MediaCom Sport have opened a new office in Russia with an additional three countries also preparing to launch.

MediaCom Sport Russia & CIS is now open for business in Moscow and will be followed by a further three new offices servicing North America, cough Latin America and Europe within three months.

The agency has named Ken Crease, pills the former Managing Director of Sport Media Group, click to lead its Moscow office. Ken has over 14 years of experience in the Russian market working with clients including Russian challenger team Marussia F1, Volkswagen, Megafon and Hankook.

Russia will be a key market for sports sponsorship with the country hosting both the Winter Olympics in 2014 and the Football World Cup in 2018. A number of MediaCom clients have already signed as partners for these events and total sponsorship deals around Sochi 2014 are claimed to be worth US$1.2 billion.

“Russia is going to be at the centre of global sport for the next six years. Participating in sport presents great opportunities for brands to forge strong bonds with consumers. Pride in Russia’s ability to win the rights to host these events will ensure that associated brands reap the rewards,” said Ken Crease, Head of MediaCom Sport Russia & CIS.

The expansion of the MediaCom Sport network coincides with three new appointments at its London headquarters: James Hough, John Scurfield and Misha Sher.

James Hough joins the team from Havas Sports & Entertainment in the UK where he ran the sport divisions within Havas-owned media agencies MPG and Arena Media. He will work alongside former Fuse Sport & Entertainment executive John Scurfield as part of the leadership team, charged with presenting and delivering integrated sports strategies for clients.

James has previously worked at Carat Sponsorship and Walker Media, while John joins from OMD’s Fuse where he was head of sponsorship in the UK and worked on brands including Vodafone, Carlsberg and McDonald’s.

Misha Sher is responsible for developing MediaCom Sport’s exclusive deal to support brand extensions for Brazilian legend Pelé. Misha has previously overseen global partnerships for Glasgow Rangers FC and also worked for Fox Soccer Channel, Soccerex and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co in Boston.

“I am very pleased to have secured the kind of talent that has now joined our existing team. MediaCom Sport is a unique proposition that not only connects clients with bespoke properties but also ensures they are activated early in the planning process and integrated with their entire marketing programmes. We believe that the combination of key local office expansion and the strengthening of our global team with such high calibre and experienced personnel will put us in an even stronger position to unleash the power of sport for more of our clients across all markets,” said Marcus John, Global Head of MediaCom Sport.

Northamptonshire County Cricket club have announced they now own the freehold of the County Ground for the first time in their 107-year existence.

The club have been locked in talks with Cockerill Masonic Trustees, who previously let the ground to Northamptonshire on a long-lease basis, for the last five years.

But after completing the purchase last week, Northamptonshire – for the first time in their history – will have the freedom and opportunity to develop the ground in accordance with their ambitions to become one of ‘the best non Test Match County Grounds in the Country’.

The purchasing of the freehold, alongside the County Ground’s new outdoor nets facility that is due to be completed later this summer, has been made possible through a generous legacy left to the club by its former president Lynn Wilson.

Club chairman Martin Lawrence said: “This was the best thing the club could do and we are very happy that we have been able to achieve this.

“Although the Cockerill Trustees had allowed us to occupy the County Ground on a long leasehold basis there is nothing better than to have secured ownership of the site ourselves.

“This will help to sustain the long term financial security of the club and will enable the club to develop the site to the highest standards possible.”

“Douglas Iles one of the corporate partners at Friday Legal Solicitors and a member of our board, was very helpful to us in getting this purchase done and I would like to thank him for his efforts in this regard.”

Chief executive David Smith added: “This purchase gives the club a good opportunity to continue developing the County Ground, and developments such as the outdoor nets facility will enhance our reputation within the game and it should benefit the club in securing future international touring team fixtures, as our improving facilities will be a big attraction to them.”

The British Olympic Association (BOA) have officially scrapped their domestic by-law for athletes found guilty of doping offences.

Former drugs cheats Dwain Chambers and David Millar have been formally cleared to take part in the London 2012 Olympics.

