The Sport England Board announced its decision to reduce the funding available to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) by US$1.768m yesterday, May 9.

The reduction was made in light of disappointing rugby union participation figures shown in the Active People Survey over the last couple of years and the agreement with the RFU is a recognition that it will not achieve the participation growth commissioned through Sport England’s 2009-2013 investment.

Sport England’s Active People Survey shows that the number of adults playing rugby union at least once a week has declined from 230,000 at the start of this funding period to 177,900 at the latest update.

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: “The decision to reduce funding to the RFU was not taken lightly but Sport England has been clear that failure to achieve the agreed growth in its sport would lead to a governing body’s overall funding levels being reviewed.

“I am glad that the RFU has acknowledged that the challenge for rugby union is to stop the decline in participation and to inspire new and former players to get out on the pitch enjoying this great game in all its forms.

“We strongly support the approach being taken by the new leadership team at the RFU and the priority now being given to the grassroots game.

“Our discussions with the RFU have given us confidence that the very significant investment we are still making in rugby union will deliver value for money.”

RFU chief executive John Steele added: “We have to accept that the failure to meet our Sport England targets over the last few years would inevitably affect the level of funding we receive.

“However, I now believe we have far more realistic targets for the next two years and we are committed to creating a sound platform for growth as we move towards the home World Cup in 2015.”

The RFU/RFUW’s maximum funding award for 2009-2013 was $50.39m, consisting of $30.87m revenue funding and $19.5m capital funding, but as a result of reductions to Sport England’s Exchequer funding in the Comprehensive Spending Review, the RFU/RFUW’s capital award has already been reduced to $17.28m.

Around $13m of Sport England’s four-year investment is going into women’s rugby, with $5.9m dedicated to supporting England’s elite squad and developing the next generation of women rugby players after the England women’s team reached the final of the Rugby World Cup last September.

The Canterbury Rugby Union has appointed its first independent director to its board – Christchurch legal professional Michael Singleton.  

Mr Singleton is a highly experienced commercial lawyer currently employed by the Christchurch International Airport Limited.  Canterbury Rugby Chairman Grant Jarrold said Mr Singleton’s commercial experience will be an asset to the Union.

“Michael has a strong commercial and business background, remedy as well as a passion for professional rugby and our community.  We know that he will have a lot to offer the CRFU and we were thrilled that he applied for the position,” Mr Jarrold said.

Mr Singleton’s appointment to the CRFU Board is effective from 25 March 2014.  It is the first of three independent appointments to be made within the next three years.   The Board ultimately will consist of 6 elected and 3 appointed members following the 2016 Annual General Meeting.  

“The appointments panel was pleased with the high calibre of applicants for the position and this is a positive sign of real interest in our game and its future governance,” Mr Jarrold said.  “We all look forward to working with Michael and together playing our part in striving to ensure our ongoing success on and off the field.”

Singleton added: “As a keen rugby fan and a proud Canterbury man, I am excited to have this unique opportunity to support rugby in this region and help ensure its continued success.”

Snooker is set expand further after a breakthrough partnership between the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) and the International Olympic Committee-approved body of the World Confederation of Billiard Sports.

At the meeting in Sheffield it was agreed that the WPBSA and the IBSF would work jointly on the international development of the sport, through multi-sport events such as the World Games and Asian Games and perhaps even one day the Olympic Games. Snooker is already guaranteed to be a participation sport at the World Games in Columbia in July 2013, with 16 players from a minimum of 12 countries to play for gold, silver and bronze medals. 

The strategy is intended to generate increased interest in the sport of snooker and unlock funding around the world to develop the sport through National Governing Bodies.

The WPBSA already works with National Governing Bodies engaged with the International Olympic Committee. Working jointly with the WCBS will allow the World Snooker Tour to be recognized as a world sport in the eyes of the IOC.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “Snooker has progressed massively in recent years and this new agreement will open doors for us in new key markets to expand our sport.

“I would like to thank to members of the WCBS for their support and faith in the WPBSA as we strengthen our presence as one of the world’s major sports.

“I believe that one day snooker will be an Olympic sport. Many sports receive substantial funding from the IOC to assist growth and increase participation. I’m very excited about what the future holds for snooker and the potential to pave a new way ahead.”

Jim Leacy, President of the IBSF, said: “We are delighted to be working hand in hand with the WPBSA and this has given snooker at both professional and amateur levels the opportunity to strive for greater things.”

