The company formerly tasked with promoting the Wolrd Rally Championship (WRC), North One Sport, has been taken over by sports marketing firm Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI).

The acquisition of North One Sport by CSI was allowed through parent company North One Television, which snapped up the WRC’s commercial rights holding company in 2007 and will continue to produce all WRC programming.

In 2009, North One Sport was appointed to look after the WRC’s commercial and media rights on a long-term deal to run until 2020. Alongside the WRC, North One Sport manages the media distribution and content delivery on behalf of the Isle of Man TT, the Velux 5 Oceans Race and the Clipper Round the World yacht race.

Based in London, CSI is part of the Convers Group headed by Russian entrepreneur and investor Vladimir Antonov, who stated: “Convers Sports’ acquisition of North One Sport starts a new page in the history of the WRC.

“Our team will use all the resources available to us to continue to excite fans with one of the best racing challenges in the world,” he added. “Our company plans to invest substantial resources to improve the promotion of the WRC and bring the quality of competition to even higher levels. This will benefit both participants and spectators in the long run.”

North One Sport’s CEO Simon Long added: “In some ways it’s business as usual for North One Sport. The vision remains the same and we have continuity in that the great team of individuals that work for us will continue to do so.”

Formula One sponsor LG has said it is confident the Korean Grand Prix will go ahead as planned in October, despite problems over the construction of the circuit.

Executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at LG – which is based in South Korea, Dermot Boden, has said everything is being done to ensure the race goes ahead.

He said: “I live in Korea – I’ve been living there for two-and-a-half years – and this race is going to occur.

“The Koreans are passionate, driven and committed. They are very focused on delivering on their Key Performance Indicators and I want to be clear – we will have a race in Korea.

“I strongly believe that and I don’t have any reason to doubt that. The Koreans will want to deliver not jst a race but an outstanding race – and I think they will do that.”

 

Major League Soccer (MLS) club Sporting Kansas City have renewed their partnership with Brazilian club Fluminense FC until 2016.

The deal will see the teams directly facilitate cooperation for player loans/transfers, academy exchanges and commercial opportunities.

“When we started the initial discussions of forming a partnership with a club outside of the United States, we were looking for a very specific set of qualities and opportunities,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. “We did not want this to be a marketing ploy. We wanted this to be beneficial for both clubs on the business and technical side.

“After meeting with Fluminense several times since the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in February, we realized that they were a perfect fit. We were aware of their club tradition and ability to produce world-class talent, but it was the common philosophy and vision shared between both clubs’ management that drove this partnership. We think there are many business practices that each club can share to better the other club promoting a win-win scenario on and off the field. Through this partnership, we’ll be able to send players down to Brazil to gain additional experience and Fluminense will be able to do the same with us.”

As part of the affiliation, Fluminense FC agrees to loan at least one player per MLS season to Sporting Kansas City. Fluminense FC will also loan other players to Sporting KC’s USL PRO affiliate(s). These loan moves will serve to further develop and showcase the players in the international market, while exposing them to a new culture and style of play.

In addition, Fluminense FC and Sporting Kansas City will collaborate on the exchange of youth players, academy staff and training/coaching methodologies over the course of the partnership. This alliance will provide opportunities for players within each team’s youth development system to live, train and compete abroad within the Academy system at the partner club.

“Player development, training opportunities and coaching education all feed into our core mission and this partnership with Fluminense FC will be of great benefit in all of these areas,” Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman said. “This partnership will provide access to another level of curriculum and will continue to help us become the best developmental organization in the United States.”

Each club has also committed to hosting an international friendly between the two teams inside their home venue and providing access to training facilities for pre-season visits. 

“We continuously invested in our presence in the North American market over the last two years in search of a strategic partnership,” said Fluminense’s president Peter Siemsen. “I believe our goals and communication are very well aligned. We could not be any more pleased with this association for our brand.”

The Australian Football League (AFL) has announced former News Corp Australia boss Kim Williams has joined the AFL Commission.

AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick nominated Williams for the non-executive role at an announcement in Sydney on Monday.

He replaces Rio Tinto chief financial officer Chris Lynch, who will step down on March 4 after six years in the role.

The media executive joins a number of other businessmen on the commission, including Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder and Seek co-founder Paul Bassat.

Williams abruptly stood down as News Corp chief executive in August last year after less than two years in the job.

He previously spent a decade as head of pay TV company Foxtel.

The appointment comes as the AFL reportedly looks to bring forward negotiations over television broadcast rights.