The move follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling which declared the ban to be in contravention of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.

It means Chambers can now be selected for Team GB’s track and field team, and the same for Millar for the cycling road race team.

A BOA statement said: “Following a discussion period, during which members of the National Olympic Committee reiterated their support for the decision taken by the BOA board to defend the Eligibility Bye Law before CAS, it was agreed that the bye law would immediately be rescinded in order for the BOA to comply with the CAS ruling.

“The BOA will now notify WADA of this decision in writing.

“Additionally, the NOC encouraged the BOA to remain actively and constructively involved in the ongoing consultation process to amend the World Anti-Doping Code.

“NOC members expressed a desire to see the Code amended in a manner that would provide stronger penalties for serious doping offences, and for the autonomy of National Olympic Committees in determining selection criteria for their Olympic Teams to not be undermined or subjugated as a result of the Code.”

FanOne Marketing has been chosen by the Oakland Raiders to develop and execute fan communication and engagement activities.

FanOne will be responsible for assisting the Raiders in the development and deployment of a variety of digital promotion and marketing activities. FanOne’s proprietary solution is specially designed to help sports teams and venues increase fan engagement, sell more tickets and raise overall revenue.

Working very closely with the Raiders, the FanOne team will create segmented behavior based communication programs supported by current social media and digital tactics.

Jonathan Martinez, Database Marketing Manager for the Oakland Raiders, said: “The FanOne partnership will help increase the Oakland Raiders fan touch-points, communications and overall ticket sales. FanOne will also support the reduction of the Raiders’ current staffing needs required to execute essential fan communication and engagement activities.”

The Raiders signed-up for a full-service partnership with FanOne after achieving great success with a 2011 season ticket holder renewal campaign that doubled online renewals. The original renewal campaign, which included combination use of personalized URLs, email and surveys, required minimal resources from the Raiders and also reduced the organization’s print mail costs. The flexibility of FanOne’s services, and expertise of the digital strategy team, often reduces an organization’s cost and time associated with marketing activities. The Raiders and FanOne’s next initiative will focus on a behavior based tactic triggered to those fans showing some interest, but have yet to take action.

FanOne’s marketing segmentation and personalization tools promote fan engagement by producing higher email open and click through rates, and increased ticket sales. The company’s technology often reduces customer’s campaign management needs by allowing fan based communications to be pre-scheduled and delivered without the presence of staff.

Jennifer Zick, Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development for FanOne Marketing, added: “FanOne gives facilities amazing insight into customer behavior, while also decreasing the time and resources required to qualify leads and sell tickets. Customers won’t truly appreciate the technology until they’ve experienced it firsthand.”

Red Bull Racing has agreed a one-race deal with SKY, meaning the largest high-definition satellite TV provider in Latin America will become a Race Partner for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The agreement means SKY’s logo will feature on the bargeboards of Red Bull Racing’s Formula One cars throughout the race weekend. The well-known TV company, which has over 2 million subscribers, has been a partner of the Red Bull Racing Brazilian Stock Car team since 2009.

SKY Brazil CEO, Luiz Eduardo Baptista da Rocha said: “Since we have such a successful partnership with Red Bull Racing in Stock Car for the last two years, it is natural that we extend this project to include the Formula One team also. We look forward to an excellent race and hope for a successful result.”

Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner said: “It’s great that we have signed this deal with SKY, which is recognised globally as an exciting and progressive brand. SKY entertains via the latest technology and so is an excellent fit with Red Bull Racing, which seeks to do the same. I hope that together we produce an inspiring result at the Brazilian Grand Prix.”

The Asian Golf Tour has postponed next month’s Macau Open, it has been announced.

Reports have claimed the postponement is down to the event promoter, the Macau Sports Development Board, failing to attract a private sponsor to back the event, which was getting more and more expensive every year.

The Tour said in a statement: “The Macau Open, which was slated from October 21-24, 2010, has been postponed by the event promoter, the Macau Sports Development Board.”

