German sportswear maker Adidas has reiterated its 2015 targets as improved sales targets for the Adidas brand will compensate for its reduced expectations for its Reebok marque.

Adidas still expects global sales of EUR17bn ($22.1bn) and an operating margin of 11% by 2015. It raised its sales target for the Adidas brand from EUR12.2bn (£15.5bn) to EUR12.8bn ($16.35bn) but slashed its sales target for its struggling Reebok brand from EUR3bn ($3.9bn) to EUR2bn ($2.6bn).

At an investor event, advice Adidas confirmed the group’s long-term financial targets as outlined in its strategic business plan ‘Route 2015?.

“We have made great progress since we introduced our Route 2015 ambitions in November 2010. Everything I have seen over the past 20 months has only reinforced my confidence that Route 2015 will be an overwhelming success, drug ” said Chief Executive Herbert Hainer.

For 2012, healing Adidas expects 10% sales growth and 15 – 17% earnings per share (EPS) growth on an 8% increase to the operating margin. The company explained that its three key markets -North America, China, and Russia- were expected to comprise 50% of the expected growth.

On the other hand, sales targets for Reebok were slashed as the company looks to position it as a fitness brand and decided not to renew a licence with the National Football League in the US. Reebok can trace its lineage back to JF Foster of Bolton, the world’s first sports footwear firm.

York City FC are set to receive a new stadium after their plans were approved with a retail development on the outskirts of York also going being built.

Proposals by developer Oakgate to build a new community stadium, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer at Monks Cross won planning permission on Thursday after a marathon debate lasting more than eight hours.

Supporters of the development spoke of their delight afterwards, but opponents said an appeal has not been ruled out.

Richard France, spokesman for Oakgate, said the John Lewis store should open in autumn next year, the Marks & Spencer store the following spring, and the stadium in season 2014/15.

He said: “It is a vote in favour of jobs, growth and a legacy for professional, amateur and community sport.”

James Alexander, City of York Council leader, said after the meeting: “York has shown itself to be open for business and today, we have secured a future for professional sport in this city.”

He said an announcement was likely soon on more investment for the city-centre, particularly around the market.

Tim Atkins, the council’s stadium project manager, said: “It’s been a long time coming, but I am very happy. It is the right decision.”

He said the council must now wait to see whether Communities Secretary Eric Pickles would ‘call in’ the application for review.

Sophie Hicks, York City FC’s community and communications director, said: “It is an historic day in the club’s history.”

She praised the Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, all of whom voted yes, but criticised York Conservative leader Ian Gillies, who she said had led his party’s three planning committee members to vote no.

She said club manager Gary Mills was delighted with the decision, and now wanted to complete an excellent week for City by winning promotion back to the Football League at Wembley on Sunday, following the FA Trophy success at the same venue last Saturday.

Club chairman Jason McGill added: “We said when we came in that we wanted to secure a new stadium and to win promotion and now, what a wonderful eight days in the history of the club this could be.”

John Guildford, of York City Knights Rugby League Club, who will share the stadium with the football club, said: “It’s a great result and critical for the club. There is no plan b.”

Around 40 campaigners, sports representatives, politicians, developers and businessmen and women spoke for or against the plans.

Critics said they went against the council’s own stated policies and would harm the city centre, but proponents said the positives outweighed the negatives.

WADA director general David Howman belives Britain should have complied with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) global doping code and not wasted time and money by appealing in vain to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,  following Mondays decision to overtun the British Olympic Association’s (BOA) bylaw.

The BOA asked CAS to mediate after WADA ruled the sanction did not comply with its code which provides for a maximum two-year ban for a first offence.

CAS had ruled in October that an International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule similar to the BOA’s, excluding athletes banned for six months or more from the next Olympics, amounted to a second sanction. The IOC accepted the CAS ruling and nullified its law.

Howman said the BOA should have then also fallen in line without going to CAS.

“They decided not to do anything about it and leave it to our board and our board made that decision (that the BOA’s doping policy was non-compliant),” Howman told Reuters by telephone from Sydney.

“Then they had the right to appeal and they exercised it. Right throughout that time there was an opportunity to say, ‘let’s not waste a lot of money, time and energy on doing this, let’s get on and be sensible and realistic and change the rule, and they chose not to.

“They have got to answer to their stakeholders on that. We are talking about, I assume, hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time when the world economy is such. We couldn’t really afford that sort of money. We had to because we had to defend the position of the board.”

BOA chairman Colin Moynihan declared his association deeply disappointed by the CAS ruling and vowed to keep fighting for stricter sanctions in future.

Howman said CAS’s ruling was “no surprise to anybody” and urged the BOA to “move on”.

“At the end of the day, let’s get back to the principles,” Howman added.

“The code is there because the world wanted everybody to have the same set of rules. Now the BOA is aware that their rule is an extra sanction and not in line, they have got the opportunity of changing their rules and working together.”

