account Manager joins from News International to work on the John Lewis and Virgin Media accounts.

Leeds United Renews Advanced Ticketing Partnership

English Championship club Leeds United has announced an extension with Advanced Ticketing to use its commerce platform, cough TALENT Sport, cheap in a new multi-year agreement.

The club has plans to utilise the TALENT software, doctor which provides a personalised experience for fans when purchasing tickets, in new areas from the New Year. 

Katie Holmes, Head of Ticketing at LUFC, comments: “The Advanced Ticketing team has become one of the club’s most strategic partners. Since using TALENT Sport, we have become renowned for the excellent ticketing experience we offer to fans. Our single biggest achievement has been providing supporters with a superb online experience. In the last year alone, this has resulted in a 31% increase on the online transaction volume, year-on-year, of   match-day ticket sales. This has significantly reduced administration for the ticketing team, allowing us to concentrate on proactive ideas to drive fan loyalty and reach out to new audiences to grow our supporter base.” 

Mark Dewell, Managing Director at Advanced Ticketing, added: “This new contract demonstrates Leeds United’s commitment to the TALENT product and is a testament to the success of the work we have achieved together. We have ensured that TALENT has delivered commercial value to the club whilst enhancing the ticket purchasing experience for fans. Leeds United is a great club to work with. It has ambitious plans for the next few years and we look forward to being involved in these developments.”

Premier Partnerships Selected to Find Naming Rights Sponsors for Portland Trail Blazers’ Rose Garden

The Portland Trail Blazers have partnered with Premier Partnerships, a sports sales and advisory group, to target possible companies that would be interested in purchasing the naming rights for the Rose Garden.

Premier specializes in the development and execution of customized commercial sales strategies for top tier facilities, and are an industry leader in highly specialized naming rights sales. Their naming rights client portfolio has included properties from all of the major sports leagues, including some of the most visible sports facilities in the country. They have also been recognized as Sports Business Journal’s Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services.

“Finding a naming rights partner for the Rose Garden is one of our priorities entering the new calendar year. It’s a critical partnership for us that will have a long-term impact on our franchise,” said Trail Blazers President and CEO Chris McGowan. “Working with Premier will bolster our search process and extend our reach. We’re confident that we will find a partner that the city of Portland and the Trail Blazers brand can proudly associate with.”

Premier’s naming rights successes for sports venues include the Oakland A’s and Raiders’ O.co Coliseum, the Philadelphia Union’s PPL Park, San Diego State University’s Viejas Arena and (former) Pizza Hut Park in Dallas, TX. Premier also secured the naming rights of Dolby Theatre (home of the Academy Awards) and TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s Chinese Theatre).

“We’re honored to join forces with the Portland Trail Blazers in their naming rights search,” said Premier Partnerships CEO Randy Bernstein. “We will leave no stone unturned, both domestically and internationally, to find the best naming rights partner for the Rose Garden and the city of Portland.”

FIFA Drops Mohamed Bin Hammam Bribery Charges

FIFA will not pursue fresh bribery charges against Mohamed Bin Hammam, the former president of the Asian Football Confederation.

Bin Hammam was accused of attempting to bribe Caribbean officials during his campaign to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency.

However, an investigation into the allegations has failed to uncover any new evidence and FIFA’s chief ethics investigator Michael J Garcia has decided to close the case.

The report states: “This investigation focused on events that took place at the Caribbean Football Union meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in May 2011.

“With respect to the events at the CFU conference, the investigation uncovered no new material proof beyond the substantial evidence presented during the proceedings that culminated with the CAS decision vacating Mr Bin Hammam’s ban.

“Accordingly, the Investigatory Chamber has closed this matter consistent with the CAS Panel’s guidance regarding newly discovered evidence.”

Earlier this year the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a lifetime ban imposed on Bin Hammam by FIFA.

A CAS three-man panel voted 2-1 in Bin Hammam’s favour but added that is behaviour was “not of the highest ethical standard” and that “it is more likely than not” that he was the source of cash brought into Trinidad and Tobago and distributed by former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.

He remains provisionally suspended over allegations of financial mismanagement of the AFC but his legal team this week launched a challenge to that suspension in the Swiss courts.