The Australian and Canadian Olympic Committees have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on key elements of high performance until after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“Since Vancouver 2010, remedy Canada has been one of the world’s leading winter sport nations,” AOC President John Coates said.

“This agreement will open doors for our athletes to have access to the fantastic facilities Canada has to offer and to work alongside their athletes and officials.” 

The MOU was signed by the Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates and the Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut in Lausanne on the weekend. 

Under the terms of the MOU the two National Olympic Committees will engage in the sharing of skills, knowledge and experience in the areas of coaching, sports administration, sports science, education and training. 

“This agreement reinforces the strong commitment Australia and Canada have to protecting the integrity of sport. It will provide a framework for greater cooperation in this regard,” Coates said.

Australian athletes training hard for the 2014 Sochi Games will be the first to benefit with a special focus on winter sports cooperation with the world leading Canadians, ahead of the Games in Russia.

One of the features of the MOU is access to and support in the preparation and organisation of training camps in each other countries. 

The agreement also facilitates the opportunity for National Federations to collaborate in the lead up to the Winter Games and share Olympic Games preparation strategies. 

Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA), which has only been in existence since 2011, has acquired the assets of regional promotion Titan Fighting Championship.

The two organizations made the announcement in a press release.

Under the terms of the deal, RFA acquires specific though unnamed fighter contracts, and assumes Titan’s television deal with AXS TV, the channel formerly known as HDNet. In addition, Titan’s founder Joe Kelly will work with RFA in various roles.

Titan was originally founded in 2006, and has hosted 24 events in its history, most recently producing an August show which featured former UFC fighter Anthony Johnson in the main event. Titan had run most of its shows from its home base in Kansas.

Meanwhile, RFA has produced just four events in its brief history, but has featured some well-known names including Jens Pulver, Gilbert Yvel and Joe Stevenson. The promotion has also inked deals with promising newcomers like former Olympic wrestler Steve Mocco, ex-collegiate wrestling All-American Lance Palmer, andSergio Pettis, the brother of UFC star Anthony Pettis.

RFA’s next event is scheduled for Friday, November 2 in Las Vegas, and features Gilbert Yvel vs. Marcio Cruz in the main event.

Italian tennis and sportswear clothing company, troche Sergio Tacchini, capsule have announced a far-ranging global partnership with IMG, generic the global sports, fashion and media company.

Under terms of the multi-year agreement, IMG will serve as Sergio Tacchini’s licensing agent working with the Company to re-launch the brand in major markets around the world through targeted licensing and distribution partnerships.  IMG will also work closely with company management on sponsorship, strategy, endorsements, e-commerce and other brand activation activities.

Bruno Maglione, IMG Executive Vice President and Global Managing Director of IMG Licensing commented on the agreement, “Sergio Tacchini is one of three or four companies that can lay claim to having invented what might be called the sports fashion segment. The combination of athletic lifestyles with elegant styling is very much back in vogue as consumers seek to distinguish themselves with distinctive, yet functional products. Sergio Tacchini’s rich heritage as a pioneer in this area positions it strongly to take advantage of the renewed growing market for fashion focused sportswear.”

Janny Tang, Sergio Tacchini Managing Director added, “IMG’s worldwide licensing infrastructure, coupled with its deep knowledge and broad expertise in both tennis and fashion, makes them the perfect partner for our long-term plans with the Sergio Tacchini brand. They have put together an impressive team of regional specialists to work hand-in-hand with us in Europe, the Americas and Asia.”

English soccer side Stockport County are selling the naming rights to their stadium, Edgeley Park.

County will have full control of Edgeley Park from August 1 after Sale Sharks agreed a deal to play their home games at the Salford City Stadium.

And once they take over, the Blue Square Premier side are looking to seal a sponsorship deal for the stadium, known as Edgeley Park since it was built in 1901.

Director Spencer Fearn admitted it was a ‘sensitive’ issue among fans but revealed it was necessary to raise vital funds for the club. There are also plans to name the main stand after former manager Danny Bergara, who died in 2007.