Howman said it was “unfair” of Moynihan to call it a “hollow victory” for WADA.

“The court found, on my reading of it, very little to give the BOA in terms of the appeal. From our perspective, process was followed… they had the right to appeal, now they have lost it.”

generic helvetica, medstore sans-serif;”>NFL Team, the New Orleans Saints is looking for a new corporate sponsor for its Louisian Superdome stadium and have adopted an ambitious marketing approach in acquiring them.

They are pitching the naming rights to many companies by tagging signs with potential sponsors. A photo taken by an eyewitness actually showed a sign outside the Dome recently that was only there a short period of time and read “Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”

Other eyewitnesses confirmed this happened and that the sign was also rolled back up by crews a short time later.

Saints Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel confirmed what some saw and said the team has been pitching the naming-rights idea to several different companies. The sign photographed was only one of many that have already been made actually.

Bensel said that they have made up some banners, placed them on the Dome, and taken pictures to show the companies what it would look like with their logo on it.

The New Orleans Saints are in the city through the 2025 season after signing a lease extension with the state back in April of 2009. Terms of the new contract state that the Saints keep 100 percent of the naming rights revenue which means a big-time company coming in and buying the rights could mean serious money for the organization.

International Ski Federation (FIS) president Gian Franco Kasper has been elected President of the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federation (AIOWF).

The announcement was made at the SportAccord convention in Belek, hospital Turkey on Tuesday.

At the same meeting FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis was appointed as the organisation’s Secretary General.

Kasper succeeds International Ice Hockey Federation President and fellow Swiss Rene Fasel who served as President since 2002. He formerly led the association from 2000-2002 and will now serve a four-year term.

On the first day in office, the seven Presidents and Secretary Generals of AIOWF met with the IOC Executive Board. Immediately afterwards they then held a joint meeting with the Council of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) to discuss matters of common interest.

“It is an honour to be elected as the President of AIOWF by my Winter Sports Federation peers. I look forward to working to ensure the winter sports family continues to grow and prosper”, Kasper commented after the elections

Sarah Lewis added: “We are very much used to working with different disciplines within FIS and look forward to using this experience to strengthen the winter federations and contribute as a group to the Olympic Movement.”

The International Cycling Union (UCI) and the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media have announced an agreement for broadcast coverage of the UCI Road, tadalafil Track, Mountain Bike and BMX World Championships as well as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup for the years 2013 to 2016.

Marking a strategic shift in worldwide coverage after cycling’s unprecedented success at the 2012 Olympic Games in London in all disciplines, Infront Sports & Media will become the UCI’s exclusive agency to distribute the federation’s media rights globally, with the exception of the USA and Japan.

“The UCI is delighted to have this new and dynamic partner which has significant worldwide sales power” said UCI President Mr Pat McQuaid. “Infront Sports & Media has a large network worldwide which is totally in line with the UCI’s goal to universalize cycling. Cycling is going through a boom as seen at the recent London Olympics. Our aim is to work together to continue to reinforce the development of cycling across the globe and the draw of our sport as a high appeal television product, which merges tradition and innovation in all disciplines.”

Free-to-air coverage forms an important basis to this agreement. It will favour a flexible approach in order to find the best broadcast outlet for UCI events in each individual territory. “We will use their drive, their expertise and their input for the long-term development of cycling,” said the UCI President.

Philippe Blatter, President & CEO of Infront Sports & Media, said: “We are very much looking forward to contributing our comprehensive expertise in media rights distribution to further strengthen the international coverage of the prestigious UCIWorld Championship events. Our dedicated team shares theUCI vision to strengthen the public positioning of its various properties – in both the well-established and the growing disciplines – and to ensure access for the broadest possible cycling fan base around the globe.”

In the longer term, the UCI and Infront Sports & Media envisage to collaborate also in other areas, including the centralised media production, sponsorship distribution and the introduction of new technologies, such as such as digital media solutions.

After surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth, herbal QPR have revealed plans for a new state-of-the-art training ground facility at Warren Farm.

QPR, salve who secured their Premier League status on the final day of the season, have been named as the preferred bidder for the 63-acre site in Ealing.

The site be transformed into a multi-purpose elite training facility ahead of the 2013-14 season, subject to a successful planning application.

The new training ground would include first-team and academy natural pitches, a covered dome and outdoor 3G artificial pitches, rehabilitation areas, grid layouts and goalkeeper training areas.

“We are absolutely ecstatic and must thank everyone involved in the process, especially David Leed (CYD Projects Ltd) who oversaw the bid, for their tremendous support,” said QPR chairman Tony Fernandes.

“This decision means we are now in a position to build a new state-of-the-art facility which will enable us to attract, retain and train world class talent.

“The community package that will accompany this facility will additionally deliver great benefits for those in our local boroughs.”