CricHQ and Cricket Ireland have expanded their partnership that will see every ball of the 2013 Irish International season covered via the CricHQ software.

The product will be used right across the Cricket Ireland fixture calendar in 2013 with all Ireland Men’s and Women’s matches as well as Ireland’s Under 19, denture Under 17 and Under 15 international home matches being live scored.

Fans and players are able to follow the game closer than ever before and enjoy a level of statistical information, doctor live matches, rx online profiles and media content previously unavailable.

The CricHQ app has been developed in New Zealand and is backed by a number of high-profile investors including England off-spinner Graeme Swann and ex-New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming. In addition to Cricket Ireland, other governing bodies who are partnering with CricHQ include the International Cricket Council, New Zealand Cricket, Cricket Canada, and a number of First Class counties in England.

Andrew Leonard, Marketing Manager from Cricket Ireland said: “We’re delighted that our partnership is being strengthened and with 2013 set to be arguably the most exciting home season in our history the timing couldn’t be any better. The CricHQ product is developing very quickly indeed and the new Competition Management Solution is a particularly strong development, not just for the RSA Inter-Provincial Series but for all our tournaments and series this summer.” 

Rob Lynch, CricHQ’s Europe manager said: “We are delighted to have strengthened our partnership with Cricket Ireland. Our aim is to work closely with the Irish cricket community to showcase the benefits of using our products and what is possible by adopting today’s technology. Irish cricket continues to perform exceptionally on the international stage and we hope that our partnership with Cricket Ireland will help to continue to not only spread the good word about the sport in Ireland and around the world but also to inspire the next generation of Kevin O’Briens and William Porterfields.”

Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and Relativity Media announced today that they will be forming Relativity Sports, herbal which will rank among the largest sports agencies in the United States.

The new company is a result of combining industry leader SFX Baseball, ed top football agency Maximum Sports Management and Relativity Media’s own prominent basketball agency Rogue Sports.

Relativity Sports will be a major player in North American athlete representation with more than 150 clients in MLB, abortion the NBA and NFL, and over $1 billion in current contracts. Relativity Sports athletes are superstars in professional baseball, basketball, and football, including Amar’e Stoudemire, Mariano Rivera, Justin Verlander, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Cabrera, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Ndamukong Suh, Devin Hester and Steven Jackson. The company also represents coaches and broadcasters.

“Relativity Sports serves as a perfect launching pad for us to continue to grow our entertainment business. This alliance offers athletes turnkey access to a true merger of sports and entertainment,” said Ryan Kavanaugh, Relativity’s CEO. “In addition to their careers in professional sports, we can offer athletes opportunities in film, television, music and gaming.”

“This partnership marks a new evolution in sports agencies and we couldn’t be more pleased to help open new platforms to the world’s best athletes,” said Ron Burkle, Managing Partner of The Yucaipa Companies.

According to Happy Walters, Co-COO of Relativity Media who will oversee Relativity Sports, “We are extremely excited to bring the hard-working and talented agents at SFX and Maximum together with Rogue Sports and Relativity Media. Relativity Sports will utilize its marketing relationships with global brands and studio assets to offer athletes unique access not available at other agencies.”

SFX Baseball is a premier agency representing baseball’s top professional players and managers. The agency represents a compelling mix of established All-Stars, emerging stars and minor league talent, with a dominant presence in the Latin Market.

Maximum Sports Management was formed over 20 years ago by NFL super agents Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes. Maximum Sports’ reputation and proven track record as relentless contract negotiators and innovators is unparalleled in professional football. Clients include retired NFL Hall of Fame inductees such as Curtis Martin, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith and Rod Woodson.

Cleveland’s City Council has approved giving $5.8 million to the Browns to help fix the football team’s 12-year-old, city-owned stadium.

The council voted 16-2, in approval of the repairs with one councilperson absent.

The Browns lease of the stadium, and the agreement requires the city to pay $850,000 annually for major improvements. But the team’s general counsel says that’s not enough to cover routine work. The Browns want to use the larger payment to refurbish seats and fix up concrete at the weather-battered facility.

Mayor Frank Jackson’s chief of staff says the city confirmed that the repairs were needed and reviewed the planned fixes.

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) has warned European soccer’s top clubs of the sanctions which will befall them if they do not comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

Sides could be hit with fines or excluded from European competition outright, as well all being prohibited from fielding new players, suffering points deduction or limits on squad sizes.