Fearn said: “This is a great opportunity for a local or national company to become a partner in County and raise their brand awareness. I have personally seen how linking with a football club can benefit a business from a deal I have had with a football club for the past two seasons. “I appreciate that the naming of our home can be sensitive with some fans. However, I am sure that many will appreciate us looking at new avenues to raise funds for County to ensure that we are even more competitive in the years to come.”

The British Olympic Association (BOA) drug by-law is set to be scrapped following BOA losing last month’s court case.

BOA will ask the heads of all the bodies from the summer and winter sports to vote on a proposal to remove the lifetime ban.

The move follows the BOA’s defeat in court last month after a last-ditch attempt to hold on to the ban in the face of opposition from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The proposal should be rubber-stamped and that will finally clear the way for sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar to compete at the London 2012 Games, some eight years after they were both banned for two years for doping offences.

If they refused to do so, WADA would then declare the BOA to be non-compliant with their code and report them to the International Olympic Committee. They in turn would be forced to take the drastic step of preventing the host nation’s team taking part in the Games – a state of affairs that would never be allowed to happen.

The BOA will now concentrate on persuading WADA to bring in to bring in longer bans for drugs cheats, including missing at least one Olympics.

The New York Yankees have eclipsed Manchester United to number one spot of the Forbes top 40 list for the sports clubs most brand value.

The third Forbes Fab 40, a ranking of the world’s top sports brands, reveals New York Yankees, Tiger Woods, Nike and the Super Bowl are the most valuable names in their respective categories.

Among the top 10 teams this year, the New York Yankees surpassed Manchester United as the most valuable brand. Forbes estimates that New York Yankees name is worth $340 million. Manchester United’s brand value was hurt by the increase in value of the US dollar relative to the British pound. Had the exchange rate held fast since 2007 the Red Devils, who are looking to capitalize on their global fan base with an IPO, would still be the most valuable team brand.

To determine its list, Forbes ranked athletes based on endorsement income relative to peers in their sport; businesses based on the amount of the enterprise’s private market value attributable to its name; teams based on the portion of their overall value not a result of market demographics and league; and events based on revenue generated per day of competition.

Tiger Woods may be struggling on the farways but golf’s most recognisable figure remains the athlete to beat when it comes to brand value.

Tiger may have lost some sponsors with his scandal but that still isn’t enough to derail the American.  Although Tiger’s brand value fell to $55 million from $82 million last year, his brand is still $29 million more valuable than the number two athlete, Roger Federer. In June, Tiger added his first sponsor (Kowa Company) since the scandal broke that ultimately led to his divorce.

The most valuable sporting event brand continues to be the Super Bowl. Event brand values are revenue-per-day averages of the contest or tournament. Super Bowl XLV generated $425 million in revenue from media advertising ($210 million), licensing ($140 million), tickets ($60 million) and its halftime show ($15 million). 

Coming in behind the Super Bowl is the Summer Olympics followed by the FIFA World Cup, baseball’s World Series, the UEFA Champions League, Winter Olympics and Daytona 500 auto race.

As for business brand values, Nike was rated the top sports business brand with ESPN ranked second. 

Forbes estimates that the Nike brand is worth $15 billion, up 40% from last year, while Walt Disney Company’s ESPN, which has increased $1 billion in value since 2010, stands at $11.5 billion.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has suspended ‘Hawkeye’ following an error during the All-Ireland minor hurling semi-final yesterday at Croke Park.

The controversial error saw Hawkeye brand a perfectly good point as a ‘miss’ during the All-Ireland minor hurling semi-final between Limerick and Galway. 

The goal-line technology was brought in by GAA chiefs this year – making its debut at the All-Ireland Club Finals on St Patrick’s Day inCroke Park.

The use of the device had to be subsequently suspended for next All-Ireland senior semi-final match between Clare and Limerick as a result of the failing. 

The association added that it expected the system to be fully working again for next week’s matches at Croke Park, with a statement reading:

“Following an inconsistency in the generation of a graphic by Hawk-Eye during today’s minor hurling semi-final, the decision was taken to suspend use of the score detection system for the senior game.

“A full review of the technology, in conjunction with Hawk-Eye, commenced this evening and its finding will be examined by the GAA tomorrow.

“It is expected that Hawk-Eye will be in full working order for next Sunday’s minor and senior football semi-finals.”