The Lawn Tennis Association Limited (LTA) has appointed David Gregson as independent Chairman of the LTA Board.

The appointment was approved at a special meeting of the LTA Council on 12^th December.

David is the Chairman of Precise Media Group, order and of CRI, a leading UK health and social care charity.  He is also a Director of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is transforming the Olympic Park following the 2012 Games, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Sutton Trust, promoting social mobility through education.  Previously, David was a co-founder and Chairman of Phoenix Equity Partners, a leading UK mid-market private equity business, and remains a senior advisor to the firm.

LTA President, Peter Bretherton, said of the appointment: “David brings a wealth of experience as a leader in the fields of business, the voluntary sector, sport and government. His appointment as independent Chairman of the LTA Board is another significant step in the modernisation of governance of British tennis, for which the LTA Council must take great credit.”

David Gregson said: “This is a really exciting challenge for me at a fantastic time for British tennis, when we’re seeing more people playing, and more success at the highest level. I look forward to working closely with the LTA President, CEO and Board to ensure that we make the most of this opportunity, and continue to grow the sport.”

David has a lifelong passion for tennis, and will start in his role in January 2013.

Future Sponsorship is taking place on 27-29 November at the Ulker Arena, clinic Istanbul. Supported by Host Partners, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball, Future Sponsorship will address the major challenges in the sponsorship world and will debate and discuss some of the most innovative partnerships from sport, culture, media and entertainment.  The conference gathers over 200 high level representatives from brands, rights holders and agencies, who come together to shape the future of the sponsorship industry.

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Who Is Speaking?
The speaker line up includes some of the top sponsors and rights holders in the industry who will share their insights and experiences:

• Michael Payne, former Marketing Director, International Olympic Committee
• Sally Hancock, Director of Olympic Marketing and Sponsorship, Lloyds TSB
• Jordi Bertomeu, CEO, Euroleague Basketball
• Temel Kotil, CEO, Turkish Airlines
• Ragip Balciogu, MD, BEKO UK
• Iain Edmonson, Head of Major Events, London and Partners
• Laurent Colette, CMO, FC Barcelona
• Marc Audrit, VP Global Brand, Western Union
• Stewart Kellett, Recreation and Partnerships Director, British Cycling
• And many more…

Please check online for further speakers!

Register before 23rd October for early bird discounts

Become a partner at the 7th edition of Future Sponsorship and benefit from:

•    Pre Conference branding and exposure through Informa Sports Groups database of 25,000 contacts
•    Exposure through the local Turkish Press
•    Exposure through our international media partners
•    The chance to meet with over 200 international sponsors and rights holders in one place at one time

For more details about the different opportunities that are available, please contact Richard Arrowsmith on +971 4407 2602 or at sponsorship@informasportsgroup.com

The Collegiate Development Football League (CDFL) has announced today that Prodigy Launch Sports will provide broadcast production services for the Euro-American Challenge International Scout Bowl, drugs and three CDFL collegiate showcase games; the D3 Senior Classic, the FCS Senior Scout Bowl and the D2 vs. NAIA Senior Bowl.

All games will be played in December 2013 and will be broadcast live to a worldwide audience. 

Matt Burkhead, CEO of Prodigy Launch Sports stated, “We’re excited to be working with the CDFL again this year. They’re an outstanding organization and each of their showcase games provides a great opportunity for exceptional football players to showcase their talents.”

Prodigy Launch is a sports multimedia development, marketing and management business. Prodigy provides personalized services to large and small organizations through strategic partnerships and individual projects.

George St Lawrence, Co-Founder of the CDFL stated: “In addition to the outstanding services provided by Prodigy Launch, the CDFL has retained DaCast, a San Francisco based, platform service provider, to work with the CDFL and Prodigy Launch in providing live, worldwide broadcast access for the CDFL games. St. Lawrence further added,” The ability to view these games live worldwide, gives added value to our players. It provides exposure to overseas opportunities for our players and our organization. International football clubs who wish to sign top American players for next season will have the ability to view, evaluate, and contact players via the CDFL”.

Issa Hayatou, current Confederation of African Football (CAF) president has been given a free run at staying in his position for a further four years following the news his rival was not allowed to run against him.

