The Organising Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Sebrae (Brazilian Micro and Small Enterprises Support Service) signed an agreement on the technical cooperation for the development of micro and small enterprises all over Brazil.

The “Sebrae on the podium” project is aimed at qualifying potential Rio 2016 suppliers to meet the event’s demands while contributing to boosting Brazilian supply chains in a sustainable way.

A unique growth opportunity for companies of all sizes, sale the Rio 2016 Games require a vast range of products and services, from various domains, creating business opportunities before, during and after the event. In order to help Brazilian enterprises qualify and achieve new levels of competitiveness, while maximising the Committee’s contract possibilities in the market, Rio 2016 structured a series of actions, such as the partnership with Sebrae, which will be developed over the coming years.

“We are committed to helping Brazilian enterprises on their path to meet the high standards of the Olympic and Paralympic demands. Technical excellence and transparency, together with concern for sustainability in all the stages of our project, are the basic principles that guide our planning for the procurement of goods and services. The partnership with Sebrae is fundamental in order to ensure we all follow the same path”, said Sidney Levy, Rio 2016 Chief Executive Officer.

Sebrae will work with potential suppliers to develop micro and small businesses to supply goods and services directly to the Organising Committee or to companies appointed by Rio 2016 for major contracts. The latter will be done via rounds of meetings between Sebrae, the Organising Committee, the leading contractor and potential subcontractors.

The initial categories will be printing services, laundry, uniforms and housing modules, among others that will be prioritised according to the Rio 2016purchases schedule and sustainability requirements.

“The technical cooperation agreement between Rio 2016 and Sebrae will be an important tool to leverage micro and small enterprises all over Brazil in order to meet the high-standard sustainability criteria and to actively participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games supply chain”, says Fernando Cotrim, Rio 2016 Procurement Director. “We believe the Games are an excellent opportunity to boost less developed markets in Brazil. This way, through the partnership, we intend to encourage entrepreneurship, which we see as an important growth lever for the country”.

“Through ‘Sebrae on the podium’, micro and small enterprises all over Brazil will have the opportunity of becoming potential products and goods suppliers for Rio 2016. Sebrae sees the partnership as the beginning of a legacy to encourage MSEs’ competitiveness, which will be left by the Olympic and Paralympic Games”, said Francisco Marins, “Sebrae on the podium” project coordinator.

By Ismail Uddin

Joel Bouzou, prostate the newly appointed Vice President of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) is looking to drive the organisation to gain further success following his appointment.

Frenchman Bouzou was elected as Vice President after stepping down as the UIPM Secretary General, therapy a position that he has held for the past 15 years. Through his appointment he is looking for the sport to bring societies together.

“Through my Presidency at Peace & Sport, patient we can use UIPM’s sports of Biathle (swim & run) which I created in 1999 & Triathle (swim, run & shoot) to bring society’s together through sport like we have done in Congo and Burundi and we look forward to doing this in other countries.  I want to show that Modern Pentathlon is a family that gives back to society though giving under privileged people access to sport,” he told iSportconnect.

Bouzou also talked more extensively about his appointment.

“Becoming Vice President was the logical follow up from the 15 years as Secretary General and the 45 years of Pentathlon that I have behind me, even if I am still young. Starting as an athlete in 1968 as a cadet and then as a national coach, national director, UIPM Media director and then Secretary General,” he added. 

“Modern Pentathlon is in my blood and it will remain in my blood. This sport demonstrates the complete athlete and deserves a place forever in the Olympic programme.  Being Vice President will allow me to serve my sport on a political level, without having to perform the administrative duties of a Secretary General, which will allow me to continue developing Peace & Sport and the World Olympians Association which I am the President of, as well as performing my duties as Advisor to his Serene highness H.SH Prince Albert II of Monaco.”

“I look forward to working in the team in a position which will be in accordance with my skills for the best for UIPM. I have a great network which I will be able to use for the benefit of the sport.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has appointed Beyond Sport to support the IOC Sport for All Commission throughout the build-up to the 15th IOC World Conference on Sport for All, sale to be held in Lima, doctor Peru in April 2013.

The IOC Sport for All Commission was established in 1983 with the primary aim of encouraging and supporting efforts to disseminate the health and social benefits of sport. 

Beyond Sport will be supporting in the development of the event delivery and will use its extensive network and knowledge of programmes from around the world to assist the Commission in selecting the recipients of the Sport for All Grants. The two bodies have already worked together ahead of the first such awarding of grants, announced at the 14th IOC World Conference on Sport for All in Beijing, China in 2011.

