Just 2 years after filing for bankruptcy and effectively ending a 50-year partnership with the golf circuit, denture General Motors (GM) is to make a comeback as sponsor of the 2011 PGA Tour.

GM have signed a six-year deal to be the title sponsor of the World Championships at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami in March of next year through its Cadillac brand.

Cadillac marketing vice-president, sale | Don Butler said “The prominence of being associated with the PGA is the best players in the world playing at the highest level,”

“We were the standard of the world for the better part of a century and we do intend to regain that mantle.”

Cadillac is also hoping to create a new event in Detroit though the location and date are yet to be confirmed.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem was full of praise of the carmaker which has supported the sport for many years. “We are partnering with a company that has demonstrated, over a long, long period of time, a tremendous knowledge for marketing. The problems that befell this company were not about selling cars.”

With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set to add a sport to the 2020 programmes in a few days, Squash has announced their campaign has received worldwide surging social media support.

As the campaign looks to build further momentum in the lead up to the IOC presentation on the 8th September, the Squash 2020 Facebook page has now registered over 124,000 likes, a 21% increase over the last seven days, with the ‘Back the Bid’ film on YouTube receiving almost 153,000 views and @Vote4Squash Twitter account fast approaching 10,000 followers.

As the only new sport to be shortlisted for inclusion at the 2020 Olympic Games, Squash has received social media support from across the globe, including Brazil, Egypt, Columbia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Switzerland, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Malaysia – once again highlighting Squash’s global appeal and its popularity across all ages and languages.

Commenting on Squash’s online support, World Squash Federation President N Ramachandran, said: “Digital and social media is a great platform to engage and bring people together and it is fantastic to see the growing number of people from around the world supporting Squash 2020 online.

“Once again, this highlights Squash’s commitment to innovation and the sport’s growing appeal to young people as a fast, exciting and dynamic sport.

“Squash can genuinely offer something exciting and fresh to the Olympic experience and as we look to build further momentum in the lead up to the 125th IOC Session, I hope that more and more people will support our bid and help persuade the IOC to vote for Squash on 8th September.”

Squash are competing against Wrestling and a joint Baseball/Softball bid for a place at the 2020 Olympics.

Chelyabinsk, advice Russia have signed a deal with the International Judo Federation to host the 2014 World Judo Championships.

The agreement was signed by the IJF President, Mr. Marius Vizer, the Vice-President of Russian Judo Federation and President of European Judo Union, Mr. Sergey Soloveychik and the Governor of Chelyabinsk Region, Mr. Mikhail Yurevich. 

Sports retail giant, apoplectic Adidas has posted double-digit increases in profit and revenues in the third quarter, despite continuing worries about its under-performing Reebok brand.

Group revenues were positively impacted by currency rates, rising only 4% on a currency-neutral basis, but driven by double-digit increases in retail.

Sustained momentum at Adidas helped revenues in Western Europe to rise 1% currency-neutral, while strong increases for both Adidas and Reebok drove a 19% revenue surge in European emerging markets.

However, North America fell 5% as increases for Adidas and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf were more than offset by strong revenue declines at Reebok.

Similarly, Greater China revenues increased 11% and other Asian markets rose 1%, as growth for Adidas was balanced by strong sales declines at Reebok.

Meanwhile, group revenues in Latin America rose 16% in the third quarter.

By brand, third quarter sales for Adidas increased 10% and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf was up 4%, but Reebok revenues slumped 25%, hit by the non-recurrence of prior-year licence sales and negative impacts from Reebok India Company.

Nonetheless, Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer commented about the results: “These impressive financial results reflect our relentless focus on creating the industry’s most desirable brands, which we are doing through consistent product innovation, brand authentication and investment.

“We have grown the bottom line faster than the top line now for the last seven quarters, which ensures we will deliver another year of record financial results for 2012.”

FIFA’s ethics committee have formally opened proceedings to investigate Mohamed bin Hammam.

Bin Hammam, 63, was banned from all football activity for life last year after being found guilty of bribery by a FIFA ethics committee.

However, that ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on July 19 after the Qatari’s appeal was upheld on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Following the CAS ruling, Bin Hammam was provisionally suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee again and a statement released today read: “The chairman of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA ethics committee, Michael J Garcia, today formally opened investigation proceedings against Mohamed bin Hammam.

“These proceedings follow the provisional banning of Bin Hammam for 90 days, as established by the Ethics Committee on 26 July 2012 after a preliminary investigation of the case.”

The original case against Bin Hammam was opened during his challenge for FIFA presidency, meaning Sepp Blatter retained the position unchallenged.

The FA officially opened today St. George’s Park with builders Bowmer & Kirkland handing over the keys to the facility.