The news sets up Cameroon’s Hayatou to lengthen his tenure at the helm of African football to almost 30 years since his election to the post in 1988 but there is still a chance he may face a rival in the elections next year.

CAF have disallowed the candidacy of rival Jacques Anouma because he does not meet new criteria for presidential candidates but the Ivory Coast politician is expected to launch a legal bid to overturn the decision and be allowed to stand at the CAF Congress in Marrakech, Morocco, on March 10.

The 66-year-old Hayatou, anticipating Anouma’s bid, engineered a change in the organisation’s statutes to permit only voting members of its executive committee to run for the presidency.

The change was overwhelmingly approved at a special CAF Congress, arranged solely for the purpose of amending the rules, in the Seychelles in September.

Anouma is a member of CAF’s executive committee only because he serves as one of the continent’s representatives on the FIFA executive and he has no voting powers in CAF matters.

The success of recent major sporting events has highlighted the valuable impact that these can have on a city, herbal a region or a country. Many cities have therefore been inspired to bid for and host the many sporting events that become available in 2013. For this reason, herbal City Events 2012 will focus on the theme “Preparing to bid and bidding to win”. City Events is the only conference connecting host cities, doctor International Federations and event organizers, and will be held in Lausanne, the Olympic Capital, on November 14-16.

The public sector (cities, regions, and countries), National, and International Sport Federations, event organisers and numerous key stakeholders in this market will have the unique opportunity to share knowledge and experience in the three-day conference, with world class speakers.

Starting on Wednesday, November 14, Martin Kallen from UEFA, CEO of three UEFA EURO tournaments and Michael Payne, the first ever Marketing Director of the IOC will share their experience and address the challenges of organising international sport events.

The following day, Thursday 15, under the theme “Preparing to bid”, the first Plenary Session will allow three cities to share their bidding experience: the City of St-Moritz, host of the 2017 FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships, represented by Hugo Wetzel, the City of London, host to the 2012 Olympic Games, represented by Ian Edmondson of London & Partners, and the City of Istanbul, one of the most active bidder and host in the world, represented by Ugur Erdener, President of the Turkish NOC and IOC Member.

In the afternoon, the second Plenary Session “Bidding to win” will start with UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland-Ukraine, which will share key learnings on their bid to host the tournament after having recently hosted it, followed by Vladimir Leonov from the City of Kazan, host to the 2015 FINA World Championships, and Annika Malhotra from the City of Stockholm, Candidate City for the 2004 Olympics who will share what was the great positive legacy of this bid which did not win. In addition, two hours will be dedicated to one-to-one meetings with International Federations who will come to meet future host cities, international sporting events organisers and key stakeholders, to lay the foundation for future major sport events.

The third and last Plenary Session will take place in the morning of Friday 16, and will focus on the tools used to win sport event bids. The latest trends and updates from the world of hosting and bidding will be revealed exclusively at City Events. A presentation from the AISTS, will be preceded by “alternative” events organisers such as the Iron Man Series, X-Games, Festival International des Sports Extrêmes (FISE), and the Homeless World Cup, who will share what it takes to get and host them.

Each plenary session will be followed by a break-out session in smaller committees involving additional stakeholders. Additionally, five International Sport Federations, the International Ski Federation (FIS), the World Masters Games Association (WMGA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), World Archery Federation (WA), and the International University Sport Federation (FISU) will share their thoughts on what really matters in a bid.

Finally, many networking opportunities will be available during coffee breaks and lunches, and two receptions are offered on Wednesday and Thursday evening where participants have the opportunity to meet and talk with International Sport Federations, cities and stakeholders.

Additionally, FISU have the pleasure of inviting you at the Rolex Learning Center for a reception that promises quality exchanges, followed by a “relaxed” party offered by City Events to make this third edition a memorable one.

Information and Registration are available from now on: www.cityevents-sport.com

Cricket Australia have announced today a five-year radio deal with Fairfax Radio Network.

