Phizzle, Inc., a leading technology provider of advanced mobile marketing products and digital advertising solutions, today announced an agreement with James Madison University Athletics to power its digital marketing campaigns designed to foster closer relationships with their fan base and increase revenue streams for collegiate sponsorships.

Front Row Marketing Services, the multi-media rights holder for James Madison Athletics and one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing sports and entertainment marketing firms, assisted in the negotiation of the agreement. The comprehensive mobile marketing campaigns, designed exclusively to drive loyalty and engagement with the collegiate audience, involve in-stadium fan engagement, score and stats alerts as well as social media integration.

Phizzle’s proprietary technology, Broadcaster iX™ produces real-time, interactive HD graphics for James Madison home games, enabling fans to interact with the team and corporate sponsors via their wireless devices on the stadium’s scoreboard. Phizzle’s digital marketing solutions connect brands to fans and help corporations leverage their sponsorship investments to generate brand exposure, collect valuable customer insights and encourage fan engagement. Making mobile an instrumental aspect of the live event experience, Phizzle will be working with James Madison Athletics to provide data-driven tools to engage JMU’s sports fans across multiple communication channels.

Phizzle has successfully implemented similar strategies for high schools and a myriad of professional sports organizations including some of the largest entertainment venues like Madison Square Garden. This partnership will mark the debut of Phizzle’s platform in the collegiate sports arena, reinforcing its position as the leader in mobile and digital marketingtechnology for the sports and entertainment industry.

“Now that so many fans utilize mobile devices to consume football and other spectator sports, we believe there is an opportunity for our corporate sponsors to reach lucrative demographics through advertising and marketing campaigns directed at the mobile consumer,” stated Keith Bradshaw, Director of Corporate Partnerships at James Madison University and the on-site representative for Front Row Marketing. “We are committed to making Bridgeforth Stadium one of the premier football venues in collegiate sports and by integrating Phizzle’s state-of-the-art technology into the stadium, we are engaging with our fans through mobile devices, while simultaneously receiving relevant statistical information which will enable our sponsors to leverage their association with all of the sports within James Madison Athletics. Part of Front Row’s initiative for our properties is to generate additional revenue streams through innovative platforms at the property level and this partnership with Phizzle accomplishes that.”

“We are excited to partner with James Madison Athletics,” said Ben Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Phizzle. “Our digital marketing solutions are designed to meet the demands of today’s collegiate sports brands. Phizzle is providing JMU with both the opportunity to implement a suite of emerging technology solutions into their marketing efforts that are integrated with statistical data, and a results-driven platform designed to deliver deeper fan loyalty and increased advertising revenue.”

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) announced today that it had extended its agreement with its exclusive partner World Sport Group (WSG) until 2017.

Singapore-based WSG, doctor Asia’s leading sports marketing, ambulance media and event management company have been the exclusive commercial partners of SAFF since 1996, order when they established an agreement to market South Asian football’s marketing and television rights for the first-time ever.

The new agreement commences this year and covers four SAFF Championships – 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 – the regional governing body’s flagship competition, which is held biennially.  Together, SAFF and WSG have successfully delivered six SAFF Championships since the event was first launched in 1997.

Kazi Salahuddin, President, SAFF, said: “Our partnership with World Sport Group has been instrumental in securing the financial stability that ensures our sport’s sustainable growth in the region over the long-term.  Their commitment over the past 15 years has helped us to establish the administrative foundation and infrastructure that is necessary for us to govern and develop the sport effectively.

“Today, football in South Asia is developing rapidly.  We are seeing increased standards of competition among our member nations and we are proud that the SAFF Championship is now South Asia’s top football event.  We look forward to continue growing the sport and building its profile with WSG, not just in South Asia, but across Asia.”

Since the partnership was established in 1997, WSG has signed-on an impressive roster of sponsors and broadcast partners who are some of the world’s leading companies and media giants.  They include Emirates Airline, Toshiba and Nike among others.

Ian Mathie, Senior Vice-President, Football, Asean, Australia and South Asia, said: “In just over a decade and a half, football in South Asia has experienced tremendous growth both on and off the field.  During this time, we have enjoyed a unique partnership with SAFF that has positively impacted football in the region. SAFF has a distinguished group of marketing and media partners, and a great event – SAFF Championship – which is widely watched and growing in popularity across the region. 

“We are excited about continuing our work with SAFF and our partners to deliver top-class football from the region.”

Manchester City Football Club has submitted a planning application for a proposed youth development and first team Academy in the Openshaw West area of East Manchester following a 6 week period of public consultation with local residents, fans and other interested parties.

