MP & Silva Sign 5-Year IBAF Partnership

International sports marketing agency MP & Silva has been appointed by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) as its exclusive media advisor in a multi-year deal.

The five-year partnership will see IBAF and MP & Silva collaborate on worldwide distribution of all of the federation’s international team portfolio, including the Men’s and Women’s Baseball World Cup.

IBAF and MP & Silva will work together to expand IBAF’s sponsorship portfolio and MP & Silva will provide strategic marketing consultancy and support services to further the sport’s exposure in the USA and the key Asian markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Andrea Radrizzani, group chief executive, MP & Silva, stated: “We are extremely honoured to be given this opportunity by IBAF to help extend the reach and popularity of baseball around the globe. The prospects for growth are very promising, in Central America and particularly in Asia and, in a strategic partnership with IBAF, we aim to develop a wider international base for this exciting sport and to engage baseball fans in Asia and other key markets more directly.”

Riccardo Fraccari, president, International Baseball Federation, added: “We are pleased to announce our co-operation with MP & Silva and look forward to expanding the distribution and exposure for the sport together. We have millions of fans far and wide and with MP & Silva as our media advisor, we hope to share and foster this global passion for baseball with even more fans around the world.”

Peter Lim Acquires Stake in Salford City FC

Singapore businessman Peter Lim, the majority owner of Valencia, has secured a 50 per cent stake in Salford City FC – the club owned by the five former Manchester United players known as the ‘Class of ’92’.

Papers have been submitted to the Football Association to formalise the acquisition of the shares.

Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will each retain a 10 per cent stake in the Evo-Stik Division One North club.

Lim has long been linked with owning an English club and in 2010 withdrew a bid to buy Liverpool. He took over Valenica earlier this year.

A statement from the ‘Class of ’92’ said: “When we set upon this journey we always knew at some point we wanted external partners involved, people who would share our vision for Salford City FC.

“We have all known Peter for over 10 years, his love of sport, above all football, is well documented. He has an incredible track record in business as well as youth and community engagement, especially at grassroots level.

“This will be fantastic for SCFC, Peter’s experience and knowledge is invaluable and can help take SCFC to where we believe they can be, it’s exciting times for the club.”

A spokesperson for Lim added: “What the lads want to accomplish resonated strongly with Peter who shares a common belief with the lads in youth development through sports.

“The management of the club on a day-to-day basis, as announced back in March, will remain the same, this arrangement is important to all concerned.”

Sports Industry to Focus on Data at Sports CRM Summit

Next month’s Sports CRM Summit will feature a lively interactive session in which a panel of leading sports industry professionals will discuss and explain how they are using data to attract, inspire and retain their customers and fans.

The panel discussion, hosted by BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, Jonathan Overend, will explore the strategies that sports organisations are currently using to manage, optimise and utilise their customer data to achieve their objectives, also they’ll highlight any challenges encountered along the way.

Four professionals, from across rugby, cricket and motorsport, will share their strategies and discuss the journey that they have been on over the last few years as the role, and importance, of their data has grown as they seek to become more customer-centric in their approach.

We are delighted to announce that the panelists who are taking part and sharing their expertise are:

-Hannah Bodley, Marketing Manager, Silverstone

-Stuart Robertson, Commercial Director, Hampshire Cricket

-Zarah Al-Kudcy, Marketing Manager, Rugby World Cup 2015

-Shane Whelan, Digital Communications Manager, RBS 6 Nations

The Summit, hosted by Goodform, in partnership with Eight Feet Tall, will take place at The International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 16th September. The focus is to explore the tactical processes employed by clubs, venues, governing bodies, leagues and associations to drive engagement, customer experience and revenues through data, digital, social and insight strategies.

Download the full programme here.

Delegate rate is £299 plus VAT. Book here.

For more information please call Jennie Spillane on 01926 458 180 or email jennie@goodform.info

AFL Chief Andrew Demetriou to Step Down

Australian Football League (AFL) chief Andrew Demetriou has announced he will step down from his position at the end of the season.

He will leave the game after 11 years as the game’s most powerful figure, with his decision to resign coming after his most challenging 12 months, which was dominated by the Essendon supplements scandal.

Demetriou, who took over from Wayne Jackson as League CEO in 2003, served as chief executive of the AFL Players Association between 1998 and 2000 and was then AFL football operations manager.

He announced his impending departure at a media conference with League chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.

Demetriou said he told Fitzpatrick of his intention to quit when they were both at the NFL Super Bowl on February 2, having held discussions on a transition since 2012.

“Every organisation needs renewal, needs a new set of eyes.

“I’ve always said it was a privilege and an honour to serve the game.

“I also believe the time is right.

“The growth of the game has been extraordinary.

“It’s been a wonderful journey full of challenges but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

And he noted, “I leave the game with no regrets.”

