Premier League champions Manchester City have expanded their portfolio of owning football teams by becoming a a minority shareholder of the Yokohama F Marinos (YF Marinos) in the J-League.

The deal represents the first significant foreign investment in a J-League soccer club and has been designed to create new global opportunities for the YF Marinos and Japanese soccer talent. 

The agreement will see CFG collaborate with YF Marinos, exposing them to a world-class soccer infrastructure and network not seen before in the J-League .

This is also not Manchester City’s first foray in owning foreign teams after securing deals with A-League’s Melbourne Heart and MLS’ New York City Football Club.

“The YF Marinos is an excellent soccer club with a rich history which has grown hand in hand with Nissan. Together we see opportunities that CFG’s global soccer infrastructure will bring to the club and the excitement it will bring to the fans,” said Carlos Ghosn, Nissan President and CEO. “This partnership will contribute to the growth of the club, the growth of our shared hometown, Yokohama, as well as Yokosuka and Japanese soccer.”

“We’re thrilled to be able to play a role in investing and building on the on-going success of YF Marinos,” said Ferran Soriano, CEO, City Football Group. “We are proud to offer a collaborative and integrated approach to the football, marketing, media and commercial development of all the clubs in the City family.

“At the same time, we are proud that each of our clubs is firmly rooted and invested in its local community as well as connected and engaged with its supporter base. We are very much looking forward to starting our collaboration.”

In forming this partnership, YF Marinos will gain unrivalled access to CFG’s training methods, medical care, sport science, team management and coaching know-how, providing a motivational draw for young Japanese players and placing the club in pole position to support the national team efforts of creating a world-class team for the future.

Akira Kaetsu, YF Marinos President commented: “This collaboration presents a fantastic opportunity to boost the support and growth of our club, not only in the community through youth sport investment and increased attendance, but also internationally by attracting more sponsors and supporting the national team efforts.

“Over the last four years we have undergone significant reform within the club with the clear goal of becoming a leading club in Japan and we have achieved our target successfully. Now, alongside CFG we look forward to building on that foundation to take YF Marinos into the wider Asian and World arenas.”

{jcomments on}

Irishman Patrick Hickey was today re-elected as the President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) at the 42^nd EOC General Assembly.

Patrick Hickey was the only candidate to stand for President and a third term was secured by a unanimous decision at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton hotel.

Slovenia’s Janez Kocijancic was elected as a new EOC Vice-President, while Turkey’s Hasan Arat and Great Britain’s Lord Sebastian Coe were among 12 EOC members elected to the Executive Committee.

Patrick Hickey, who is also an IOC Executive Board member, said: “I am delighted to secure my third term as President of the European Olympic Committees with such powerful support from my colleagues across Europe’s National Olympic Committees. The next part of my presidency will be particularly exciting as we move towards the inaugural European Games in 2015.

“Finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to all other successful candidates in the election today. I know they will all provide great value to the EOC’s operations in their new roles.”

Lord Sebastian Coe, new EOC Executive Committee member and Chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “I am deeply honoured to have been elected to the EOC’s Executive Committee by my colleagues and friends at Europe’s National Olympic Committees. This is an important time for the continued development of sport in Europe, with an unprecedented series of opportunities and challenges before us.  I look forward to working closely with my colleagues in the EOC to support the best interests of Olympic sport, our European National Olympic Committees, and most importantly, our athletes.”

Baku 2015 Logo Launched with Atlético Madrid

Baku 2015 launched their logo yesterday by revealing their design will be on Atlético Madrid shirts for the coming seasons.

The new-look kit is a part of the strategic sponsorship that the Copa Del Rey holders signed with Azerbaijan last year. The official logo of the continent’s first ever multi-sport event, to be hosted in the Azeri capital, was launched earlier the same day at the 42^nd European Olympic Committees’ (EOC) General Assembly in Rome, Italy.

Globally renowned players including David Villa, Diego Costa and Arda Turan, had the Baku 2015 logo printed across their chests for last night’s home match against Getafe CF at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. The team will wear the logo as part of the current deal which has seen Atlético’s shirts emblazoned with the words ‘Azerbaijan Land of Fire’, the country’s tourism motto, in order to promote the brand of Azerbaijan all over the world.