Fernandes added: “We said when we arrived here that we wanted to build this club for the future and this is another huge step in the right direction.

“We already have a first class senior management team in place, with Mark Hughes at the helm, and the recent appointment of our new Technical Director, Mike Rigg, is further testament to what we are striving to achieve here.

“Clearly though, to achieve such goals, a new training ground facility is paramount so we are absolutely delighted.”

The proposed Warren Farm complex will also host a Community Sports Complex, and QPR chief executive Philip Beard added: “This will be a long-term benefit to the football club and QPR in the Community Trust.

“It will enable us to compete and attract the best players, and that applies equally to the young academy players.

“It will mean that we can offer the best training, coaching and fitness facilities, to the benefit of both the club and the local community.”

Für den SV Werder Bremen steht der 28. Spieltag der Fußball-Bundesliga ganz im Zeichen von SPIELRAUM. Der Verein unterstützt das von der Deutschen Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (DKJS) in Kooperation mit dem Sportartikelhersteller Nike ins Leben gerufene Sozialprojekt. Gemeinsam mit den Spielern auf dem Rasen möchte Werders Ausrüster auf das Sozialprojekt aufmerksam machen und Mittel für weitere SPIELRAUM-Standorte generieren.

Der SV Werder Bremen sorgt gemeinsam mit Nike auf einem eigens dafür erbauten Minispielfeld in der Pauliner Marsch für mehr SPIELRAUM. Unter professioneller Anleitung werden dort wöchentliche Trainingseinheiten für Kinder mit sozialer Benachteiligung stattfinden. Zusätzlich erhalten blinde und sehbehinderte Kinder den Raum, stomach um ihrer Leidenschaft, therapy dem Fußball, nachzugehen. Werders Klaus-Dieter Fischer, als Geschäftsführer auch für den Bereich CSR-Management verantwortlich, erläutert: „Unsere Erfahrung zeigt, dass sich Kinder durch den Sport nicht nur in der Motorik weiterentwickeln, sondern auch in ihrem Sozialverhalten. Gerade deshalb ist es uns ein großes Anliegen, mit Angeboten wie SPIEL-RAUM Kindern aus schwierigen Lebensverhältnissen eine sinnvolle Freizeitbeschäftigung zu ermöglichen. Auch über andere Projekte im Rahmen unserer CSR-Marke WERDER BEWEGT tun wir dies bereits.”

Um SPIELRAUM noch mehr in den Fokus der Öffentlichkeit zu rücken, werden gleich drei Bundesliga-Vereine besondere Aktionen am 28. Spieltag durchführen. Neben dem SV Werder Bremen beteiligen sich auch Werders Gegner FSV Mainz 05 und Hertha BSC. Das gesamte Werder-Team wird am Samstag in auffälligen weißen Trainingsjacken zum Warm-Up auflaufen. Ein SPIELRAUM-Logo in den grünen Vereinsfarben wird sich auch auf den Trainingsjacken der Werderaner befinden und diese so zu Unikaten machen. Unmittelbar vor Spielbeginn werden ausgewählte Kinder und Jugendliche aus den SPIELRAUM-Projekten zusammen mit den Werder-Profis in den Nike Track-Jackets das Stadion betreten.

Bereits im Vorfeld der Bundesliga-Partie zwischen dem SV Werder Bremen und dem FSV Mainz 05 spielen ab 10 Uhr Teilnehmer aus dem Projekt SPIELRAUM zusammen mit geistig und körperlich behinderten Kindern aus Bremen und Mainz ein Blitzturnier auf Platz 17 am Weser-Stadion aus. Die Sieger werden in der Halbzeit der Partie im Weser-Stadion geehrt.

Werders Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung, Klaus Allofs, freut sich, mit SPIELRAUM ein neues, tolles Projekt im Rahmen der Initiative WERDER BEWEGT zu unterstützen: „Sport hat eine große integrative Kraft, die wollen wir mit dem Projekt SPIELRAUM nutzen. Es fördert Initiativen, die ungenutzte Plätze gemeinsam mit jungen Menschen in lebenswertere Orte verwandeln – für Teamsport und die persönliche Entfaltung.” Auch Werder-Kapitän Clemens Fritz zeigt sich begeistert von der Aktion: „Wir haben früher jede freie Minute auf dem Bolzplatz verbracht. Deshalb finde ich das Projekt klasse, es gibt viel zu wenig Spielraum für die Kids.” Cheftrainer Thomas Schaaf sieht in dem Projekt zudem einen wertvollen Lerneffekt für die Kinder und Jugendlichen: „Durch SPIELRAUM erlernen die Kids über den Sport Kompetenzen wie Teamfähigkeit, Fairness und Verantwortungsbewusstsein und deren alltägliche Anwendung.”