Fitzpatrick thanked Lynch for his role in developing the game at a time of great change, which included the addition of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.

He said Williams’ nomination was recommended by a sub-committee made up of himself, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, West Coast chairman Alan Cransberg and current commissioner Linda Dessau.

“Kim will bring significant experience and knowledge of broadcasting, print and digital media to the role, as well as his well-known life-long interest in the arts,” Fitzpatrick told reporters.

“He’s one of Australia’s most dynamic and creative business people.

“We welcome his intellect and his vision to Commission deliberations.”

Williams said it was a great honour to join the AFL.

“I look forward to being a dedicated contributor to Commission affairs and I trust that my skill set will represent something that combines harmoniously with that of the other commissioners,” he said.

Williams was an invited observer at the AFL Commission’s meeting in Sydney on Monday.

Fitzpatrick confirmed the league’s controversial cost of living allowances was being discussed, but was not a “key” item.

He said he didn’t anticipate a decision on any potential changes to the current regulations at Monday’s meeting, but hopes the AFL will reach “some sort of conclusion” in the next two to three months.

“Obviously whatever happens, clubs have to plan,” he added.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have announced today that the Spanish city of Alicante will host the 2013 IPC Shooting European Championships, ampoule taking place from 18-26 October.

Organised by Club Lucetum, sickness the 2013 European Championships will be the first major gathering of international athletes since the London 2012 Paralympic Games, welcoming around 350 athletes from 35 countries. 

Xavier Gonzalez, IPC Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted that Alicante will host the IPC Shooting European Championships. Club Lucetum has an excellent track record for organising competitions to a high standard and have hosted previous IPC Shooting World Cup events in 2009, 2010 and 2011. 

“They have also invested heavily in the facilities to bring them up to a high standard.” 

Between now and Rio 2016, the IPC is planning to develop a comprehensive competition calendar, which will see Alicante also host IPC Shooting World Cup events in 2014 and 2015, with the latter event acting as a Paralympic Games qualifier. 

The last IPC Shooting European Championships took place in 2007 in Suhl, Germany, with 280 athletes taking part.

DeNA Co., view Ltd. has teamed up with the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Inc. (NFL PLAYERS) to bring the NFL mobile social card game NFL Matchups to DeNA’s Mobage social games platform.

Featuring hundreds of NFL players, impotent  NFL Matchups challenges gamers to build the ultimate football card collection. The game is available now for free download on Android and is coming soon to iOS mobile devices.

In NFL Matchups each gamer competes to win new offensive and defensive playmakers as they build a top-notch collection of digital player cards. Users take their collection into head-to-head gridiron contests where each player’s unique stats, in combination with strategic offensive and defensive formation choices, can give them an edge. With league and tour gameplay modes, gamers can evolve the players on their squad over time to improve their stats and build the ultimate digital trading card collection.

“DeNA is proud to partner with the NFL and the NFL PLAYERS to deliver NFL Matchups to the millions of dedicated football fans looking for an experience that tests their NFL knowledge, strategy and skill, and a new way to interact with their favorite players,” said Irfan Virk, CEO of DeNA Studios Canada. “The game provides fans with a new way to interact with their favorite players and offers them an opportunity to enjoy football all year long even after the NFL season ends.”

“The NFL is constantly looking for new opportunities to connect our millions of passionate fans with the sport. Our work with DeNA accomplishes just that, and we are excited for our fans to enjoy NFL Matchups,” said David Healy, NFL Director of Media Strategy & Business Development.

“We’re excited to collaborate with DeNA on NFL Matchups,” said Nicole Pozzi, Senior Manager of Multimedia Licensing for NFL PLAYERS. “This new mobile social experience will enable fans to engage with hundreds of their favorite NFL players while designing their very own first-class virtual card collection.”

Puma CEO Franz Koch bestätigte in einer offiziellen Unternehmensmitteilung: „Nach einem starken Jahresendspurt in 2011 ist PUMAs Umsatzwachstum im ersten Quartal im Vergleich zu den Vorjahresquartalen geringer ausgefallen, site was zu einem schwächeren Ergebnis führte. Unsere Umsatzentwicklung im ersten Quartal spiegelt die derzeitigen Herausforderungen in Europa wider, denen wir mit der konsequenten Optimierung unserer Geschäftsprozesse in der Region EMEA begegnen. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass wir vor dem Hintergrund dieses außergewöhnlichen Sportjahres mit unseren Produkt-Innovationen unsere Umsatz- und Ergebnisziele für das Jahr 2012 erreichen werden.“

