sale helvetica, generic sans-serif;”>Manchester United’s shirt sponsor, treat Aon Corporation, has created a new and innovative global employee and client engagement initiative called Pass It On.

Pass It On combines elements of employee engagement, community service and client partnerships to demonstrate to the world how Aon’s 60,000 colleagues in over 120 countries focus every day on empowering results for their clients and in their communities.

Three Aon regional route teams – Asia Pacific; the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Asia – will compete for points as they pass United footballs along three transcontinental routes covering approximately 180,000 kilometres, nearly four-and-a-half times the Earth’s circumference.

The footballs will travel to 63 countries and stop at 195 Aon offices, as well as other global points of interest. In Africa alone, the balls will embark on a mobile vehicle tour, moving from Cape Town to Cairo, visiting 47 Aon offices and participating in various charity and client events along the way.

All parties will converge on London in June 2012, where they will be auctioned off for charity at Aon’s 25th Anniversary Gala Celebration at Lloyd’s of London.

Leading sportwear brand NIKE, Inc. have announced that Michelle A. Peluso has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors.

Peluso, 42, is Chief Executive Officer of online shopping destination Gilt. “Michelle’s leadership experience in marketing, branding, innovation and digital media for global brands makes her an outstanding addition to our board,” said Philip H. Knight, NIKE co-founder and chairman. “We look forward to her contributions to expand NIKE’s position as the world’s leading athletic brand and industry innovator.”

Peluso served on the Gilt board of directors until her appointment as Chief Executive Officer last year. Prior to joining Gilt, she served as Global Consumer Chief Marketing and Internet Officer of Citigroup Inc. from 2009 to 2013; and from 2002 to 2009, she held senior management positions at Travelocity.com LP, being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2003, and President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004. 

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games organisers have announced they have selected Infostrada Sports to deliver and run the official Games News Service.

The firm will supply the world’s media with accurate results, bronchi historical data and athlete biographies as well as information on previous Commonwealth Games via a Games Information System to be known as ‘GamesINFO’.

It will put more than 4,500 athlete biographies and the results and statistics of more than 80 years of Commonwealth Games history, as well as recent results on major competitions, at the fingertips of the anticipated 4,000 accredited broadcast and print media reporting on the Games.

In total Infostrada Sports will employ more than 75 media and journalism professionals during the Games and also recruit and train volunteers in support to deliver the huge volume of content that will be created during competition.

Infostrada Sports has significant experience in running such major sport Event News Services, having done so at the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 and Beijing Olympic Games 2008. Infostrada Sport also provided all the biographies and background data for Manchester Commonwealth Games 2002.

Ty Speer, Deputy Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014, said: “The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will create a myriad of memorable moments, from records being broken to the highs and lows of athletes involved in world-class competition. A Games News Service is an essential tool for those reporting on the Games to have the best and most accurate information at their fingertips.

“Infostrada as a strong track record of delivering a high standard of service at previous Commonwealth and Olympic Games and I’m delighted to have them on board.” 

Danny Menken, CEO of Infostrada Sports, added: “We are proud to have been selected by Glasgow 2014, one of the premium events on the sporting calendar, and it will be our third involvement at a Commonwealth Games. We believe we have the skills, expertise and experience to deliver first class content for the Games next year and are excited for the task ahead.”

The International Rowing Federation (FISA) has opted against inclusion into the Baku 2015 European Games after it cited logistical problems and improper infrastructure as stumbling blocks.

FISA had visited Baku in Azerbaijan from 24 to 27 June 2013 to see if the venues could facilitate the sport. The first embarked on the city of Mingechevir, ailment a well-known international training location in the centre of the country which offers 17 kilometers of training water on the Kur river just below the large Lake Mingechevir dam. But found too many venue obstacles.

“While the facilities at the training centre in Mingechevir have been recently completely renovated and are world-class, generic several obstacles prevent it from being offered as a possible venue including the flow in the river, insufficient accommodation and its position for international access, 300 kilometres from Baku,” they said in a statement.

The second possible location was Lake Khojahasan on the western edge of Baku. It is a four kilometre long lake very near the city centre, in a newly unincorporated area. This was also disregarded as the infrastructure required would not be in place until after the Games in 2015.

The statement added: “The government of Azerbaijan has confirmed that there is a well-advanced city development plan for this district of Baku, however, it will not be possible to finish the needed infrastructure development in time for the June 2015 date of the Games. The government is very positive about the possibility of including rowing and water sports on this lake for the future.

“Therefore, after extensive investigation and consultation, unfortunately, FISA and the EOC have jointly come to the conclusion that rowing will not be on the programme of the 2015 European Games. However there are good prospects for 2019.”

The Tokyo Marathon will join their prestigious World Marathon Majors (WMM) race series from February 2013, herbal becoming the series’ first Asian race.

Tokyo will join the lineup of Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City.

It will take place on February 24, making it the first race in the 2013 – 2014 World Marathon Majors scoring period

The higher status benefit the Tokyo 2020 bid to host the summer Olympics because the marathon route will have a higher significance as part of the WMM circuit.

