Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) have employed Sports Revolution to become the exclusive in-stadia advertising partner of Twickenham. 

Twickenham, the home of England rugby, has been kitted out with a new LED fan-engagement and advertising system that stretches one kilometre around the bowl at pitch side and middle-tier levels.

Twickenham’s pitch-side LED advertising boards have been replaced and reconfigured with taller and higher definition units.

The new technology is debuting at the England’s ongoing 2012 QBE Internationals at Twickenham Stadium between England, Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

Vange Kourentis, Sports Revolution’s group commercial director, said: “We are thrilled to be part of these exciting changes to Twickenham Stadium and to partner with the RFU. This is an important development in ensuring that fans are kept at the heart of the game.

“We believe that understanding the fan and improving the match-day experience is key to building successful partnerships between rights holders, sponsors and fans.”

Sophie Goldschmidt, the RFU’s chief commercial officer, added: “Our work with Sports Revolution is the first stage in establishing Twickenham Stadium as one of the most digitally advanced rugby grounds in Europe. We choose our partners carefully and look for those who offer insight and understanding of what we can do to continually improve the fans’ overall experience.

“The new LED system has been well received during the first two QBE Internationals and we look forward to implementing the next phase to ensure Twickenham’s long-standing status as a cutting-edge stadium.”

World soccer governing body, ed FIFA have announced the 11 cities which will host matches during the 2018 World Cup, anabolics set to be staged in Russia.

The tournament wil comprise of 64 matches and will be staged at 12 different stadiums with Moscow being the only city with two venues selected – those of Luzhniki, and which hosted the 2008 Champions League final, and Spartak.

Sochi, who will stage the 2014 Winter Olympics, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don and Ekaterinburg will also host matches. Yaroslavl and Krasnodar missed out on being named host cities after putting in bids.

“The announcement of the host cities is the first concrete step taken in the delivery of the 2018 FIFA World Cup,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

“They make a decisive contribution to the success of the most popular sporting event. We look forward to a productive partnership on our road to the first FIFA World Cup in Eastern Europe.

“We are very pleased with the pace of the 2018 LOC (Local Organising Committee) from day one when they were awarded the hosting of the event in December 2010. Their achievements show their enthusiasm and commitment.”

Vitaly Mutko, Russian minister of sport and chairman of the Russia 2018 LOC, said: “The final selection of the 2018 FIFA World Cup host cities is an important milestone en route to hosting the tournament in 2018.

“This decision launches the full-scale preparation for the FIFA World Cup in the 11 host cities across the country.”

Russia beat England and joint bids from Holland/Belgium and Spain/Portugal in December 2010 for the right to host the World Cup.

The 2012 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher announced that his league has signed a four year contract extension with Ford Field as the destination for the MAC Championship Game through the 2015 season.

The second longest running college football title game in America, this year’s championship will be held on Friday, November 30 on ESPN2, and will mark the ninth time the title game will be held at Ford Field. Revealed to coaches and a pair of player representatives from each school at the league’s official event to prepare for the college football season, the contract extension assures that one of the nation’s most underrated conference championships will stay right in Detroit.

Lions and Ford Field president Tom Lewand said: “Having hosted numerous NCAA sporting events over the past decade, Ford Field is proud to have been home to the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game since 2004. We’re thrilled to continue this tremendous partnership with the MAC, its teams and their fans.”

Premiership Rugby representatives have landed in the United States of America to play a key role in the development and promotion of rugby in the country.

En route the Aviva Premiership Rugby Trophy visited the cockpit of the British Airways plane. British Airways has supported the visit by supplying flights from their Olympic Flight Bursary Programme.

12 coaches, one from each of the Premiership Rugby clubs, have travelled to New York along with four members of Premiership Rugby’s Community Team to help promote the game. The visit follows Premiership Rugby’s successful trip to Brazil in March to help in the development of rugby in South America.

The core values of rugby will be used by coaches in their work with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in New York to help improve self-esteem, community cohesion and other social outcomes.