Dubbed the ‘transformational Games’, Baku 2015 will see more than 5,400 athletes from all the 49 Olympic nations of Europecompete in 18 sports, including new formats such as basketball 3×3. Beach soccer will also feature for the first time in a major multi-sport European event. The plans are said to both reflect the ambitions of one of Europe’s most dynamic nations and be a blueprint for the future of major sporting and cultural events on the continent. The European Games will themselves run every four years and are owned and regulated by the EOC.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov, said: “For the first time Europe has its own multi-sport event and we want to spread the message to sport fans across the continent. There are few ways of doing so as impactful as on the shirt of a football team, the main identifying element of a club. Our collaboration with Atlético, with its players now wearing the Baku 2015 logo with pride, is built on a shared passion to bring people together in a celebration in sport. That’s what these Games – and our desire to host them in Baku – is really about.”

{jcomments on}

Despite a lack of on field success this season, Manchester United have posted record third quarter revenues of £115.m, up 26% in their latest financial accounts released today.

The Premier League giants failed to qualify for the Champions League finishing seventh their lowest position in the Premier League era but have continued to soar off the field.

The financial results for the 2014 fiscal third quarter and nine months ending 31 March 2014 show United’s commercial revenues totaled £42.8m for the period with sponsorship revenue increasing 43.5%. Adjusted EBITDA of £40m was up 60% and also a record for the quarter whilst overall debt fell by £16m to £351.7m.

United, who are expected to announce the appointment of Dutch coach Louis van Gaal as Moyes’ replacement saw broadcasting revenues increase 64.1% for the quarter and 35.7% for the year to date, due to the new Premier League domestic and international TV rights agreements as well as two additional Premier League home games and five more games broadcast live during the quarter compared to the same period last year.

Woodward Pleased with ‘healthy financial position’

United’s Executive Vice Chairman, Ed Woodward, commented about the latest results: “We once again generated record revenues and EBITDA as all of our businesses delivered impressive year over year growth.

“This puts us in a healthy financial position to continue to invest in the squad. Everyone at the Club is working hard to ensure the team is back challenging for the title and trophies next season.

Matchday revenue for the third quarter was £37.1m, an increase of £3.1m, or 9.1%, over the prior year quarter, primarily due to playing two additional home Premier League games and one additional home Capital One Cup game, partly offset by playing three fewer home FA Cup games.

Total operating expenses were £91.5m, an increase of £12.5m, or 15.8%, over the prior year quarter. Staff costs totaled £53.4m, an increase of £8.5m, or 18.9%, primarily due to the impact of player acquisitions such as Juan Mata who signed from Chelsea in January for £37.5m and the renegotiation of player contracts.

Other operating expenses for the third quarter were £22.1m, an increase of £0.3m, or 1.4% due to the increases in fixed costs from foreign exchange losses and higher sponsorship servicing being largely offset by lower variable costs from three fewer FA Cup matches.

{jcomments on}

A groundbreaking conference session focusing on the tastes and sporting aspirations of young people, bronchi | the Youth Club, allergist will be a highlight of the SportAccord Convention 2014 conference during this year’s event from 6-11 April 2014 in Belek/Antalya, Turkey. For the first time, the Convention will feature a conference panel composed of young people from sport and media, who will explain and debate what they like – and don’t like – about sport in a free-spirited atmosphere.

Effervescent sport and technology guru Professor Andy Miah, who heads the Creative Futures Institute at the University of the West of Scotland, has advised on the content of the session and will moderate a highly interactive encounter that is sure to generate plenty of buzz at the Susesi Convention Centre.

“With the average age of television viewers of the Olympics reaching 50, and similar trends in other established sports events, having a better understanding of the younger generation is a matter of survival,” Professor Miah said.  “Sports in the future will be watched on the move using wearable devices, we will play sports in virtual worlds, and they may even involve contests between human cyborgs. So much is about to change and we really need to figure out what to protect, so that sports continue to be important in the 21^st and 22^nd Centuries.”

“The Youth Club will be about what young people really want from sport, what sports they are participating in and watching, how they’re consuming them and what inspires them to switch on a sport or skip it. It’s going to be frank, informative and fun.”

Among the panelists will be Youth Olympics silver-medal athlete Alessia Trost, Olympic swimmer Katinka Hosszú and Paralympic athlete and former Bath Rugby player Megan Harris, plus a representative from the IOC Young Reporters programme, amongst others.

For more conference information, including a full list of confirmed speakers, visit www.sportaccordconvention.com.