An Asian Tour spokesman added that he didn’t know whether the tournament would be rescheduled later this year, saying: “Only the Macau Sports Development Board can tell that.”

The Macau Open has been running since 1998, and Colin Montgomerie, eight-times European champion, is one of its past winners.

English Rugby League team London Broncos have announced restructured their management team following the departure of chief executive officer Gus Mackay.

Jason Loubser, who has been the financial controller at the club for three years, has become general manager, while Tom Williams, who has been working with Hemel Stags, has been recruited to head up the commercial side of the business.

Niel Wood, formerly of the RFL, will oversee marketing and community operations, and David Lawrenson will be responsible for media and communications.

Announcing the restructure, the Broncos, who have yet to pick up a point in this year’s Super League, admitted on their official website that it been a very difficult time for supporters.

“We want the Broncos to be a sustainable club at the heart of the Rugby League community in London,” read a club statement.

“We realise there’s an awful lot of work to be done but with support from the community and from Broncos fans we feel that is achievable.”

The 2013 European Short Course Swimming Championships will be staged in Herning, west of Aarhus in Denmark.

The Danish city won the race toy be the host of LEN’s winter showcase in a  bid battle with an Israeli candidate.

“Denmark loves swimming.“ Denmark is swimming! Today it was a tremendous pleasure to stand in front of the Bureau and say: We have built the strong foundation, we have made sure that swimming on all levels in Denmark is now well organised and therefore we are ready, and eager, to take the next step forward: hosting of the European Short Course Swimming Championships 2013,” said Pia Holmen, Director of Danish Swimming Federation.

“In Denmark we have a clear and ambitious event strategy and a huge experience in organising major international sporting events including the prestigious IOC Session & Olympic Congress in 2009 and the very successful UCI World Road Cycling Championships 2011. We now look forward to contributing to the 2013 LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships,” says Lars Lundov, CEO, Sport Event Denmark.

The swim event will be staged in the Jyske Bank Boxen, known to Dames as “The Box” national sports arena.

“It is a fantastic arena and the first of its kind in Denmark. It is designed for a wide variety of events and contains all the facilities necessary to host the European Short Course Swimming Championships and we will make sure that this event takes the championships to the next level,” said Jørgen Krogh, of the City of Herning.

Europe is to host its winter showcase every two years in uneven years after many years of staging the event each December, the decision to switch taken after FINA decided to give its World s/c championships a permanent December slot once every two years in even years.

International sports marketing agency, abortion Essentially Group has been appointed by The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) as its exclusive commercial agency with immediate effect.

Essentially will work closely with the HKFA across all non-media commercial areas, health with a key part of its role to source new commercial partners and create sponsorship opportunities for brands.

The HKFA is responsible for the promotion, development and governance of football in Hong Kong from the National team and professional league down to grassroots community based programmes. Football is the number one participatory sport in the Territory.

Mark Sutcliffe, the new CEO of the HKFA,commented: “Consistent with the recommendations of our development blueprint “Project Phoenix”, the HKFA is committed to realising the value of its commercial inventory. The appointment of Essentially reinforces this commitment. Together with Essentially, I have full confidence that the HKFA will attract and retain key partners in key market segments to help foster further development of the game within Hong Kong”.

Brian Leung, Chairman of the HKFA added: “Everyone knows that football has the power to bring communities together, which could even go beyond sport.The role of the commercial partners is not just about increasing the revenue of HKFA, but to boost the awarenessand interest of local footballamong the citizensand achieve a win-win situation.”

Paul Slatter, Head of Sales, Asia for Essentially commented: “We are delighted and honoured to be working on behalf of the HKFA as its commercial agency. Football is a proven platform for brands and we are looking forward to helping the HKFA find new partners and developing commercial opportunities at such an exciting time for Hong Kong football”.

Headquartered in London and part of the media group Chime Communications, Essentially is a multi-service agency with an established presence in Asia. The group works with both brands and rightsholders to deliver marketing solutions through sport. Essentially has a strong track record in football internationally including representing Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and a major presence in Brazilian football.