The visit runs from 28th May to 2nd June and involves the following Premiership Rugby coaches: Caryl Thomas from Bath Rugby, Marc Dibble from Exeter Chiefs, David Barley from Gloucester Rugby, Thomas Williams from Harlequins, Christophe Ridley from Leicester Tigers, Michael Crump from London Irish, Ian Isham from London Wasps, Gavin Beasley from Newcastle Falcons, Benjamin Mann from Northampton Saints, Richard Spencer from Sale Sharks, Max Malkin from Saracens and Tamara Taylor from Worcester Warriors, alongside Wayne Morris, Sophie Hartley, Helen Clayton and Scott Watson from Premiership Rugby’s Community Department.

On Thursday 31st May Premiership Rugby coaches will help launch the Great Campaign Sports Festival, a touch tournament in Central Park, and then will be attending an end-of-season awards event in Harlem with youngsters’ friends and family.

On Friday 1st June, the Public School Athletics League High School Rugby 7s Final will be taking place in New York. During the week leading up to the Final and for the Final itself, two Premiership Rugby coaches and one Play Rugby USA coach will be assigned to mentor each school.

On Saturday 2nd June, Premiership Rugby will be running fan engagement fitness testing sessions in the fans village at the 2012 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia, where the Aviva Premiership Rugby trophy will also be on display.

Premiership Rugby’s Community Department has developed a number of ground-breaking initiatives including the Aviva Premiership Rugby Schools Programme, the award winning MBNA Tackling Numbers project and the award winning and innovative social inclusion programme Hitz, as well as the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Cup, and ESPN Premiership Rugby Masterclasses.

Wayne Morris, Head of Community at Premiership Rugby, said “Each season Premiership Rugby and its clubs invest more than £3 million in a variety of community programmes which aim to grow grassroots participation and tackle core social issues. In the last year alone, Premiership Rugby clubs delivered 150,000 man-hours of community programming to more than 240,000 participants. Premiership Rugby also provides 600 professional players, each a strong role model within their communities, who are involved in supporting the schemes. Our programmes prove that we are a world leader when it comes to our community initiatives, and I’m delighted we have been given the chance to come to the USA to help promote and grow the game.”

Mark Griffin, President of Play Rugby USA (PRUSA), said: “Play Rugby USA is one of the foremost Rugby-based youth development programs in the world. The PRUSA Academy aspires to be the pinnacle of PRUSA’s player development efforts for aspiring and talented young athletes. Partnering with Premiership Rugby and the world’s most competitive domestic rugby competition not only provides a strong endorsement of our Academy’s efforts but more importantly an opportunity for our players and coaches to develop with the support of a World Class partner.”

Dan Lyle, Executive Vice President of USA Sevens Rugby and a former Premiership Rugby player, said: “At the USA Collegiate Rugby Championship Finals we marry up development and aspirational opportunities for players and coaches. Premiership Rugby runs the top club competition globally and the partnership continues our efforts of partnering with World Class groups.”

Ambush marketers are rejoicing after it was confirmed boats operating in and around the London 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford will be exempt from advertising restrictions during this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Boats which usually operate in the zone, transporting members of the public, can continue to do so and display advertising from brands who are not official Games sponsors, even though they will be seen by a potential television audience of several billion.

Exclusion zones were published in November by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to prevent other brands advertising around the Olympic Park.

A spokesman for the ODA told insidethegames that the class B exemption would apply to these boats and similar vehicles.

“Moving vehicles used primarily to carry paying passengers are exempt from the restrictions designed to stop unauthorised ‘ambush marketing’ advertising during the Games,” he said.

“It will be up to enforcement officers to decide if this is really their purpose, or if they are simply for advertising.

“Should that be judged to be the case action may be taken to stop breaches of the rules.”

One of the companies who operate boats on the canals in and around the Olympic Park, Water Chariots, are hoping to take advantage of the rulings.