A small ‘handing over’ ceremony took place outside the main entrance to the St. George’s Park football and sports complex, pill where the site’s logo was also unveiled.

David Sheepshanks, Chairman of St. George’s Park, was joined by John Kirkland, Chairman of Bowmer & Kirkland, to mark the occasion.

Speaking at the event, Sheepshanks said: “This is a real red letter day for The FA and English football. Last night Spain set a new standard for world football to try and emulate. St. George’s Park is all about the future in England and investing in our development for the long-term, so that in developing world-class coaches we can inspire excellence in our players of the future.”

Kirkland added: ““This is a very proud day for us. To be a part of this historic, inspirational project by The Football Association has been a great honour.”

With the site now in the hands of The FA and key partners, Hilton and Spire Healthcare, final fit-out will now take place, before the site opens to customers later this summer.

Rugby World Cup 2015 in England will kick off in 1, order 221 days time after the IRB Council approved September 18 as the start date for Rugby’s showcase event.

The announcement is a key aspect of tournament preparation and enables tournament owners Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL), Tournament Organisers England Rugby 2015 Limited (ER 2015) and Unions to advance preparations for what is expected to be the biggest-ever Rugby World Cup, delivering a forecasted record boost to the global Game.

The decision, made at the Annual Meeting of the IRB Council in Dublin, is the result of an exhaustive and collaborative review process which culminated in the recommendation of September 18 by Tier 1 Chairmen and Chief Executives last week as the most suitable start date within the September-October Rugby World Cup window.

A number of dates were considered, with each proposal accompanied by detailed analysis and research. September 18 was selected to maximise collective benefits for Participating Unions while ensuring the best-possible sporting and financial platform for an exceptional Rugby World Cup in England that will continue to drive forward the development of the global Game.

RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Throughout this collaborative process we have set out to achieve a Rugby World Cup 2015 start date that is good for participating Unions, good for our other major international Rugby events and ultimately good for the development of the global Game.”

“September 18 achieves just that and coupled with a robust collaborative funding model, we have collectively moved to address the challenges that face our Unions during a Rugby World Cup year.”

ER 2015 Chief Executive Paul Vaughanadded: “ER 2015 welcomes confirmation of the start date for Rugby World Cup 2015 in England. Planning and preparation is on track and this milestone announcement further focuses our operational work as we look to deliver the best ever Rugby World Cup,” said Vaughan.

“For fans, players and all stakeholders, knowing that the Rugby World Cup 2015 will kick off on September 18 and the Final will be played on October 31 at England’s iconic Twickenham stadium, brings the tournament to life and really builds excitement.”

“Our priority now is to confirm the tournament venues and, as we work through it, our aim is to showcase the Game around the country, inspiring the largest possible audience as we prepare to welcome the global Rugby family and host one of the world’s largest sporting events.”

The new financial model underpins the selection of the date and will see the IRB invest an additional £50 million in the global Game from 2012-2015. This is in addition to the £150 million that the IRB is investing in Rugby between 2009 and 2012.

Lapasset added: “I am delighted that we have a unified agreement on a way forward that will promote a business partnership with our Unions over the next four years to invest in the future of Rugby and deliver a funding model that is good for the Game as a whole and will promote the long-term strength of Rugby as the sport continues to grow on all fronts.”

IRB Acting Chief Executive Robert Brophy commented: “The agreed model directly addresses the challenges faced by our Unions by delivering an equitable business outcome that provides certainty, promotes stability as well as proactively addressing the issue of reduced revenues for participating Unions during a Rugby World Cup year. This new financial model will also see our investment increase across Tier 2 and Tier 3 Unions, IRB Regions, Sevens and strategic development tournaments.”

The Minnesota Vikings will start a new media campaign on the team’s stadium efforts during tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup in Green Bay with fans watching the Vikings-Packers game on either KARE 11 or ESPN seeing television ads based on the team’s stadium advocacy video unveiled on Saturday, allergy November 5.

The Vikings media campaign is designed to drive accurate information on the stadium issue, viagra arm fans and supporters with the facts, unhealthy and remind everyone what the Vikings mean to Minnesota. Online, radio, print and television advertising elements will be included over the next several weeks, and the team will begin making community stops around the State to discuss the issue.

Lester Bagley, Vikings Vice President of Public Affairs and Stadium Development, said:  “This team is followed by over two million Minnesotans every week and is an important piece of the fabric of this State. We have a great story to tell, and it’s time for us to take the case for a new stadium more directly to the public.”

The team’s :30 and :60 television spots, along with the complete stadium advocacy video and new Arden Hills stadium images, are available for download on the team’s media-only ftp site (instructions attached) in the file titled “New Vikings Stadium.”