The Football Association has gotten plaudits for their handling of Fabio Capello’s resignation by British sports minister Hugh Robertson.

The minister, who only a year ago called football the “worst-governed sport in the UK”, said the FA had “acted decisively and with enormous integrity” in standing their ground against Capello after he criticised their decision to take the England captaincy away from John Terry due to his July trial for alleged racism.

Robertson told Press Association Sport: “I don’t think the FA could have the England manager in conflict with them over such an important principle going into the European Championships.

“The moment Capello went on Italian TV and openly criticised them then there was no going back – either the FA had to get him to retract what he had said or he had to go.

“The FA have acted decisively and with enormous integrity. If they had simply tried to sweep this under the carpet they would have been attacked for being weak.”

Robertson had special praise for FA chairman David Bernstein, who went over Capello’s head to remove the captaincy from Terry until the outcome of his trial where the denies racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.

“I do think the FA have handled it well and David Bernstein is a class act,” added Robertson.

“There is a view that he [Terry] should have been suspended as soon as he was charged but they thought that the trial would be before the European Championships.

“Once it became clear last week that it would be afterwards they took the entirely pragmatic view that although innocent until proven guilty it would be impossible to carry out such a high-profile job as England captain with all that hanging over him.”

by Ismail Uddin

Write your view on Capello’s resignation here

England rugby team’s World Cup sponsor Land Rover is set to send an official letter of complaint to the RFU about the behaviour of the players.

English player indiscipline has grabbed the headlines in New Zealand with Mike Tindall, Dylan Hartley, and Manu Tuilagi in particular being subjects of negative press.

Land Rover, sponsors of England Rugby and the World Cup, has complained to the IRB to express about the team’s attitude.

Land Rover invited 11 players for company day at Muriwai Beach near Auckland, where they given off-road use of Land Rover Discoverys and Range Rover Sports to use off-road use at.

The company complained that the England players were “arrogant and rude” to their staff, showed no concern for the vehicles and broke the speed limit.

Footage from the sponsor day was intended for use in advertising and promotional material but is believed to be unusable because of the poor attitude shown by the English players.

Land Rover has refused to comment publicly. A spokesperson said: “Any discussions are part of our commercial partnership and therefore private.”

 

The PGA Tour successful marketing campaign “These Guys are Good, look ” one of the most recognisable taglines in sports marketing is making a return this week in time for the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Created by the PGA TOUR brand marketing team and its advertising partner GSD&M, the campaign will feature four of golf’s rising stars – Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell and MattKuchar – who are part of a larger group that is bringing a new energy to the TOUR with their unique talents and personalities both on and off the course.

Brian Woyt, Senior Director Brand Marketing for the TOUR, said: “Now more than ever, fans are excited about golf, the energy of the Playoffs and the players involved. With this campaign, we celebrate the rising stars of golf and their many unique personalities.”

The four 30-second advert spots are told from the perspective of the fans using actual quotes about why they like these players. In Dustin Johnson’s spot, viewers will get to know Dustin in another light as he showcases his training regimen while fans voice he’s “part of that new group,” “built the perfect swing,” “he can crush a ball,” among other things.

Other spots highlight Rickie Fowler as a “new and different” and a “trend-setter;” Grame McDowell as “a guy I’d like to hang out with,” “having his own style;” Matt Kuchar as being “the real deal” and “when he wins you feel like you’re winning too.”

Each advert will air on network and cable golf programming like CBS, NBC and Golf Channel beginning with this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, the second of four events that make up the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Jeff Orth, Account Director at GSD&M, said: “For this round of ‘These Guys Are Good,’ we wanted to show a different side of the players so viewers can relate with them. The more our fans can learn about these great players, the more likely they are to tune-in and watch them play.”

Organisers of the United States Formula One Grand Prix, which will be held in Austin, Texas from 2012, have said the race will go ahead.

Reports have suggested the race is already in doubt, with claims that local authorities have not been properly consulted over the plans, and concerns over the road links to the site which is expected to attract around 120,000 fans.

However, Formula One United States spokesman Adam Goldman has said: “Tremendous progress is being made on the circuit in Austin, Texas.

“The project team and community look forward to hosting the F1 United States Grand Prix in 2012.

“We are working with the State of Texas, City of Austin and Travis County to break ground on the project by the end of the year.”

The last US Grand Prix took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana in 2007. The race’s eight-year run came to an end when F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone failed to come to an agreement with the circuit’s chiefs over new terms.

Work on billionaire Donald Trump’s Scottish golf resort is set to begin after Aberdeenshire councillors gave the green light to the first phase of the project.

The resort, which will cost over US$1 billion, will have a championship course, a hotel and hundreds of homes.

Trump wants to see the resort completed within 18 months and claims it will be “the world’s greatest golf course”. It has taken four years of planning and development, as well as an investment of nearly US$60 million to get this far.

Trump said: “We are building on the finest piece of land I have ever seen and we will turn it into a national jewel.”

Nottingham Forest Football Club has chosen TALENT Sport, ed the (ticketing) ecommerce platform from Advanced Ticketing (Advanced), as part of its goal to deliver a first-class fan experience.

The championship league club selected TALENT Sport for its renowned robustness and reliability in managing peaks of demand for ticketing, and its ability to deliver a seamless online customer experience, allowing fans to purchase from any device. The system went live last month, ready for the start of the new 2014-2015 football season.  