Their director of client services, James Sawyer, told Event Magazine: “We’ve had quite a few people come and look at the boats.

“The branding is an opportunity we’re offering up, and there’s some interest in the marketplace for it as you can imagine.

“It’s a creative solution to the restrictions.”

Such creativity will likely not be taken too kindly by the Olympics sponsors, whose exemption is meant for boats and brands ordinarily displayed in the area.

New sponsors coming on board to take advantage of the situation would represent a grey area and it is possible they could be seen as a breach of the restrictions.

iSportconnect is pleased to announce it has launched a new digital platform, iSportconnect TV that will feature interviews, video podcasts and sports business discussions.

iSportconnect will endeavour to interview high profile personnel in connection with latest news and prolonged stories. The first example of this is a Podcast by Daniel Geey titled ‘Daniel Geey Discusses ECJ Broadcasting Ruling.’ Geey is a leading solicitor at Field Fisher Waterhouse, and an expert in football broadcasting law.

Also iSportconnect will broadcast iSportconnect Directors club, networking event debates live from London, Munich, Barcelona, Singapore and various locations in US.

The new platform is just another example of iSportconnect’s recent expansion with offices recently opened in Germany and United States.

Keep logging on to iSportconnect for more exciting news.

In an attempt to make the sport more efficient and exciting, Formula One cars could undergo further dramatic redesigns ahead of the 2013 season.

The changes will include:

* Downsizing of the cars wings;

* Specially-designed underfloors to generate downward force differently (the underfloor of the cars will be shaped along its length to generate downforce for the first time since the 1982 season – currently cars have bottoms that are flat between the wheels);

* A major reduction in the total amount of downward force;

* The average proportion of a lap that a driver is able to spend on full throttle to be cut from 70% in 2010 to 50% in 2013;

* Tyres will remain large and chunky to ensure cornering speeds remain high.

The adaptations will make the cars slightly slower meaning passing may be easier though the general driving should be more challenging. The cars are set to use 35 per cent less fuel in a bid to promote environmentally friendly changes.

Patrick Head and Rory Byrne have produced the redesign plans which, if implemented, would highlight the biggest design changes since 1983. The draft regulations requested by the FIA will be submitted to the F1 teams this week ahead of the Technical Working Group’s (TWG) meeting in January which scopes out rule changes.

The fundamental philosophy of the changes is set to remain intact though the design heads of each team represented by the TWG will suggest any necessary changes to the proposal.

Head, director of engineering for Williams, and Byrne, a former chief designer for Ferrari, have been partly responsible for the design of 17 constructors’ title winning cars for Williams, Benetton and Ferrari.

A financial advisory partnership has been agreed by HSBC Personal Bank to support IMG’s stellar sports division, which includes the likes of Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie.

The bank will now have the opportunity to offer its clients the opportunity to play alongside some of the world’s top golf professionals in pro-am tournaments whilst they also have a commitment to provide advisory services to the players.

The bank is believed to be funding a rise in the prize money for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship to US$2.7m, up from $500,000.

HSBC has strong ties in golf having agreed a deal earlier in the year with The Open Championship to become the tournaments official banking partner. The bank also sponsors IMG’s World Golf Championships in Shanghai as well as several golf days in Malaysia and Singapore.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to approve recommendations for the creation of a Test league and play-off system designed to make matches more competitive.

The plan is that results from international Test series will be used to form an official table, with the top four teams going head-to-head to decide a Test champion.

It is thought the first play-off will take place in England in 2013 if the plans are approved.

Following a two-day meeting of the ICC chief executive’s committee (CEC) in Cape Town this week, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “I am really excited by what the CEC has proposed. Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with.

“Achieving balance and unanimous agreement is not easy but it is a very important piece of work that requires a strategic response.

“We now have the potential to follow international cricket that is even more exciting.”

Crowds at Test matches have dropped in many countries since the introduction of the Twenty20 format of the game. The ICC has subsequently been looking for ways to generate renewed interest in the traditional format of the game.