Coe confident of 2012 Olympics reaching sponsorship target

The organising committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games (LOCOG) is close to reaching its domestic sponsorship target of £700 million (US$1.1 billion), according to London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe.

Speaking at the two-year milestone before the Games, Coe said: “We’ve raised well north of £600 million (US$934 million). We’re very pleased with that as it’s in the teeth of a really difficult economic environment, and all that money is discretionary spending.”

Coe also went on to say again that he did not have a problem with BP sponsoring the Games after recent criticism of its handling over the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“BP are a great partner. They’re a very important sponsor and have helped us a lot during the bid,” he said.

And when asked if the change in leadership at BP – with chief executive Tony Hayward stepping down – would lead to a change in relations, Coe replied: “no”.

IOC Grants Caribbean Sochi 2014 Rights to SportsMax

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the exclusive broadcast rights in the Caribbean to International Media Content Ltd. (IMC), symptoms the parent company of SportsMax, impotent for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

IMC has acquired exclusive English language broadcast rights on all media platforms, excluding internet and mobile rights.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This agreement is another step in ensuring the universality of the Olympic Games. Having worked with IMC to broadcast both the Vancouver and London Games, we are very pleased to be able to rely on their expertise once again in Sochi.”

IOC member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “IMC will provide live and delayed coverage on their own SportsMax channels, and work with free-to-air broadcasters across the Caribbean, ensuring daily coverage of the Sochi Games for sports fans.”

SportsMax will provide live coverage of the Games on SportsMax and SportsMax2, starting with the Opening Ceremony on 7 February straight through to the final competition day on 23 February. 

Chairman of IMC, the Hon. Pat Rousseau, OJ, stated that: “This is part of IMC’s commitment to delivering to the Caribbean the most premier sporting events in the world. The addition of Sochi 2014 to IMC’s programming makes for an incredibly exciting broadcast year, with the 2014 FIFA World Cup also coming from IMC.” He added: “In 2010, IMC broadcast the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in the region, and we are expecting a similar strong response from our subscribers for Sochi 2014.”

Napoli President Looks to Buy English Feeder Club

Serie A runners up, Napoli are set to follow in Udinese’s footsteps and buy an English feeder club.

Udinese own Spanish side Granada and Championship side Watford, and their relationship has worked well.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has now admitted he is ready to do the same and buy an English club and he wants to appoint former Napoli boss Edy Reja as boss.

“I called Reja over the last few days and told him I intend to expand my football empire,” De Laurentiis told Radio Marte.

“I want to buy three clubs, including one in England, so I asked Reja if he would be willing to be the coach and he said he’s available.

“Obviously, if when something happens he has taken on another commitment, then I’ll seek someone else.

“In my life I have always been in love with Naples and its culture. I want to bring this city around the world. Some of my friends say they’ve never seen the city and I wonder how that is even possible.”

Current ITTF President Adham Sharara Runs for Re-Election

Long-time International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) president, viagra 60mg Adham Sharara has revealed he will run for another four years.

President for the past 14 years, drugs the Canadian announced this week at a meeting of the ITTF Executive Committee in Qatar he will stand again at the AGM scheduled for May in Paris.

An electrical engineer by trade, Cairo-born Sharara represented the Canadian national team from the age of 19, becoming the table tennis technical director for the Quebec region in 1973, before being appointed national technical director of the Canadian Table Tennis Association (CTTA) and the national team coach in 1980.

Sharara is currently run unopposed with nominations closing on April 15.

Rushmans Partners with Destination Sochi for 2014 Winter Olympics

Global event management, prostate facilities and services consultancy Rushmans has formed a joint venture with Destination Sochi to create the ultimate resource for broadcasters, teams (NOCs), sponsors and others working in the Black Sea city during the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and future events. 

Despite Russia’s growing footprint on the world sports map, it remains a commercially, legally and culturally complex environment for overseas organisations. 

The joint venture, Rushmans Destination Sochi, offers a broad range of locally resourced and delivered event and destination management services which enable organisations working in Sochi to operate confidently and effectively to maximise their involvement in events in the city. 

Services include fully serviced broadcast studios, production services, NOC Houses and entertainment / hospitality venues, accommodation, transport, food and beverage, staffing and event management. 