Sam Ramsamy, the Chairman of the IOC Sport for All Commission, commented: “Sport for All is at the heart of the Olympic Movement and closely linked to development through sport. It really touches society at large. The expertise of Beyond Sport in this area increases the impact of the conference and future initiatives.”

Beyond Sport is uniquely positioned to be able to provide such a service to the IOC. The organisation is the central point for a network which now reaches 135 countries across the globe, and has conducted extensive due diligence on dozens of programmes using sport as a tool to tackle social issues including health, unemployment, conflict resolution, gang-related violence and education.

Nick Keller, the Founder of Beyond Sport, commented: “Beyond Sport’s values and objectives have, since our foundation, been similar to the values and objectives of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement as a whole. Sport can and does play a transformative role in communities around the world. The IOC occupies a unique place both within and beyond sport, and the potential impact of Sport for All’s mission is unprecedented in this field.”

China has done “very well” in the fight against doping and should share its experience and expertise with other parts of Asia according to a senior official of the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

“I’m happy with the progress shown by China Anti-doping Agency (CHINADA),” David Howman, director general of WADA, said.

CHINADA was established as an independent national anti-doping body in 2007 with a world-class laboratory.

Howman also commended China’s education program for elite athletes, but believes China still faces some challenges. “There’s always room for improvement, of course. As a big country that has so many athletes, China needs to develop its own model, which is difficult,” he said.

Howman believes that developing a Chinese model could entail sharing knowledge and expertise of anti-doping strategy with other countries in Asia. “It’s important for strong countries to do that,” he said.

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West Ham United have quashed reports of a ground-share with Leyton Orient.

Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has been a fierce critic of West Ham’s bid to become stadium tenants after the Olympics but said recently he would consider a ground-share arrangement for his League One club.

The Hammers insist there have been no talks about such a possibility – nor will there be.

A West Ham statement said: “West Ham United has not held talks with Leyton Orient in respect of ground sharing and nor is it our intention to do so.

“We do not wish to comment on recent statements made by Barry Hearn not least because we can’t keep up with his ever-changing position. They continue, however, to provide us with a constant source of amusement.”

The Hammers said the demand from fans for tickets for the recent Championship play-off final at Wembley showed the Olympic Stadium will not be too big for their supporter base.

The statement added: ‘We are the only football option able to fill the stadium to capacity on a regular basis.

“Our recent Wembley play-off final win, which secured our promotion back to the Premier League, saw a level of demand from our supporters that could have sold out Wembley Stadium to West Ham fans alone.

“The noise and atmosphere created by our fans on May 19 gave a mouthwatering taste of what the Olympic Stadium could offer to supporters week in, week out.

‘We also bring the opportunity for the regeneration of the Olympic Park – people, prosperity, opportunity, exposure, economy and expertise from our very first match in 2014. This provides far wider benefits for the local community and the nation as a whole.”

In a recent study carried out by Marketing Week has showed that consumer awareness of brands involvement in London 2012 is fairly poor with MasterCard, Nike and Sony all considered official sponsors when they are not.

In a specially commissioned survey of 1,000 consumers run by Lightspeed Research last month, the big-name brands that people wrongly think are sponsors include MasterCard, Nike, Sony, HSBC, Pepsi and Dell. Lightspeed gave consumers a list of brands and asked them to say whether they are sponsors of the games or not. The results reveal that 20% think MasterCard is sponsoring London 2012, compared with 27% who correctly identify Visa as an official sponsor.

Adidas gets 14% in terms of prompted awareness of its £100m sponsorship, compared with 15% of people who wrongly think that rival Nike is involved with the games. However, Coca-Cola trumps Pepsi, with 38% correctly identifying Coke as an official supporter, compared with 9% who think Pepsi is the official soft drinks supplier.

Ralph Risk, Lightspeed’s EMEA marketing director, says the public’s false perceptions of non-Olympics sponsor brands are forgivable because of the “halo effects” of big brand activities. “People automatically assume big brands are involved in big events,” he says.

The consensus across the Frontline panel is that large multinational brands stick in the minds of consumers anyway. However, the brand power of official London 2012 partners McDonald’s and Coca-Cola sees them hold their own against outsiders. They top the prompted recall list at 39% and 38% respectively.

But the panel also concurs that any fears of ambush marketing by non-sponsors will encourage official partner brands to communicate their sponsorship very clearly.