Demetriou hoped the year-long anti-doping saga surrounding Essendon would not taint his legacy.

“That will be for others to judge.

“Hopefully people won’t take a snapshot of one point in time.

“Everything at the AFL has been done as a collective.

“We’ve achieved so much of what we’ve done as a collective. It will be for others to judge (whether I’ve done a good job).”

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Sky Italia Launches F1 HD Channel

Sky Italia has announced it will launch a high-definition channel for its Formula 1 coverage joining their British counterparts.

The Italian pay-TV firm won the rights to live F1 coverage from free-to-air public broadcaster Rai at the end of the 2012 season.

The platform has now launched Sky Sport F1 HD, medicine which will broadcast 10 of the season’s races exclusively live, drug with the other nine shared with free TV – although a free-to-air broadcast deal has yet to be agreed.

The new channel will broadcast 30 hours of live shows on each race weekend and will air the Barcelona winter test event from February 28 to March 3 for the first time in Italy.

Nike to Sell Umbro & Cole Haan Brands

NIKE, Inc. today announced its intention to sell two of its wholly-owned affiliate brands – Cole Haan and Umbro – to sharpen its focus on driving growth in the NIKE, Jordan, Converse and Hurley brands.

Mark Parker, President & CEO of NIKE, Inc, said: “We see tremendous opportunity to accelerate profitable growth around the world by continuing to deliver innovation and inspire consumers through the NIKE brand. We also see significant potential in Jordan, Converse and Hurley, which have unique consumer relationships that complement the NIKE Brand.*

“Divesting of Umbro and Cole Haan will allow us to focus our resources on the highest-potential opportunities for NIKE, Inc. to continue to drive sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders.”

Cole Haan, which specializes in casual and dress leather footwear and bags, was acquired by NIKE, Inc. in 1988. The company is based in New York. Umbro is a football (soccer) specialist brand based in Manchester, UK, acquired by NIKE, Inc. in 2008. The process of divesting of these two businesses will begin immediately, and is expected to be complete by the end of NIKE, Inc.’s fiscal 2013 (May 31, 2013).

World Indoor Athletics Championship Venue in Turkey Might Not be Ready in Time

The readiness of the venue to host the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul in March is in doubt.

The event, which is due to take place between March 9 and 11 and has already attracted entries from a record 170 countries, is seen as an ideal opportunity to showcase the Turkish city’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

But work on the Ataköy Athletics Hall is behind schedule and a test event scheduled for last month had to be cancelled.

Can Korkmazoğlu, the general coordinatior of the Championships, though, insisted that there was no panic.

“Actually, we never worried the hall would not be ready, we have only been forced to cancel the races we promised to the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF),” he told Hürriyet Daily News.

“Apart from that, we had events with two small-scale organisations scheduled that we had to cancel, but now we are running smoothly. We will begin operations inside the hall with the Turkish Indoor Athletics Championships January 27 to 29.”

Istanbul had been awarded the Championships by the IAAF in 2007.

The event was originally scheduled to be held at the Sinan Erdem Dome in the Ataköy district of Istanbul, but after the decision to use the Sinan Erdem Dome as the main court for the World Basketball Championship in 2010, it was decided to buld another hall next door to stage the World Indoor Championships.

Korkmazoğlu blamed the IAAF for the delays, claiming that it was nothing to do with financial difficulties in Istanbul.

“There were no such problems, and we were helped by the state at every stage. We were just forced to start later than planned because the project changed several times according to IAAF demands,” he said.

Korkmazoğlu is confident that the event will prove to be an outstanding success, with nearly half of the 15,000 tickets available sold already.

“As of last week, 47 per cent of the total tickets were sold out, with the main focus being on Saturday evening and Sunday. This was expected as it is when most of the finals are scheduled for,” he said.

BCCI Abandons Broadcast Deal with Nimbus Over Non-Payment

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday scrapped the contract with its broadcast rights holder Nimbus for defaulting on payments and forfeited the bank guarantee amount of $388m.

Nimbus held TV rights for all of the BCCI international and domestic matches played at home.

BCCI officials said the contract was terminated because Nimbus had not paid the 50% advance for both the recent England and West Indies series.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the BCCI’s Working Committee in Delhi.

Nimbus, which renewed its rights for Indian cricket in October 2009, had requested a delay in payment. The development will affect the finals of the domestic Ranji Trophy, which begin on December 16th.

The termination of Nimbus means that the rest of the domestic season would not be televised. It was also learnt that the working committee members were unhappy about World Series Hockey (WSH) being promoted in the air time scheduled for cricket.