Tad Hayano, Tokyo Marathon Foundation Race Director, said: “Tokyo is honoured to join the World Marathon Majors.

“As the first marathon from Asia, we will continuously make an effort to expand the brand of the WMM in Asia. Likewise, as the one of the World Marathon Majors, we believe that the Tokyo Marathon can make an even more positive contribution to the world marathon scene by working with our new partners.”

The World Marathon Majors was founded in January 2006 by the Boston, Virgin London, BMW Berlin, Bank of America Chicago, and ING New York City marathons and offers a US$1million prize that is split between the best male and female marathoners in the world.

Tom Grilk, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association and Boston Marathon, said in a statement with the WMM: “We at World Marathon Majors are delighted to have Tokyo join our group. The Japanese have a magnificent history and tradition in the marathon, and the Japanese people have long embraced the marathon and distance running in general. They are among the finest fans in the world for our sport.”

The first Tokyo marathon was held in 2007 and attracted 95,044 applicants and 30,870 participants. Since then the race has grown to more tan 300,000 applicants and around 36,000 runners.{jcomments on}

 

The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) and the Association of Chief Executives for Sport (ACES) announced today a year-long partnership to elevate the education and professionalism of the business of sports, cough sporting events and sports management.

As part of the new partnership both entities will focus on the following initiatives, price as well as others, pills over the next year: Standardization of language and format in requests for proposal, creation of multisport events to be held in member cities and a virtual marketplace allowing ACES members to present their event needs without travelling to a meeting.

“We are very excited about this strategic relationship with ACES on behalf of our members and the industry,” said Don Schumacher, executive director of the NASC. “We feel our combined experience in the business of sports will be of benefit to the entire industry.”

“This agreement forms a partnership to improve the knowledge, professionalism and industry information sharing, along with best practices of each organization,” said Stephen Ducoff, president and CEO of ACES.

Founded in 1992, the NASC is the resource for the sports event industry and represents nearly 600 organizations, including 300 cities within the sports event industry across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and more than 125 event owners.

FIFA have finally published their controvesial ISL documents confirming its former president Joao Havelange and executive committee member Ricardo Teixeira received millions of dollars in a World Cup kickbacks.

The report, published by FIFA on Wednesday, stated that Havelange was paid at least 1.5 million Swiss francs and Teixeira at least 12.74 million Swiss francs ($12.74m), and that the pair may have received as much as 21.9 million Swiss francs ($21.9m) million).

Havelange, 96, served as FIFA president between 1974 and 1998, and was also part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for almost four decades. Former Brazilian Football Confederation president Teixeira, 65, left the FIFA Executive Committee earlier this year.

The Brazilian duo are the only FIFA officials named in the report, with the identities of other members of the governing body kept anonymous.

The revelations come after Switzerland’s Supreme Court ruled that the details of the case should be made available to the media.

The Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre (HPC) was officially opened today by Deputy Prime Minister, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Federal Member for Richmond, Hon Justine Elliot.

The centre, located in Casaurina in northern New South Wales, is reported to have cost between $(AU)2million and $(AU)4million of goverment funds and is the world’s first facility dedicated to the development of elite surfers and coaches.

The centre of excellence will be equipped by Harvey Norman and will include state-of-the-art education facilities, equipment and accommodation.

Treasure Swan said: “Having spent my summers surfing the breaks along this part of the coast, it’s a huge pleasure for me to be here with some of our all-time surfing legends as well as Justine Elliot to open this fantastic facility,” Treasurer Swan said.

“While funded by the Federal Labor Government, it’s also taken the vision and foresight of Surfing Australia to make this happen.

“A world first, it brings a new wave of opportunities for not only Australian surfing but also for the local economy of northern New South Wales.”

Justine Elliot believes the facility will provide training and educational and economic benfits for the local community.

“Australia is one of the most successful surfing nations and investments like this will help maintain that legacy,” she said.

Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark lauded the day as very significant.

“This is a monumental day for Surfing Australia and for our sport,” Stark said. “The new Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre will provide the edge and competitive advantage that our athletes in Australia need to be able to compete on the world stage.”{jcomments on}

Spanish soccer giants FC Barcelona has reportedly acquired Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor as it’s brand ambassador for India as it looks to compete in a populated market dominated by English Premier League clubs.

According to the india based Economic Times the deal will be officially announced next month and will involve the actor promoting the club in India.

Kapoor said: “It is a huge fan moment for me. To be associated with a team that boasts of names like Messi and Xavi is just awesome. My role is to do my bit as a Barca fan. In fact, I was too tongue-tied, when Messi spoke to me.”

The Catalans also plan to tie up with brands that Kapoor endorses – Pepsi, Tata DoCoMo, Panasonic, Nissan, John Players and Hero Moto-Corp, the report added.

The European champions are entering a market that already includes English teams like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea who are also looking for an India impact, aimed at profiting from the growing interest in the sport in the country.

FCB had recently tied up with Delhi-based Conscient Football to launch the FC Barcelone Soccer Camps, a talent-scouting project that is scheduled to kick off in January next year in the National Capital region.