The Club’s exhibition, which showcases the proposals and was a central component to the public consultation, attracted in excess of 7000 visitors online and in person and revealed a 97% approval rating from respondents. Opinions of the residents of East Manchester helped to shape the Club’s planning application, the completion of which is expected towards the end of the year.

The proposed development of up to 80 acres of brown field land diagonally opposite to the Etihad Stadium and acquired by the Club over the past two years, would, should planning permission be granted, form part of the Etihad Campus as announced in early July this year.

The Club have release new visual images of the proposed facility, which form part of the application submitted to Manchester City Council and which are available for public viewing from today.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) have stripped India’s right to host the Champions Trophy in December after problems with the administration of the sport in the country.

The FIH took the decision to move the event from New Delhi after India failed to find a solution to problems with the administration of the sport in the country.

A replacement host for the event is expected to be named within a week, the FIH have confirmed.

The schedule and line-up of the 2011 Champions Trophy will be determined when the host is announced, however the event will take place during the same window of December 3-11. 

As a result of no longer hosting the Champions Trophy, India has been invited to play in the Champions Challenge to be held in South Africa in November.

Leandro Negre, FIH President, said: “We regret that we have to move the Champions Trophy from India. It is difficult for the teams, the organisers and the fans. But we feel that this is the only way to maintain the integrity of our sport.”

The main issue is the governance structure of the sport of hockey in India. 

The FIH recognised Hockey India as the national governing body following the suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) following a bribery scandal.

But IHF’s status was restored by an Indian court last year.

India had been threatened with losing the World Cup last year over the same issue. 

“It is a fundamental and non-negotiable requirement of the Olympic Charter and the FIH Statutes that there is only be one governing body for any one sport in any country with exclusive authority and responsibility to govern, organise national competitions and to enter national teams in international competitions,” the FIH said in a statement.

The Champions Trophy, which was launched in 1980, is the FIH’s most prestigious annual tournament.

It features the world’s top-ranked teams competing in a round robin format, and this year’s event is particularly significant as it will be an important part of the build-up to next year’s Olympics in London.

The tournament has been won for the last three years by Australia.

Michael Green, who played for Germany in two Olympics and is now chairman of the FIH Athlete’s Committee, backed the decision.

“The first priority has to be the athletes, and while this was a tough decision for the FIH to make, I feel that they have ultimately made the choice that is best for the athletes involved,” he said.

The FIH is in the final stages of reviewing bids from other nations that are willing and able within the scheduled time-frame to host an event of the magnitude of the Champions Trophy.

The FIH will continue to monitor the governance structure in India and hopes that a resolution can be found before it begins to affect future events set to be held in India, Negre said. 

The next event scheduled to be hosted in India is the Olympic Qualification Tournament in February.

It emerged yesterday that the 2012 Olympic Games in London cost almost £400 million less than expected. Government sources announced that the total budget for both Olympic and Paralympic Games was £9.29 billion, allergy but was delivered for significantly less.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said: “London 2012 was a tremendous success and it is a significant achievement to deliver this large and complex programme on time and under budget.”

As well as the £377 million which was untouched, allergy | a contingency budget of over £100 million also went unspent. The under spend has been attributed to a drop in security, transportation and construction costs.

The final £9.29 billion budget was itself a major increase on the budget stated in 2005, when the Games were awarded to London. The overall cost went up due to the overlooking of VAT and an increase in security costs.

X2IMPACT, bronchi a privately funded Seattle company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the National Football League to supply its Concussion Management System (CMS) software application for use by certain teams of the NFL during the 2012 football season.

The X2IMPACT CMS is a touch-screen-based application built for iOS and Windows 8 operating systems and is equally suitable for use at the field of play or in clinical office settings. Harnessing the power of cloud computing, the X2 CMS securely serves concussion assessment data and provides authorized team health care providers with instant access to each of their players’ past and present information.

“Working with the NFL allowed us to create an application specifically tailored to the League’s needs,” said Rich Able, Co-Founder of X2IMPACT. “The resulting app embodies the NFL’s specific medical protocols and is scalable to conform to the League’s data standards now and in the future.”

Collaboration with the pilot group of teams was indispensable to the project’s success and continued improvement. “The level of enthusiasm and quality of feedback from team providers has been fantastic,” said Christoph Mack, CEO at X2IMPACT. “All of us at X2 are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to help the sideline staff of the NFL better understand and manage their athlete’s brain health, now and in the future.”

Sixteen NFL teams have signed up for the software so far, and reception has been enthusiastic.

“The X2 CMS app helps our staff to provide immediate comparison of an injured player’s current condition with their baseline evaluation. This helps our sports medicine team to make the best possible clinical decisions in caring for players who may have a concussion,” said Leigh Weiss, a certified athletic trainer/physical therapist for the New York Giants.