SPIELRAUM setzt sich zum Ziel, Raum zu schaffen, in dem sich Kinder und Jugendliche entfalten können. SPIELRAUM schafft den tatsächlichen Raum zum Spielen und Sporttreiben und bietet gleichzeitig Spielraum für die persönliche Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen besonders dort, wo es an Freizeitangeboten fehlt. Wer die Aktion finanziell unterstützen will, kann einen Beitrag an folgendes Spendenkonto überweisen: DKJS, HypoVereinsbank / BLZ 100 208 90 / Kontonummer 15 56 99 99, Kennwort: SPIELRAUM oder eine SMS mit dem Kennwort SPIELRAUM an die 8 11 90 erhält die Aktion 5,- EURO. (Pro SMS werden 5 Euro zzgl. der Standard-SMS-Versandkosten über die nächste Handyrechnung bzw. Ihr Pre-paid-Guthaben berechnet. Für jede 5-Euro-SMS erhält die Aktion Spielraum 4,83 Euro. Dies ist ein Service von spendino. Die Aktion unterstützt das Programm der Deutschen Kinder- und Jugendstiftung und fördert die Arbeit der beteiligten Vereine.)

Steve Lansdown, the majority shareholder of Bristol City, has become the new majority owner of Bristol Rugby.

Mr Booy will remain as chairman and a minority shareholder in the rugby club, with Steve Gorvett continuing in his role of chief executive, as Mr Lansdown seeks to ensure the transition around his purchase runs as smoothly as possible.

The Rugby Football Union still need to rubber-stamp Mr Lansdown’s investment in, and purchase of, Bristol Rugby – but, given his personal wealth and history of involvement in professional sport through Bristol City, that final hurdle should be little more than a formality.

Mr Lansdown’s financial input has helped the Championship leaders boost their quest for promotion back to the Aviva Premiership in recent weeks, with ten new players arriving at the club.

But he has been in the background at the rugby club for much longer than that, initially playing the silent but crucial role of investing significant amounts of money during the 2008-09 season, when it appeared the club may otherwise have slipped into administration.

“I want people to know that this is not a takeover,” Mr Lansdown told the Post.

“I have been in the background since February 2009 and I have been there supporting Chris in helping to bring the rugby club to where it is now.

“What we are doing now is cementing that relationship by turning it into an equity relationship and we are looking forward to continuing to build the club.

“It is important that the supporters know Bristol Rugby is financially stable and has the potential to grow into an even more successful rugby club in the future. That is what this city wants and needs.”

Mr Lansdown has stressed that the rugby club would continue to play at the Memorial Stadium – their spiritual home since 1921 – with a new lease, covering next season, already having been signed.

But questions will inevitably arise over how, if indeed at all, his purchase of the rugby club impacts on his role at Bristol City, where he remains the majority shareholder despite having stepped down as chairman at the end of last season.

Mr Lansdown, however, is eager to stress the two clubs will remain separate entities – albeit with him as a common factor – that can learn from and help each other to grow as businesses.

“There is, of course, a bigger picture – and, with having two sporting organisations in the same group, there is a chance that they may grow from a commercial and community perspective by pooling resources and getting the best out of each other,” said Mr Lansdown. “But the only common factor between the two is myself. The rugby club is a separate entity – it is not being absorbed by Bristol City or anything like that.

“There will be great opportunities on the commercial side, no doubt, to bring both clubs together. That’s obviously going to be looked at and it is part of the rationale for this.

“But my decision to become the majority shareholder of the rugby club in no way diminishes my commitment to Bristol City.”

Since rugby union became a professional game in 1996, Bristol have been relegated from the top flight on three occasions and promoted twice.

According to a new report, medicine English Premier League Champions, pharm Manchester United are the most valuable team in the world.

abortion helvetica, sans-serif;”>The analysis came from advisory firm Brand Finance suggesting that the Barclays Premier League champion’s brand value has more than doubled since the arrival of the Glazer family.

According to the report, published in The Times, United’s brand value has risen from £197 million in 2005 to £412 million. United is now considered to stand sixth in the list of the most recognisable brands in the world, behind only Google, Apple, the BBC, Dyson and Facebook.

Brand Finance says the Glazer family has applied National Football League (NFL) marketing experience  from its ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – to United, utilising a policy of “on field performance underpins financial success”.

Dave Chattaway, head of sports brand valuation for Brand Finance, said: “One of the key success factors of the Glazers is the fact they have been able to retain the club’s ultimate ‘brand manager’ Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Glazers have given Ferguson the resources and space necessary for him to deliver consistent on pitch success, which feeds the off-pitch expertise. From the heated takeover to the Green and Gold campaign, it’s not been an easy ride for the Glazers, but a successful listing (in Singapore) will only further cement the value they have engineered. The proceeds will allow them to wipe out debt, retain control and provides the family with a perfect exit route from Manchester with a tidy return.”