UEFA are currently trying to secure European Union law ratification for these sanctions, and UEFA’s senior lawyer, Alasdair Bell, has stated the organisation is ready to take the “risk” and defend itself in court against any club who questions a sanction.

“The system is not going to have much credibility if a big club that is in serious breach of the rules is not punished in an effective way. For me the sanctions need to be effective enough that people come into compliance with the system otherwise clubs are going to become disillusioned rapidly”.

The announcement is a self-entitled “last wake-up call” and come as it was revealed that the losses of the continent’s top sides rose by 36% to 1.64 billion euro ($2.2 billion) in the 2010 financial year.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said 13 clubs currently playing in European competition , either the Champions League or the Europa League, would have failed the break-even tests required from the 2013-14 season.

“It’s the last wake-up call that this red trend has to be inverted very, very quickly if we want to safeguard European soccer”.

UEFA’s financial fair play rules will come to fruition in the 2013-14 season but this analysis will include clubs’ accounts for the previous three years, including with the current 2011-12 financial year.

The stipulation is that all clubs competing in European competition will be permitted to lose only 45 million euros over these three years.

UEFA’s fourth club licensing benchmark report revealed on Wednesday this week explored the fiscal health of the European game in some depth.

It included the financial figures of 90% of all top-division sides – 665 clubs in total –  and revealed that 56% of clubs are making a loss with total debts of 8.4 billion euros ($11 billion).

While revenues rose 6.6% to reach a record 12.8 billion euros ($16.8 billion); costs rocketed in turn by 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to 14.4 billion euros ($18.9 billion).

 

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Have your say on whether clubs will listen to UEFA here

 

Castrol has appointed JMI (Just Marketing International) to support the lubricants brand’s international motorsport partnerships and activities. 

Castrol currently operates in the World Rally Championship (WRC), clinic Endurance Racing series and World Superbikes.

JMI will use its motorsport marketing and activation experience to help Castrol maximise its involvement in a range of categories, including: the WRC; World Superbikes; Moto GP and Endurance Racing; Castrol Motorsport Experience Events around the world. 

JMI is delivering services to Castrol through several of its capabilities, from consultation on sponsorship rights and assets, to guidance from the agency’s Event Marketing discipline on the brand’s hospitality programmes. 

JMI’s digital specialism is tasked with creating and managing a motorsport sponsorship intranet portal, supplying information to Castrol markets, employees and stakeholders.

Donald Smith, Global Sponsorship manager at Castrol, said: “Castrol chose to work with JMI because of their vast knowledge and expertise in the motorsport marketing arena.

“This unrivalled experience will enable Castrol to elevate its established portfolio of global motorsport assets and leverage new opportunities in line with our strategic brand and business objectives.”

Jon Flack, president and chief operating officer at JMI, added: “This announcement represents an important addition to JMI’s client portfolio. Castrol is a highly-respected, premium brand with strong roots in international motorsport, a perfect match for JMI’s global motorsport marketing expertise. 

We share Castrol’s passion for motorsport and, through our experience, relationships and knowledge, are proud to be supporting Castrol’s exciting and diverse motorsport sponsorship universe.”

It has been confirmed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) that a decrease in the size of the Principality Premiership will begin from the 2012/13 season, reducing its number of teams from 14 to 10 after plans were approved by the majority of Premiership clubs.

The WRU board did however, reject a proposal to introduce the reforms for the 2011/12 season as the changes were considered to be too soon. 

Under the new format, clubs qualifying for the Premiership at the end of the current season will have until May 22 to inform the WRU whether they wish to be considered for a place in the final 10.

To earn a place they will have to qualify for an ‘A’ license based on criteria and sign a participation agreement, as well as being judged on league results across the past six seasons.

The WRU says that the identity of the 10 Premiership teams will be decided by the end of August but media reports indicate that the governing body will not reveal the identities of the clubs until the end of December.

The four teams who fail to qualify for the 10 team league will fall into a newly-formed National Championship League, receiving parachute payments for the first two years.

The Championship League will be formed of the teams from the current Swalec Division One East and Division One West, alongside the four former Premiership teams.

WRU head of rugby Joe Lydon added: “These reforms have now been confirmed and we will now need to work even harder to form a strong future for this level of rugby in Wales.

“These are radical changes and as such were never going to be simple to achieve, however it was important that they were agreed in totality and that the fundamental aims of the reforms have been recognised by all involved.”