The announcement that Pernilla Wiberg has joined the Annecy 2018 bid committee to help promote the project around the world was made global at the bid’s official presentation at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Assembly in Acapulco, arthritis Mexico.

A member of the IOC from 2002 to 2010, the Swedish skier boasts an exceptional career record, having taken Olympic golds in the giant slalom at Albertville in 1992 and the combined at Lillehammer in 1994, and a downhill silver at the Nagano Games in 1998; and World Championship titles in the giant slalom in 1991, slalom in 1996, and in the combined in 1996 and 1999, silver in the slalom in 1999 and a downhill bronze in 1997. Wiberg was overall winner of the World Cup in 1997 and has 24 World Cup victories in the five events and 61 podium finishes to her name.

“I found the Annecy plans very appealing,” said Wiberg. “I had never come across a bid that gave such serious consideration to the opinions of sportsmen and sportswomen. I like the proposed tightly-knit network of sites, and I love this wonderful, perfectly-sized town. This is what the Olympic Winter Games needs.”

The seven-team tournament, which was first contested in 2000 and has been held each year since 2005, features the club champions from each of FIFA’s six continental confederations along with the host nation’s national champions.

The tournament will be played over eight match days from December 11- 21 and Fox Sports will deliver live, uninterrupted and High Definition coverage of all eight matches including the final.

The 2013 tournament is headlined by UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich (Germany) and CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores champions Atletico Mineiro (Brazil), as well as recent AFC Champions League victors Guangzhou Evergrande (China).

The opening match will feature hosts Raja Casablanca (Morocco) against OFC Champions League winners Auckland City FC (New Zealand) on December 11.

Fox Sports CEO, Patrick Delany, commented on the new deal: “It’s going to be a fantastic summer for football fans on Foxtel with every game of the Hyundai A-League and Barclays Premier League continuing throughout the summer months as well as La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup on Fox Sports and the UEFA Champions League over on ESPN.”

“The success of football as the “it” sport of the summer and the fact that we have the best team steering our coverage has led to really strong ratings.”

Previous winners of the FIFA Club World Cup include English giants Manchester United (2008) and Spanish kings Barcelona who lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2011.

Jason Cahilly has been appointed the new chief financial officer (CFO) and vice president of strategy of the National Basketball Association.

The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) partner will report to Adam Silver, medicine the NBA’s deputy commissioner who takes over the top job in February 2014. He will begin work on Jan. 14, symptoms according to the NBA, prostate which has annual revenue of more than $5 billion.

“He is a proven leader with deep financial and strategic experience across the media and entertainment industry,” Silver said in a statement.

Cahilly spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs. He succeeds Carol Sawdye, who left the league to become the chief financial officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) board of directors announced CEO and director general Henry Storgaard would be stepping down from his role within the organization effective Jan. 18.

“I have enjoyed being part of a growing organization filled with passionate and inspiring individuals,” Storgaard said in a press release. “I personally look forward to new opportunities and challenges within sport, but Paralympic athletes will always have a special place in my heart.”

Storgaard was praised by CPC president David Legg, who will be stepping into the role on a temporary basis until the position is filled full-time.

“Henry has led the organization towards great heights and the Paralympic community is very grateful for it,” said Legg. “His leadership, passion and resilience in guiding CPC through the past Paralympic quadrennial has positioned it well for the future.”

Since joining the organization in 2009, Storgaard has helped oversee a positive transition. He helped lead the CPC from a $1-million deficit to an annual budget of $9.4 million with a $1.3 million reserve fund, according to the release.

Team Canada flourished at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics, securing a record 19 medals — including 10 gold — and finishing a best-ever third in total medals. Canada placed 20th overall in total medals at the London Games this past summer.

A search for Storgaard’s permanent replacement will commence at the end of January, with the committee hoping to have the job filled by April.

Storgaard began his extensive career in sport as marketing director of the Canadian Ski Association. He’s worked on several major sporting events including the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and Canada Games.

British Cycling and its Principal Partner Sky will join Europe’s leading Future Sponsorship Conference in Istanbul, pills which takes places from 28-29 November 2012. 

Stewart Kellett, British Cycling’s Recreation and Partnerships Director and Tricia Thompson, Sky’s Director of Cycling, will be taking part in the two day conference, presenting together on their successful partnership as part of the session ‘Getting Creative with Strong, Successful Activation Techniques and More Innovative Ways to Drive Revenue.’

Following cycling’s greatest ever summer with 16 gold medals in London, the first British winner of the Tour de France and Sky and British Cycling’s recent announcement that they have beaten their goal of getting one million more Britons on their bikes and cycling regularly by 2013, the presentation will explore how Sky has worked with British Cycling to turn a traditional sponsorship into a unique partnership and discuss initiatives such as the ‘Inspiration to Participation’ vision and how this will affect the sponsorship model going forward.

British Cycling’s Director of Recreation and Partnerships, Stewart Kellett, said:

“British Cycling and Sky have a unique relationship that has delivered unprecedented levels of success for the sport leveraging Olympic, Paralympic and international success to support a campaign to get one million more people on a bike and to have a British winner of the Tour De France. We are looking forward to telling our joint story of success, brand building and employee engagement.” 

Supported by host partners, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball, Future Sponsorship will address the major challenges in the sponsorship world and will gather high level brands, rights holders and agencies to shape the future of the sponsorship industry.  

Other top speakers signed up to the anticipated event include Jordi Bertemou, CEO, Euroleague Basketball, Temel Kotil, CEO, Turkish Airlines, Michael Payne, IOC’s Former Marketing Director, Michael Payne, Sally Hancock, Director of Olympic Marketing and Sponsorship, Lloyds TSB, Ragip Balciogu, MD, Beko UK, Norman Brodie, General Manager, Cadburys London 2012, Paul Samuels,Senior Vice President of AEG Global Partnerships, Europe and Christian Struck, Director of International Brand Management, Grundig AG.

The programme will address a host of critical topics including market projections and trends, tapping into growth markets and effective growth strategies for marketing overseas.  We will see brands and rights holders share expertise from China, Brazil, Europe and the Middle East, as well as insights from Turkey on their plans and ambitions to grow its sports culture. 

Other sessions will include presentations, case studies and panel debates on dealing with problem messages in CSR, looking at successful and not so successful sponsorships from the UEFA Euros and the Olympics, discussing the true value of sponsorship to brands on a panel.  Discussions will also take place around music festival and entertainment sponsorship and the future of the industry – sports, media and entertainment.  

To register interest in Future Sponsorship 2012 go to www.future-sponsorship.com

Joanna Manning-Cooper has been named the new Communications & Marketing Director of England Rugby 2015, allergy the organisers of Rugby World Cup 2015.

The new position will be part of the ER2015 leadership team and will be responsible for ticketing and volunteering campaigns, hospital promoting the tournament, pilule managing the ER2015 brand, implementation of the Rugby World Cup brand, media relations, running the press office and coordinating press operations.

Joanna Manning-Cooper has 20 years of integrated communications and media experience, including six-and-a-half years at LOCOG, where she was Head of Public Relations and Media, responsible for global PR and media activity to promote the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to LOCOG, she was director of global communications for the Financial Times.

Debbie Jevans, Chief Executive of ER 2015, said: “We want Rugby World Cup 2015 in England to be the best World Cup ever. With less than 1,000 days to go to the tournament we are strengthening our senior team, and Joanna has been appointed following a competitive recruitment process for this important new role within the ER 2015 leadership team.

“Joanna did an exceptional job for London 2012, and her skills and experience in major sporting events will be a great asset as we promote Rugby World Cup 2015 to the world.”