A huge US$130m contract has been signed with energy giant Gazprom by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), to help its athletes prepare for Sochi 2014, it has been announced.

President of the ROC, Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Zhukov has said that the money would be invested in its efforts to help Russia recover from their disastrous performance at last year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver where they finished 11th in the overall medals table with just three golds.

He added: “The money is allocated for special purpose programmes as a supplement to other financial means provided by the state via the Sports Ministry and the Russian sports training centre.”

The deal with Gazprom, Russia’s biggest company and the largest extractor of natural gas in the world, will help fund the country’s preparations for Sochi which have been given another boost after the ROC signed a $5m five-year contract with Canada’s Allinger Consulting Inc.

Gazprom recently renewed it sponsorship of UEFA Champions League semi-finalist and debt-ridden German Bundesliga soccer club Schalke 04 on a five-year basis.

Allinger Consulting was founded by Cathy Priestner-Allinger who was the architect of Canada’s Own the Podium blueprint for Vancouver 2010, which received $110m.

Under the contract, Allinger Consulting Inc will develop a step-by-step training programme for Russia’s team leading up to Sochi 2014 and beyond. Russia have been set an ambitious target of finishing top of the medals table in their role as host nation, following last year’s disappointing results.

IMG Media has secured the distributionrights to the Soccer United Marketing (SUM) 2014 Road to Brazil series.

With a projected audience reach in excess of 2.5 billion, medstore IMG is also providing and managing the host broadcast services for all seven matches.

As well as having secured extensive global distribution for the series, symptoms with matches being broadcast across the US, drugs Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, IMG Media also brokered the domestic broadcast rights deal in the US between SUM and beIN Sports.

In total, 10 countries are participating in the series, which takes place in cities across the US, starting with Honduras against Turkey on Thursday 29^th May. Reigning World Cup champions Spain also take on El Salvador – which will be shown in the US on Spanish language broadcaster Univision – with six other games featuring Brazil-bound Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Ivory Coast and Nigeria also taking place.

Michael Mellor, Senior Vice President and Head of Football, IMG Media, said: “The countdown to Brazil is well and truly underway and our global sales for this series once again demonstrate the vast appeal of international football. From Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa to the Middle East, China, Japan and Singapore, these games will whet the appetite for the main event in Brazil.”

In addition to Road to Brazil, IMG has also distributed the worldwide rights to a separate match taking place in the US on June 10^th, which will see Portugal line-up against Ireland in New Jersey.

The President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Lamine Diack, has stated that unless guarantees can be made over the future of London’s Olympic Stadium in the next three month, the city’s bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships is nearly certain to fail.

Doubts still exist over whether the running track will be retained when the Olympic Games is concluded as the stadium, whose future ownership and usage has been heavily contested. is set to be handed over to soccer club West Ham United.

The decision by the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) is still being disputed by soccer rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who hope for a judicial review into the decision. Tottenham plan to remove the running track if they secure the stadium.

Lamine Diack, during his first visit to the Olympic Stadium since the running track’s installation, told insidethegames that Britain’s failures to keep previous promises will count against its bid unless they can meet certain criteria.

“We have a wonderful stadium of athletics here. We are expecting a full stadium morning and afternoon. I think we will have the most wonderful atmosphere we have ever had at a Championships.

“They [London 2012] have delivered a fantastic Stadium. The problem is, ‘Are we going to have this continue in the future?’ That is the big problem.”

Doubts over the future of the stadium last year forced Britain to scrap a bid for the 2015 World Championships, which were awarded instead to Beijing, hosts of the 2008 Olympics.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012 and the vice-president of the IAAF, said he was confident that a resolution could be found before the November 12 vote.

He said: “The commitment from the Minister and the Mayor [Boris Johnson] is very clear – they want this to happen. That commitment has been made to Lamine. The issue is obviously keeping the track and that has been made clear and there is a commitment within that to 2017. I think we are in pretty good shape and I think he understands that.

“The Mayor and the Sports Minister both have a very clear view that they want the 2017 World Athletics Championships. It is a really smart legacy soon after the Games and we need to live within the commitment we made to world sport that there would be a track here.

“One way or another we will get there.”

London 2012 organiser LOCOG has announced it will auction advertising spots on the Games’ official website and other digital properties as it anticipates millions of digital enquires ahead of next year’s games.

The auction process will begin in June of this year, and McDonalds, Adidas and Coca-Cola are among the sponsors invited to purchase advertising opportunities on LOCOG’s digital properties. 

Sponsors will be able to bid for packages on a graded basis, with gold, silver and bronze packages available and will also have the opportunity to take over sections of the Olympic and Paralympic websites, such as photo galleries, medal table and certain sports.

London 2012 top tier sponsors will be given a period of exclusivity to buy up advertising opportunities on the site where many of the ad slots will be available. www.London2012.com, offers a variety of information to consumers, such as ticket information, accommodation and travel information, jobs, and Olympic merchandise.

The eight American athletes that will form basis the of soft drink giant Coca-Cola’s US advertising campaign for the London 2012 Olympics have been unveiled.

Gymnast Shawn Johnson returns to front her second Coca-Cola Olympic campaign, having featured in the run-up to Beijing in 2008 and will be joined by tennis player John Isner, wrestler Henry Cejudo and paralympic swimmer Jessica Long. Diver David Boudia, boxer Marlen Esparaza, soccer player Alex Morgan and hurdler David Oliver complete the list.

Coca-Cola has opted for an ‘eight pack’, rather than the traditional ‘six pack’ of athletes, with a focus on diversification of sports.

The first photo shoot of the ‘Eight Pack’ will take place in Boston later this week, with the pictures set to appear on Coca-Cola’s in-store materials and advertising in the lead-up to the games next year.

Coca-Cola director of Olympic Marketing Dina Gerson told Sports Business Journal: “There was an opportunity here to go with a statement and not go with the tried and true. We felt it was a great time to diversify our portfolio and give new depth and breadth to different sports than we may have partnered with in the past.”

The London 2012 Games become the third consecutive Olympics for which Coca-Cola has selected competing athletes to represent the brand, following on from campaigns for Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.