“Adopting cutting edge technology to maximize the level of concussion care we provide for our players is a decision whose time has come,” said Dr. Daniel Garza, medical director for the San Francisco 49ers. “As a user of the X2 CMS, I’m thrilled at how it streamlines our process and improves our visibility of what used to be an overwhelming amount of data. The X2 CMS guides us in the latest standards for making bench vs. play decisions and structures the recovery and return to play process. League physicians and athletic trainers can do our jobs better and that makes the players feel more secure.”

“Yes, I’m a former NFL coach, but much more importantly, I’m a father of kids who play contact sports,” said Jim L. Mora, an investor in X2IMPACT and chair of its Sports Advisory Board. “I know that kids pay attention to every move their professional idols make, and I want us to do everything we can to keep our nation’s kids in the game, playing hard and playing safe. So I am sure that parents across the country and around the world will join me in applauding the leadership the NFL is demonstrating in adopting the X2 Concussion Management System.”

X2 believes that the NFL’s use of its technology will help drive widespread adoption of the company’s technology.

“Our goal is to provide the best concussion management products and services ever created and to assist the NFL’s work on player health and safety,” said Able. “By proving the value of our software at the professional level, the NFL is helping to pave the way for athletes in all sports and all levels to share in the benefits of X2’s concussion management technology, and that’s what drives us to do what we do every day.”

Black Box Corporation, discount a leading communications system integrator announced it has been selected by Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins, ed to deploy a state-of-the art ShoreTel IP communications solution at their new ballpark that is set to open in Spring 2012.

Black Box will deploy a comprehensive solution that includes the ShoreTel IP PBX , Enterprise Contact Center, ShoreTel Conferencing, and ShoreTel Mobility. This solution will allow the Marlins to take advantage of the latest innovations in unified communications, collaboration, and mobility.

David Enriquez, director – information technology for the Florida Marlins, said: “We were impressed by the expansive functionality and ease of use of the ShoreTel solution along with the capabilities of Black Box to deploy the system and help us get the most out of our investment. We expect our users to experience increased productivity with the collaboration of voice, video, data, and cell services. One important factor in the decision was ShoreTel’s lower total cost of ownership when compared to other manufacturers.”

Black Box was awarded the project because of its strong knowledge and successful track record of deploying ShoreTel solutions, and its unyielding commitment to customer support and service. With ShoreTel-certified technicians in nearby Pompano, the Florida Marlins knew Black Box would effectively manage the implementation and provide ongoing support and maintenance. The solution will go live with the opening of the new ballpark next spring.

The future home of the Marlins will be a first-class baseball stadium. It is being constructed on approximately 17 acres of the historic Orange Bowl site in the Little Havana section of Miami. The ballpark will have a retractable roof, a natural grass playing field and 37,000 seats.

Black Box is a ShoreTel Gold Champion Partner and is a recipient of the ShoreTel 2011 Circle of Excellence award.

A London Assembly report showed the Tube (subway) system is suffering its longest sustained period of poor reliability for eight years suggesting that things need to drastically improve before the 2012 Olympics begin.

The report attributes some of the delays to the major Transport for London (TfL) upgrade programme, which is set to be completed in June 2012 ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 29, but it claims that many of the problems were caused due to train faults.

Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the Transport Committee, said: “Industrial action accounted for much of the increase in delays across the network. However, on lines with the most delays, such as the Jubilee and Victoria, the main cause of the increase was problems with assets such as operating systems and trains. TfL has told us it is now responding to these problems and has learned lessons from the Jubilee line upgrade.”

The report also stated major delays were caused due to strikes and called for a payment deal to be sorted before London 2012 so the Assembly will be delighted after London Underground (LU) today announced it had reached agreement with train drivers’ unions over temporary changes to working arrangements and payments during the London 2012 Games.

The agreement means that in return for agreeing to temporary changes to existing working arrangements during the Games, all train drivers employed by LU will receive a one-off payment of £500 ($790).

In addition, shifts of a certain duration or those which finish after 1.30am will attract extra payments.

Mike Brown, LU managing director, said: “This agreement is a good deal for London Underground, our drivers and those thousands of customers who will be attending the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games. LU is committed to ensuring that the train service we provide contributes to the successful operation of the Games and I am pleased that we and the unions have been able to engage in constructive dialogue to reach this agreement.”

Around 3,500 Tube drivers are covered by the agreement, while LU plans to run Tube services around an hour later than normal during the Games, on all lines, with last trains leaving central London between around 1.30am and 2am.

Extra services will run on lines serving the Olympic Park to coincide with the end of events in the evenings, meaning additional services from around 10pm.