The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that six IPC Athletics Grand Prix events will be staged during 2013.

In addition to recent announcements confirming the host cities of the next three World Championships through to 2017 and London’s staging of the first IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup this April, medic IPC Athletics plans to stage six Grand Prix events this spring and summer. 

The events will start in March with a three day meeting in Dubai, sale UAE before heading to Beijing, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Grosseto Italy; Arizona, USA and Berlin, Germany. 

Ed Warner, Chair of the IPC Athletics Sport Technical Committee, said: “This announcement is a direct legacy of London 2012 where the sport’s profile was raised to astronomical levels. Over 1.1 million tickets were sold for the Olympic Stadium whilst many global broadcasters pulled in record audiences for track and field events. 

“To build on this success IPC Athletics is keen to create more high profile competition opportunities over the coming years. 

“We now have World Championships in place for 2013, 2015 and 2017 and the first IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup taking place this April to coincide with the Virgin London Marathon. 

“This year’s Grand Prix events are very much a trial and are designed to improve standards off the track first and then provide more competition opportunities for leading athletes later. 

“Should the trial be successful then we will look at how we can expand these events in 2014 and beyond.”

NCR Corporation today announced that the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) is installing the NCR Venue Manager solution at four of its athletic facilities to drive revenues and increase the efficiency of its concessions and suite catering operations.

The integrated solution, drugs which will be deployed in January 2013, case will enable venue staff to plan, try manage and run events more effectively, increasing customer satisfaction while enhancing operational visibility and controls. Each year, thousands of fans attend UW-Madison varsity sports, making this college athletics program one of the top earners in the nation.

The UW-Madison solution includes point-of-sale hardware and software that enable effective back office management; integrated credit card processing; and ticket, suite, premium and retail sales. NCR will also provide application hosting, ensuring exceptional uptime and reliability of its back office software and rugged, high performance hardware. Stadiums and arenas that have deployed NCR Venue Manager increase per-event revenue by accelerating speed of service, enhancing the VIP experience and driving sales of high-value offerings such as fan cards and loyalty programs.

More than 100 NCR Diversus terminals will be deployed at the university’s four athletic facilities – Camp Randall, Kohl Center, the UW Field House and the LaBahn Arena – making this the largest NCR point-of-sale technology deployment at a National Collegiate Athletic Association institution.

“We are delighted to partner with NCR on providing UW-Madison fans with an outstanding experience at our athletic events,” said Christine Gunter, senior accountant of revenue for the University of Wisconsin Athletics Department. “NCR Venue Manager will enable us to improve service across all aspects of our venue operations, keeping our fans returning for more.”

“Today’s fans expect fast, customized service,” says Rob Hough, general manager stadiums & arenas, at NCR Hospitality. “NCR technology enables operators of large venues to make the most of game day, with decisions and service that increase per-customer spend and strengthen loyalty, while reducing operational costs.”

Just Marketing International (JMI), cough the world’s largest motorsports marketing agency, unhealthy has formed a new Strategy and Consulting division.

The move reflects growing client demand for strategic consulting services and greater scrutiny and analysis of measured return on investment, physician from sponsorships in general and motorsports in particular.

Through the creation of this division, JMI will leverage leading industry research to apply insights and experience in creating powerful, relevant client solutions across the global footprint of the company.

The new global team is led by Aled Rees, who becomes Senior Vice President, Strategy & Consulting, and will transition out of his current role of Vice President, Client Services, International. Aled joined JMI in 2008 to manage the delivery of the agency’s high profile partners in Formula One, including LG Electronics, Diageo and UBS. Prior to JMI he was the Global Head of F1 Sponsorship at Vodafone, previous to which he spent 13 years in the global sponsorship department of Philip Morris International. Aled will remain based at JMI’s London office. 

Aled Rees, said: “Despite the variety of motorsports sponsorships across the series in which we operate, JMI has seen more focus on clients’ return on investment. The new division will allow JMI to harness the expertise we have at our disposal to ensure our clients are presented with the most relevant and impactful solutions for their sponsorships.”

Jon Flack, President & COO, JMI, added: “As JMI adapts to keep at the forefront of the industry, this move signals another moment in the agency’s development that will help deliver further for our client roster. Aled has been with JMI for a number of years now and it is a natural step for us to use his vast experience to head this new strategic arm of the business.”

Aled will be supported in the U.S. by Mark Myers, who becomes Senior Director, Strategy & Consulting, a highly experienced member of the JMI team who has previously overseen the Farmers Insurance, DIRECTV and UPS NASCAR sponsorships. Mark will continue to be based at JMI’s Indianapolis headquarters in the U.S.

The Buddh International Circuit is looking to build on its success with its staging of the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix by hosting more motorsport series events.

Sameer Gaur, managing director of Jaypee Sports International Ltd, said he had seven proposals at hand from series and events just waiting for the green signal from JPSI.

“As of now, I have slotted time after November 10 to schedule meetings with representatives from MotoGP, V8 Supercars, World Superbikes, manufacturers like Porsche and Audi. In all, there are seven proposals for me to discuss,” Gaur told TOI.