Fans will benefit from a fast and secure online purchasing experience using the TALENT solution, which is fully branded in line with Nottingham Forest’s website and integrated to it.  During exceptionally busy periods for high demand games, the system’s unique queuing function will kick in to alert fans to potential waiting times, whilst retaining their position in the online queue to purchase a ticket.

The club will also benefit from new commercial opportunities derived from analyzing its fan data, held centrally within the TALENT system, and engaging with fans in a more personalized way to reward loyalty with relevant offers and promotions.

“Delivering an excellent purchasing experience to our fans is a top priority. We carried out a rigorous tender process for the contract and TALENT Sport stood out as the most proven ecommerce platform for sport organisations. We can plan our sales strategy for our most popular games with confidence knowing that fans will have an equitable, secure and reliable experience when buying tickets. Fans can now purchase from any device, whenever and wherever they are, removing any barriers to purchase and reducing the problem of basket dropouts,” comments Joe Sharphouse, Operations Manager at Nottingham Forest FC.

TALENT Sport will additionally handle the purchasing of corporate hospitality, replacing two disparate systems to allow Nottingham Forest to reduce administration in the back-office. Corporate purchasers will benefit from a dedicated website, which will deliver a distinct corporate-styled online experience designed specifically for the hospitality community.

“Announcing Nottingham Forest as a new customer is a great start to the new football season. TALENT Sport’s success has been built on its ability to deliver a secure and reliable purchasing experience and it is great to have leading clubs such as Nottingham Forest recognise it for its rock solid ecommerce capabilities as well as its ability to unlock the commercial value of fan data.” comments Mark Dewell, Managing Director of Advanced Ticketing.

The club has chosen a fully hosted managed service for TALENT Sport, which is delivered by Advanced from its own UK based private-cloud hosting facility which operates 24-7 guaranteeing first-rate levels of uptime and performance.

Through a four year contract signed with Legends 10, MediaCom Sport will support future global brand extensions for one of the most legendary sporting figures in the world, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. 

This unique deal is a world first appointment for a media agency.

As the world’s two biggest sporting events head to Pelé’s beloved home country of Brazil, this partnership between Legends 10 (exclusive global agent to Pelé) and MediaCom Sport is set to boost Brazil’s presence on the world stage when one of the fastest growing markets in the world hosts the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Over 60 sponsors will be looking to leverage brand activation with scaled marketing budgets over the next four years, estimated by MediaCom to be over $2bn in the run up to these global events.

Widely regarded as the best football player of all time, Pelé will communicate his passion for humanitarianism, cultural diversity and sport as a voice on the world advertising stage. With opportunities for global brands to partner with one of the most iconic faces in the world, this partnership will see appearances of Pelé in future advertising on a national, regional and global scale. This will potentially include TV commercials, product endorsements and other areas of brand extensions.

With a predicted value of $4bn of rights investment fees for the next World Cup and Olympic Games in Brazil, MediaCom Sport will raise awareness of Brazil’s upcoming presence on the global stage over the next four years. MediaCom represents $25bn advertising spend per year and works with global advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Dell and Volkswagen Group. Pelé will work alongside a variety of clients and across multiple markets through MediaCom Sport.

Stephen Allan, Worldwide Chairman and Chief Executive of MediaCom, said: “Pelé changed the way the world plays football and this is a great opportunity for marketers to leverage one of the few genuine heroes in the world today, at a time when Brazil will be firmly in the sporting headlines. Beyond his footballing achievements, Pelé has an incredible story to tell from the poverty of his upbringing to his humanitarian work since he retired from professional sports.”

Commenting on this unique appointment, which is hailed as a first in the media agency world, Marcus John, Global Head of MediaCom Sport, said: “When we launched MediaCom Sport, the aim was to provide our clients with a first look at iconic media opportunities in the sporting field. By representing Pelé, we will be able to develop associations for our clients that fit with and enhance their communications by providing them with exclusive access to a genuine global superstar.”

Pelé adds: “It is important for Brazil to be seen as a global player in light of the fantastic growth, development and regeneration that our nation has experienced. I am looking forward to representing my country on an international scale, at a time when Brazil is in the spotlight and at its most critical economic and social turning point.”

Setanta Sports has extended its distribution in Asia by launching its channel on the Philippines’ leading cable television operator, capsule SKY Cable.

Setanta is now available on SKYcable channel 89 to customers who subscribe to it through SKYcable Select.

Live and exclusive rugby will be broadcast, sickness including the RBS Six Nations, ambulance Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri Nations), The Currie Cup, ITM Cup, Aviva Premiership, Anglo-Welsh Cup and Pro-12 (previously Magners League), as well as live Rugby League from the NRL and State Of Origin.

“We are delighted to work with SKYcable to bring our exclusive rugby programming to the Philippines,” said Roger Hall, Managing Director of Setanta Sports International. “With the on-field success of the national rugby team, interest in rugby is on the rise in the Philippines.”

“We are very proud to announce SKYcable’s newest partner, Setanta Sports. Joining the strong line-up of sports channels on SKYcable, Setanta Sports brings all the rugby action we’ve been missing out on. We join the many subscribers in celebrating the arrival of Rugby and Setanta Sports to the Philippines”  said Claudia Suarez, Head of Program Packaging and Merchandising of SKYcable Corporation.

Setanta already has distribution agreements in Thailand (with TrueVisions), Hong Kong (with Now TV and Hong Kong Broadband), Malaysia and Brunei (with Astro), Singapore (with StarHub and SingTel mio TV) and Sri Lanka (with Dialog TV).{jcomments on}