Under the agreement, herbal cricket fans will be able to tune in to Fairfax Radio Network broadcasts of the Commonwealth Bank Boxing Day and Sydney Pink Tests, health the Carlton Mid One Day International Series, pills the KFC T20INTL Series, and the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

As part of the radio rights agreement, Commonwealth Bank Test Series, Carlton Mid One Day International Series and KFC T20INTL Series  will air across 3AW Melbourne, 2UE Sydney, 4BC Brisbane and 6PR Perth, while most KFC T20 BBL matches will be aired to the markets of the teams taking part in each match as well as nationally via DAB+ digital radio. Fairfax Radio Network will engage regional stations and is working to provide coverage in Adelaide.

Cricket Australia Executive General Manager – Media, Communications & Marketing Ben Amarfio commented on the new deal: “The radio rights agreement between Cricket Australia and Fairfax Radio Network marks an exciting new chapter for cricket in Australia and offers followers of the game even more ways to enjoy the cricket action this summer.”

“We hope it is the first of a number of radio rights agreements to be announced in the lead up to a huge summer of cricket. Our work with all of our broadcast partners is designed to take the game to the widest audience possible and to help make cricket Australia’s favourite team sport. Today’s announcement certainly helps us with this goal and we look forward to working with Fairfax Radio Network over the coming seasons.

“We are also looking forward to Cricket Australia’s sponsors leveraging their association with cricket through this new radio rights arrangement.”

The radio rights deal represents an opportunity to deliver compelling cricket content to fans around Australia, according to Fairfax Radio Network Managing Director, Adam Lang.

“We are excited to be broadcasting a sport that plays such an integral role in the Australian way of life. Cricket has a rich history of sporting success for our nation and we are delighted to be a part of its future,” said Adam Lang.

“We want to create destination content for the sport across summer for our audience and our advertisers. It’s an exciting day for us all and an honour for us to be a part of such a respected and much loved sport.”

The Ladies European Tour (LET) has announced that Ivan Khodabakhsh will become the new Chief Executive Officer with effect from January 2013.

Khodabakhsh is currently CEO of World Series Boxing based in Switzerland and prior to that was Event Director at the European Athletic Association. He will succeed Alexandra Armas who is stepping down after nearly eight years at the helm.

LET Chairperson, doctor  Karen Lunn said: “Ivan was the unanimous choice of the Board from over 100 applicants for the role and we believe his vision, commercial expertise and experience in a number of sports will prove to be a huge asset as we look to further enhance the opportunities for our playing members.

“I would also like to place on record our appreciation of the excellent job that Alexandra Armas has done for us and wish her every success in the future. Alexandra advised us in March this year of her intention to step down and she has been of great help during the recruitment process of her successor.”

Ivan Khodabakhsh commented on his impending new role: “I am really thrilled to be appointed and excited by the challenge of growing the tour in a number of areas that will benefit the players, sponsors and engage fans of women’s golf. There is huge potential for growth in women’s golf, especially considering the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic programme.”

Current CEO, Alexandra Armas added:  “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time over the past eight years at the LET and I am happy with what I have accomplished during that time.

“However, I believe it is now right for me to seek a new challenge.   I wish Ivan and the Tour every success and look forward to helping Ivan in any way I can.”

Ivan Khodabakhsh is attending the final event of the Ladies European Tour, The Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Course in Dubai from 5-8^th December 2012.

For the second year running, sale Rugby Expo is pleased to announce it is partnering with iSportconnect for the two-day event at Twickenham Stadium on November 14th and 15th.

The partnership sees Rugby Expo make full use of iSportconnect’s pre-conference Networking Tool, pilule allowing delegates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, sale see who else is attending and arrange meetings with each other.

The platform will act as a virtual meeting room, so that Rugby Expo participants can interact before, during and after the event in a secure way, thanks to the site’s strict door policy.

Following a successful 2011 event, a debut at the home of English rugby, which saw more than 1,000 attendees through the door and a sold out exhibition floor, the 2012 event will again take place at the world-famous Twickenham Stadium.

Rugby Expo 2012 will consist of conferences and workshops, with day one focusing on topics relating to the professional game and the second day concentrating on issues at grass roots level. The event includes astellar line-up of influential figures involved in leading sports organisations and clubs from both from union and league.

For more information about Rugby Expo 2012, please visit www.rugbyexpo.com