Talks are also on with i1 Super Series promoters Machdar Motors. “But I’m still not completely sold over their idea,” Gaur said.

The 875 acre facility has about a window of five months in which it can hold international motorsports and Gaur is acutely aware of that.

“We really can’t target more than 4-5 events honestly. I have to keep the weather in mind,” he stated, before adding, “The world of motorsports comes to life after mid-January so I have February and March before it gets incredibly hot. April, May, June, July and August are ruled out and then we have only the months of September, October and November to host events.”

The next international entity to come down to Greater Noida could very well be the World Superbikes and/or the V8 Supercars, according to Gaur.

But if you’re itching to have another look at the circuit then the next round of action at the track will be the final round of the JK National Racing Championship and also the JK Asia Racing Series. The weekend of November 26-27 will see 10 races: four rounds of JKRAS, two races of JK Polo Cup, two races of Formula LGB and two races in the Super Saloon category.

FIFA president, Sepp Blatter is set to release documents that could show proof that senior officials took bribes in a bid to convince the public that the organisation is willing to submit to reforms.

Blatter is preparing for a important executive committee meeting in Zurich on Thursday at which he will advance a “zero tolerance” agenda that he hopes will convince FIFA’s many critics that he is serious about reform.

One plan under consideration is to deal with the past by allowing Swiss courts to release the controversial documents according to the BBC. FIFA has contained the details of this document from being made public.

But there is a growing acceptance in Zurich that Blatter’s only hope of survival is to acknowledge the mistakes of the past, even at the risk of enraging those who remain on the executive committee who may possibly be implicated.

Last November, days before the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the BBC’s Panorama programme alleged that $100m had been paid between 1991 and 2001 by International Sports and Leisure (ISL) in kickbacks to officials in return for TV and marketing contracts. It alleged that the Fifa executive committee members Nicolás Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Issa Hayatou were among the recipients. All three denied the claims.

Teixeira, who is under renewed investigation from Brazilian police over money‑laundering claims related to the payments, was alleged to have received £6m ($9.5m) in bribes via a company called Sanud that was registered in Liechtenstein, although he denies the allegations.

ISL was declared bankrupt in May 2001 but the fallout continued until June last year, when the second of two Swiss court cases ended with an agreement by lawyers acting for Fifa and the officials in question to pay 5.5m Swiss francs to settle the case.

The prosecutor in the canton of Zug said last year: “In the course of the proceedings, the accused did not deny the receipt of the monies, although they denied criminal liability.” Corporate bribery was not a crime in Switzerland before 2001. At the time Fifa said: “It is important to recall that the decision was made on matters which took place prior to the year 2000 and that there has been no court conviction against Fifa. In addition the Fifa president has been cleared of any wrongdoing in this matter.”

Blatter will go to the executive committee to release the papers as he believes it willshow he is serious about his reform agenda. Other plans include making the ethics committee more independent, introducing a “solutions committee” to oversee reform and reform of the executive committee itself.

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Forbes have released a list detailing the top 10 richest owners in sport, led by Indian Premier League (IPL) Mumbai Indians owner Mukesh Ambani, owner of the behemoth conglomerate Reliance Industries, his share of the business empire built by his father that he split with his brother Anil.

Ambani is the ninth richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$27bn way ahead of second placed Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. As owner of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) New Jersey Nets, Prokhorov is 32nd on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest people with a net worth of $18bn

Third on the list is the only owner of an English sports club and another Russian in Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. 53rd on the world’s rich list, Abramovich has a net worth of $13.4bn.

The first of five Americans in the top 10 is Paul Allen, Microsoft billionaire and owner of NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Allen is followed by the controversial prime minister of Italy and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi who is the 118th-richest person on the globe  with net worth of $7.8bn.

6th to 10th list as follows; Philip Anschutz (LA Kings/$7.5bn), Micky Arison (Miami Heat/$5.9bn), Richard DeVos (Orlando Magic/$4.2bn), Charles Dolan (New York Knicks, Rangers/$3.3bn), Joe Lewis (Tottenham Hotspur/$3.2bn)

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A massive deal has been struck which will see GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acquire the Maxinutrition Group Holdings Limited for around £162m (US$253.7m). The company, who produce protein enhanced functional nutrition products, used by a vast array of sportsmen and women, will now relinquish 100 per cent of their shares to GSK in a deal which is subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading.

Last year’s sales from Maxinutrition, which includes flagship product Maximuscle, totalled at approximately £36m ($56.4m) for the fiscal year ending in April 2010. GSK’s reach will now branch into wider categories, complementing its existing nutritional healthcare business.

John Clarke, President Consumer Healthcare, said: “This deal will give GSK a strong presence in the fast developing protein-based sports nutrition market, appealing across a broad spectrum of consumers from elite athletes to sports participants and those seeking additional nutritional supplementation.

“GSK will invest behind Maxinutrition’s science-proven products to extend the growth of Maxinutrition within its UK and European footprint and expand to the global marketplace, where GSK has existing infrastructure and capabilities.”