The 12^th edition of SportAccord Convention this year will be the first edition of the world sport summit held in Turkey. Belek/Antalya is a developing sports hub which recently hosted the 2013 World Archery Championships. In May, the area will welcome the 2014 Turkish Airlines Ladies Golf Open, which is part of the Ladies European Tour.

Delegates may book their places via the website at www.sportaccordconvention.com.

Held in a different city every year, SportAccord Convention is a unique opportunity for international sporting leaders to engage with business, and features a dynamic exhibition as well as the annual general meetings of governing bodies of world sport.

Contact alex.ross@sportaccordconvention.com to learn about promotional opportunities at SportAccord Convention 2014.

Great Britain’s Sir Philip Craven has been re-elected as President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for a fourth successive and final term following Sunday’s elections at the 16th IPC General Assembly in Athens.

Andrew Parsons, who is also the President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, has been elected IPC Vice President.

Sir Craven polled 127 votes in the IPC Governing Board elections, while his only challenger, fellow Briton Alan Dickson, received 20.

He said: “I’m honoured and delighted to be re-elected as the President of the IPC and I’d like to thank my colleagues and peers for their continued and steadfast support.

“I look to the future, to Sochi, Rio, PyeongChang and Tokyo with great excitement and I’m very confident that we can continue to grow and develop while still keeping our inspirational athletes at the core of the Movement. Together, with continued hard work and dedication from all, we can ensure that we progress as an organisation that makes a difference, not just in sport, but also in society”.

Tim Reddish, Chair of the British Paralympic Association, said: “Sir Philip has been a dedicated and passionate advocate of Paralympic sport and under his stewardship we have seen the Paralympic movement develop tremendously. After the success of the London Games, the Paralympic movement now faces possibly the most important period in its history and it is crucial that Sochi is a success and Rio is even better than London 2012. We are delighted that today’s news means Sir Philip will continue to lead the movement through such a vital time and we have every confidence that he will recognise and respond to the challenges ahead and continue to drive the movement forward tirelessly over the next four years.”

Andrew Parsons, who has previously served a four-year term as President of the Americas Paralympic Committee, received 96 votes to finish ahead of America’s Ann Cody with 52 votes. The Brazilian replaces Australia’s Greg Hartung who did not seek re-election.

Parsons said: “I would like to thank the membership for their trust. I now aim to deliver on the expectations I set out in my manifesto. I look forward to working with IPC President Sir Philip Craven over the next four years.

“It’s an exciting moment for Paralympic sport. We not only have to keep the momentum but take advantage of it and work hard to further develop the Movement for the benefit of all our members.

By Ismail Uddin

Riccardo Fraccari, president of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), has revealed that the organisation will continue to push the player aspect of their bid as the calibre of international players made available during the Olympics may give them an advantage when it comes to inclusion for the 2020 Olympics.

Fraccari, who has been president of the organisation for over three years, believes the international players in their sport will provide ‘enormous’ value to their bid.

He told iSportconnect exclusively: “We certainly realise the professional baseball players of the world, together with the world’s elite softball players, could bring enormous value and appeal to the Olympic Games and our strategy is to continue highlighting the fact that we enjoy the full support of all the world’s leading professional baseball leagues and we have a powerful youth movement that will continue to render our sport viable into the foreseeable future; this approach is irrespective and independent of other factors.”

IBAF last year announced a merger with the International Softball Federation (ISF) to enhance their bid and Fraccari believes this will provide a unique aspect to their bid.

“Most important for us at the moment is doing everything we can to demonstrate to the IOC that baseball and softball together add unique value to the Olympic Games. 

“We felt good about our first joint presentation to the Programme Commission and feel confident that men’s baseball and women’s softball are worthy of consideration for their global popularity in terms of participation levels, fan and media interest, the important issue of gender equity, as well as their enormous commercial power and strength.”

Fraccari also stated that he sees rival bids as more of a ‘challenge’ rather than competition.

“I do not necessarily consider it a competition; it is more a welcomed challenge to see whether we can put together a proposal that compliments the existing global attractiveness of the Olympic Programme and the growth and direction of the Olympic movement.”

IBAF’s joint bid with the ISF faces stiff competition from Squash, Karate, Sports Climbing, Roller Sports, Wushu, Wakeboarding and Wrestling.

Read Riccardo Fraccari’s full exclusive interview with iSportconnect here>>

{jcomments on}