All services are backed by in- house legal capabilities in areas such as company formation, visa regulations and processes for foreign and domestic workforce as well as contracting with venues and accommodation.” 

Rushmans Destination Sochi has sourced a portfolio of properties including apartments, studio sites, offices and entertainment venues while its local contacts and Russian language liaison and management capabilities give clients access to the best caterers and other service providers available. 

Sochi’s reputation as a world class sports host city is growing by the year. After the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games the City will host Russia’s first F1 Grand Prix a as well as matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.  The legacy of world-class facilities and infrastructure created for the Olympics will ensure its future as a host of national, regional and international events across winter and non-winter sports. 

Rushmans Destination Sochi will provide a specialised 360 degree service for sports sector organisations operating in the city by drawing on an unparalleled knowledge of Sochi, its culture and the Russian legal and commercial systems coupled with more than 30 years expertise of expediting major event services throughout the world. 

Rushmans, which  supplied and managed broadcast studios facilities for some of the world’s leading broadcasters during the London 2012 Olympic Games has provided planning, management, security and media services to events including the IRB Rugby World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup, UEFA’s Euros and the CAF Cup of Nations among others. 

Destination Sochi is the only western-owned destination management company operating in Sochi and is rooted in the city’s commercial community. 

Nigel Rushman, Founder of Rushmans, believes the joint venture unlocks the door to Sochi for organisations which might otherwise be deterred by the perceived difficulties of operating in Russia. 

“Sochi is leading Russia’s emergence as a key destination for major international sports events and the global sports family and the companies which service international sport need to be able to operate as simply and effectively there as in any other city. 

“Rushmans Destination Sochi is founded on in-depth local knowledge and expertise coupled with top-end event planning and management skills developed over many years.  In tandem these enable us to offer a service which will enable sports organisations to operate as confidently and creatively in Sochi as they would in their home cities. 

“Whether the requirement is for specialist accommodation, hospitality and entertainment, or state of the art broadcast suites, Rushmans Destination Sochi will deal with all aspects of planning, acquisition and contracts, cutting through the red tape to enable clients to focus on their primary objectives.“ 

Bruce Talley, Founder of Destination Sochi said: “Our Company is here on the ground and has long-term practical experience both in the business and in the legal spheres in Russia. We know Sochi, know service and understand how to deliver efficiently and consistently as well as how to surmount the challenges of this new economy and maximise the opportunities in this exciting new destination.”

Olympic sports could face big cuts

A UK Government spending review this Autumn could lead to at least half of Britain’s Olympic sports having their funding cut before the London 2012 Games, it is reported.

The director of performance at UK Sport, Peter Keen, has said he would be willing to divert money from 50 per cent of the country’s sporting bodies to athletes who have a more realistic chance of success at the 2012 Games.

Keen said: “Like all publicly funded organisations, we’ll soon hear our budget. You must remember that our London mission was funded by a dramatic increase in exchequer funding, not Lottery funding. But we’re dependent on exchequer funding that will be determined in the Autumn.

“With any reasonable budget we will give the backing [prospective medal-winning] athletes deserve. And so if that means we can only fund half the sports, then that’s all we can do.What we really don’t want is to dilute our commitment to excellence.”

Keen revealed the sports that could take priority were cycling, athletics, rowing, sailing and swimming.

He added: “My ultimate loyalty is to elite sport. I learned early on that if you compromise, if you don’t look the monster in the eye, you invariably fail. If you distribute money to the point where you are spreading it so thinly then you’re not recognising a key point: that to do it properly does cost.”

ELTA TV Secure Broadcast Rights to 2014 FIFA World Cup in Chinese Taipei

ELTA TV has obtained the exclusive rights to broadcast all of the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches across Chinese Taipei.

An ELTA TV executive said the network inked a deal to secure all the media rights to air the tournament taking place in Brazil in Taiwan with world soccer’s governing body, cialis FIFA, and that it will collaborate with Chunghwa Telecom to make matches available on mobile devices and computers.

ELTA TV and Chunghwa Telecom officials said that all 64 World Cup games would be available to viewers, from the June 13 kick-off to the final on July 14.

The network will air the ties on its channel, which is available on Chunghwa Telecom’s Multimedia-on-Demand (MOD) cable subscription and Video-on-Demand services.