Aufgrund stagnierender Konsumausgaben in der Eurozone sind die Umsätze im ersten Quartal um 6,1% auf Euro-Basis sowie währungsbereinigt um 4,2% auf € 820,9 Mio. angestiegen. Die Umsätze in der Region EMEA reduzierten sich um währungsbereinigt 1,4% auf € 368 Mio., was auf die insgesamt gedämpfte Verbrauchernachfrage im Zuge der Finanzkrise innerhalb der Eurozone zurückzuführen ist. Neben dem derzeit herausfordernden Marktumfeld belastete auch der späte Wintereinbruch in Europa die Umsätze im Groß- und Einzelhandel, so dass die Frühjahrskollektionen später geordert wurden und damit die Umsatzentwicklung von PUMA im ersten Quartal beeinträchtigten.

PUMA hat bereits begonnen auf diese Herausforderungen zu reagieren und optimiert die Geschäftsprozesse in der Region EMEA. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde Sergio Bucher, bisher verantwortlich für das globale Einzelhandelsgeschäft bei PUMA, zum neuen Geschäftsführer für Europa ernannt. Im Rahmen der Transformation, die Teil der Wachstumsstrategie ist, wird PUMA seine Geschäftsabläufe in den Ländergesellschaften verschlanken und einige Backoffice-Funktionen auf regionaler Ebene zentralisieren

Eine starke Entwicklung der Umsätze in der Region Asien/Pazifik und in Amerika hat dem Umsatzrückgang in der Region EMEA entgegengewirkt. Aufgrund des Wachstums in Indien, Korea und Japan, die eine kräftige Nachfrage nach PUMAs Motorsport-, Running- und Lifestyle-Produkten verzeichnen konnten, sind die Umsätze in Asien um währungsbereinigt 10,2% auf € 192,1 Mio. angestiegen.

Die Umsätze in der Region Amerika verbesserten sich währungsbereinigt um 8,5% auf € 260,8 Mio. In der Region Lateinamerika verzeichneten vor allem Mexiko, Argentinien und Brasilien ein starkes Umsatzwachstum im zweistelligen Bereich.

Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is excited at the prospect of returning the organisation to Japan for the first time in more than a decade in February and hoops to boost the event in the country

Japan was the major player in the MMA world in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the Pride promotion attracting the top fighters and staging some of the biggest events ever seen in the sport.

The Pride Shockwave event in 2002, which also featured some bouts fought under K-1 kickboxing rules, drew a reported 90,000 spectators at the Tokyo National Stadium.

However, the sport was beset by financial problems in Japan and after the UFC purchased Pride in 2007 (and closed it later that year), interest in MMA began to wane.

Edgar, who will defend his title against Ben Henderson in Saitama on February 26, believes the UFC 144 event in Saitama will breathe new life into MMA in Japan.

“There’s such a deep history and tradition of MMA in Japan already so I think it will boost the sport back to where it used to be,” the 30-year-old American told Reuters.

“The Japanese are very knowledgeable about MMA and they are excited to have the UFC back in their country.”

The UFC’s last event in Japan was in December 2000. A month later the company was in new hands following its purchase by Station Casinos executives Lorenzo and Frank Ferttita.

Aldo Rebelo, viagra sale the recently-appointed Brazilian sports minister, case has forcefully claimed that Brazil will be ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

He cast aside doubters at the opening ceremony of the Soccerex Global Convention 2011 in Rio de Janeiro with his assertions.

FIFA officials, including general-secretary Jérôme Valcke, have repeatedly said Brazil’s preparations – in terms of building airports and stadia and ensuring venues will be ready on time – are behind schedule.

“Rest assured Brazil will have a great World Cup in 2014,” said Rebelo, speaking alongside Sérgio Cabral (Governor of Rio), Tony Martin (Chairman of Soccerex) and Mário Zagallo (former Brazilian footballer and manager).

“We are going to have a good World Cup in terms of organisation. The federal government, the state governments and the municipal governments of the 12 host cities are fully engaged in organising this event to meet all the expectations of the world, of our country, of the athletes, the tourists and the organisers and promoters.”

Rebelo, who last month replaced Orlando Silva following his resignation amidst a corruption scandal, added that in the lead up to the World Cup “there will be conflict and a contradiction or another” but it will be resolved by “seeking harmony” between the various stakeholders.

“From Tibet to Patagonia,” he added, “humankind expects Brazil to have a good World Cup.”