Stephen Vaughan at official Olympics partner Thomas Cook says: “I think the ambush marketing activities around 2012 will be 10 times worse compared to what has happened before. Brands will use the Union flag, carefully worded copy or former athletes to establish a link. It just makes me more determined to ensure the quality of our official communications.”

Business brands that have signed up to become official Olympics partners such as Dow, Adecco, Cisco and Deloitte are at the bottom of the prompted recall ranking thanks to the nature of their sector and lack of consumer awareness. The majority of respondents also indicate that they do not know what these brands do.

Lightspeed’s Risk says: “You would expect business-to-business brands to be looking at how they talk to their partners and clients about their Olympic activity. It probably wouldn’t give them that much bang for their buck by talking to general consumers.”

This comes after a Global Language Monitor report analysing ambush marketing.

Jenson Button might have been the victim of an attempted kidnapping in Sao Paulo on Saturday night, according to former Formula One champion Jackie Stewart.

The Formula 1 paddock was in shock on Sunday after it emerged the reigning World Champion’s car had been approached by up to six men with guns whilst returning from Interlagos to his Morumbi hotel.

The specially trained police driver fended off the attack by smashing through traffic, with triple World Champion Stewart worrying that wallets and watches might not have been the target.

“Drug barons don’t go out to kill people but kidnap them because they are linked to rich multinational companies. In Jenson’s case that means Vodafone and Mobil,” the Scot said.

50 years ago, Cuban rebels kidnapped the then reigning World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio at gunpoint and held him for 24 hours.

Button’s father John, who was in the car with his son at the time of the attack, admitted he fears it was not random.

Rumours on Sunday suggested the attackers were alerted a few minutes before the attack that Button’s entourage had left the circuit.

“It was really weird,” said John Button, “because we were in a very small, compact Mercedes, and they couldn’t see in.”

“It looked like they were waiting for someone, so that’s a little bit worrying.”

Button’s attack was not the only security issue at Interlagos this year. A group of photographers had their cameras stolen, a radio producer was relieved of his wallet and car keys, and even the local Lucas di Grassi admitted to being mugged.

“A guy walked up to the car, tapped a gun in his belt and I handed over the watch,” said the Virgin driver.

One certainty is that Button was relieved to leave Brazil on Sunday night.

“I don’t think that’s the way to put it,” he said before the race. “It’s an epic circuit and it holds a lot of good memories. But I’ll be on my way home tonight.”

The International Cycling Union (UCI) have announced today the appointment of Sebastien Gillot as Head of Communications.

Joining from the International Boxing Association (AIBA), medstore the Frenchman will support the strategy of modernization and transparency implemented by the new governance of the UCI and its President Brian Cookson. The announcement comes few a days after the International Federation for Cycling appointed deltatre to assist in revamping its digital strategy. 

Sebastien Gillot, 34, is joining the UCI with sound experience of International Federations, having spent three years as Head of Communications and Public Relations at AIBA and seven years as Lead Editor of the French channel for FIFA.com. A multi-linguist and father of two, Sebastien has also worked for the advertising agency Havas Sports & Entertainment before advising the Annecy 2018 Olympic bid. 

Welcoming Sebastien to the UCI Martin Gibbs, UCI Director General, said: “Having Sebastien on board is excellent news for the UCI. His understanding of international sports federations and the Olympic Movement is perfectly in tune with our goal to restore the reputation of our Federation and to get it back on track as a major player in global sport. His appointment comes at an exciting time for UCI communications as we prepare for the launch of the new UCI website later this summer.” 

Gillot will join the UCI on May 5.?

MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, has announced a multi-year partnership with BaseballProspectus.com (BPro) to share data and analysis.

The partnership’s debut feature on MLB.com is Postseason Probabilities, an interactive visualization of the current standings and each team’s chances of winning the division or wild card, or securing a postseason berth. Additional content and features will be forthcoming as Baseball Prospectus and MLBAM collaborate to leverage their respective analysis and data.

“We are thrilled to partner with MLB Advanced Media,” said Joe Hamrahi, President of Baseball Prospectus. “We have long since admired and respected the amazing accomplishments of the MLBAM team and look forward to working and collaborating with them going forward.”

“Baseball Prospectus has a long-standing expertise in analysis and research and it will play an insightful role as we launch new programming on MLB.com,” said Dinn Mann, EVP, Content, MLBAM.