Nimbus released a statement claiming that it had “acted in compliance of its contractual obligations”

“Nimbus Communications Ltd (Nimbus) has seen reports in the media in relation to cricket rights licensed to Nimbus by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“Given the confidentiality provisions of such contracts, Nimbus is unable to discuss details with the media, but can confirm that it has acted in compliance of its contractual obligations and variations agreed between the parties from time to time.

“Nimbus is working towards achieving full resolution of any differences that may have arisen between the parties and is hopeful of a reasoned conclusion of these in the coming weeks.

“Obviously, it has fully reserved all its rights and options, including invoking the arbitration process if need be.

“No further statement will be made by Nimbus in this regard till its discussions with BCCI are concluded in the coming weeks.”

Apart from the current payment, the BCCI and Nimbus also had a long-pending ‘issue’ over radio rights. Nimbus was not happy with the All India Radio’s offer and had asked the BCCI to deal with them directly.

Numbus owns the NEO Cricket channel launched in 2008. It had exclusive broadcast rights for all International and domestic cricket played in India from 2006-2014.

To read more on this topic go to iSportconnect’s discussion: Where next for BCCI sponsorship?

IEC Secure Partnership with 6 WTA Events

IEC in Sports, the major international sports marketing agency, has secured rights to distribute six-event Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments across Asia Pacific in 2011, following the re-appointment by key organizers in Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, Uzbekistan, China and Indonesia.

Tournaments include WTA Kuala Lumpur, WTA Auckland, WTA Pattaya, WTA Tashkent, WTA Guangzhou and the season-ending WTA Tournament of Champions in Bali.

China Tennis Association (CTA) has again partnered with IEC to exclusively manage all television rights for WTA Guangzhou through to 2013, with Deputy Director Xiao Ning adding: “We have been working together for the past seven years. We are very confident in the strong broadcast distribution on a pan-Asia and global basis, that IEC achieves.”

IEC in Sports MD Asia, Middle East and Africa Karl Samuelsson stated: “We are delighted to witness the rapid development of tennis in China. In a few short years, China has gone from a nation without much of a foundation in this sport to a place producing world-renowned female players such as Li Na, Zheng Jie, and Peng Shuai, with Li Na now inside the top 10. These young Chinese tennis talents prove that China has begun to shine in this global sport.”

Football League Approves Thai Consortium’s Purchase of Reading FC

A consortium from Thailand have been given the green light by the Football League to purchase Reading Football Club, it has been revealed today.

The club’s chairman, Sir John Madejski, has been trying to sell the club for around a year and negotiations with the Thai consortium have been going on for some months. 

Madejski became club chairman in 1990 and he largely funded the building of the stadium that bears his name in 1998.

He confirmed in a statement: “I delighted to announce that, following confirmation from the Football League, our new Asian consortium partners are now in place at Reading Football Club.

“After months of tireless hard work and a lot of speculation, I am very pleased to say that Reading Football Club’s future has been resolved.

“Over the past year, since the Zingarevich family left, we have engaged with a number of different prospective investors, but we have now succeeded in finding who I believe are the right people to take this club forward.

“I am honoured to be staying on as Co-Chairman at the club I love, with Khunying Sasima Srivikorn as my fellow Co-Chairwoman. Khunying Sasima has purchased 25% of the club, Khun Narin Niruttinanon has 50% and Khun Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth the remaining 25%.

“They will all join the Reading Football Club board, as will Khun Jack Srisumrid and Khun Theekharoj Piamphongsarn. Nigel Howe will remain as Chief Executive and Ian Wood-Smith as non-executive Director.

“I cannot speak highly enough of our new partners from the time we have spent together so far. They have shown great professionalism, perseverance, patience and diligence and, on a personal level, our relationship is excellent and long may that continue.

“I have owned this great club for almost a quarter of a century and it has given me some of the greatest memories of my life. I am incredibly proud of the success we have enjoyed both on and off the pitch, reaching the Premier League on two occasions, relocating the club to the magnificent Madejski Stadium, almost qualifying for Europe, twice playing at Wembley Stadium, winning Football League Family Club of the Year – there are so many moments that will stick with me forever and it will give me great pride to continue to represent the club as Co-Chairman in the future.

“As we look forward together to a healthy future, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the staff at Reading Football Club who have patiently supported the club throughout this process and given their total dedication, hard work and loyalty during these very difficult months. I would also like to offer my gratitude to our manager Nigel Adkins, the coaching staff and his squad of players for their unwavering positivity.

“It is important to also thank the media for their patience. I was not prepared to comment in depth until we had successfully completed the full process with the relevant authorities in its entirety.

“Last, but by no means least, I would like to personally thank every one of our loyal supporters for their unstinting dedication and understanding during the long time it has taken us to resolve this situation at the club.

“We have started this season well, which is testament to all of our staff and players here. There are reasons to be optimistic on many fronts, and we now move forward with a renewed vigour and high hopes for a bright new future.”