“It will be a month-long soccer carnival in Brazil. We are happy to announce that the Taiwanese public will not miss out on this big, international sports event,” Chunghwa Telecom president Shih Mu-piao said at a press conference yesterday.

Shahid Azeem Becomes Chairman of Aldershot Town

Aldershot Town Football Club confirmed today that as part of its continued restructure and refinancing Kris Machala has decided to handover the Chairmanship of the Club and the Board to Shahid Azeem.

Kris has been Chairman since July 2010 and will remain a major shareholder and a Board Director. Kris also has external business interests which require more of his time.

In a statement Aldershot Town said: “Shahid Azeem assumes the role of Chairman with the full support of the Board following his two year involvement as a Non executive Director with the Football Club.  As new Chairman his priority will be to lead the Club through a period of financial restructure, discount including the attraction of the new investment needed to further the strategic aims of the Club.

“On behalf of all the Directors, staff and supporters  we take this opportunity to formally thank Kris for his dedication and commitment during his tenure as owner and Chairman. We formally welcome Shahid to the role of Chairman and have every faith that with everyone supporting him he will lead the club through a difficult but improving position.”

ZenithOptimedia Launch New Sponsorship Consultancy

ZenithOptimedia today announced the launch of a sponsorship consultancy that will sit under the Sponsorship Intelligence brand, adiposity ZenithOptimedia’s in-house sponsorship research division.

The new operation will be headed up by Matt Hales, ailment who has been appointed to the newly created position of Head of Consulting. Matt will report into Chris Jones, sale Managing Director for Sponsorship Intelligence.

Chris Jones comments: “We have a very strong heritage in sponsorship and have been looking to extend our services into consultancy for a while.  Combining our understanding of sponsorship’s impact with ZenithOptimedia’s understanding of brand communications is an exciting proposition for the market.”

A global leader in sponsorship research and evaluation, Sponsorship Intelligence provide analysis and insight to help major sports federations, brands and agencies maximise the value they can drive through sponsorship. With an extensive client list across a number of prominent rights owners and brand clients including FIFA, IOC, UEFA, PUMA, Electrolux, JP Morgan and Verizon, Matt’s appointment recognises the continued growth of brand investment in sponsorship.

“We are delighted to have recruited someone of Matt’s experience to lead our sponsorship consulting practice. He joins us at a very exciting time as we continue to roll out services we believe are critical to our client’s businesses” says Gerry Boyle, Chief Executive Officer of ZenithOptimedia Group. He continues: “We are renowned for being the first agency to apply a rigorous and objective approach to improving the effectiveness of marketing spend. By applying the same rigor to the world of sponsorship, we can ensure brands make more informed decisions that will ultimately drive greater value from their sponsorship investments.”

The appointment is testament to ZenithOptimedia’s commitment to recruit industry thought-leaders. Previously Vice President of Strategy at Octagon, the world’s largest sponsorship consultancy, Matt joins Sponsorship Intelligence with a formidable track record. He started his career with a very short stint in Corporate Finance before quickly moving into advertising, where he spent six years as a media planner at Y&R, MPG and OMD.  He then moved into sponsorship with Octagon where he stayed for 11 years, working on numerous award-winning campaigns.  Matt sat on Octagon’s Management Board for eight years.

Matt Hales comments: “Accessing ZenithOptimedia’s data, insights and tools is what excites me most.  Applying these will mean significant advances can be made in the way sponsorship strategies are developed, rights are negotiated, leveraged and ultimately, the impact of investment is evaluated.”

Sponsors mark two-year milestone for 2012 Olympics

The sponsors of the London 2012 Olympic Games have marked the two-years to go landmark through different marketing initiatives.

There are now 34 commercial sponsors of the Games and 36 licensees who will be manufacturing and selling over 10, shop 000 individual pieces of London 2012 merchandise.

To mark the two-year milestone, viagra VISA provided 70 of its VISA Team 2012 athletes to join in with the celebrations at the Olympic Park.

The watch company Omega provided the starting blocks for Michael Johnson to use in the Olympic Stadium as he sprinted around the new track.

Electronics company Panasonic had a giant screen in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the day with wide ranging initiatives taking place throughout the day.

Royal Mail has issued the latest set of London 2012 stamps featuring Olympic and Paralympic sports.