Prince William, second in British monarchy’s line of succession, is to join the England 2018 World Cup bid delegation for the final presentation to FIFA on December 2, According to UK newspaper The Telegraph.

Prince William, the President of the FA, and UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron will be joined by David Beckham, and are likely to be up against Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin and the Dutch and Belgian prime ministers.

Also present in Zurich will be former American President Bill Clinton, the Emir of Qatar, and South Korean President Lee Myun Bak.

In total the provisional list of dignitaries contains one president, one former president, four prime ministers, two deputy prime minister, one prince and an Emir, as well as sundry sport ministers representing 11 countries.

England, Spain-Portugal, Russia and Holland-Belgium are contesting the 2018 race, with USA, Australia, Qatar, Japan and South Korea competing for 2022.

The list in full reads:

Russia: Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister.
England: Prince William of Wales, David Cameron, Prime Minister
Australia: Julia Gillard, Prime Minister; Mark Arib, Minister for Sport, Minister for Indigenous Peoples
USA: Bill Clinton, in his function as Hon. Chairman of the Bid Committee; Government official to be determined
Holland: Mark Rutte: Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Edith Schippers, Minister of Sports
Belgium: Ives Leterme, Prime Minister of Belgium, Didier Reeynders, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Portugal: Laurentino Jose Monteiro Castro Dias, Secretary of State for Sports
Spain: Jaime Lissavetzky Diez, Secretary of State for Sports
Qatar: Sheik Hamad bin Kahlifa Al-Thani, The Emir of the State of Qatar and members of the Royal family
Korea: Lee Myun Bak, President of the Republic of Korea (TBC)
Japan: Yukio Hatoyama, Former Prime Minister; Hiroshi Suzuki, Minister in Charge of Sports

Source: telegraph.co.uk

 

The FA have confirmed that Andrew Crean has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of The FA Group.

Crean takes over from Mark Donnelly, who is taking the role of Chief Operating Officer at Premier League side Queens Park Rangers.

Crean’s responsibilities include developing financial stability throughout The FA Group, Wembley’s trading position and to ensure success at the recently opened, St. George’s Park.

Alex Horne, The FA’s General Secretary said: “I am delighted to welcome Andrew to The FA. It is an extremely exciting time for theorganisation with plenty going on across all levels of the game.

“Our notable anniversary is being used to highlight the £100m we reinvest into football every year and our commitment to the grassroots. Andrew’s work will help us to further this important area of focus.

“I am confident Andrew will be able to add his considerable experience and expertise to the financial performance of the Group, including the strong risk and business management processes we have in place.

“He will also be responsible for the HR, IT and Legal departments and I have no doubt his energy and enthusiasm will be welcomed by all staff.”

Crean is joining the FA from the Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in horseracing. He said: “ “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of joining The FA at an important time for the organisation and in its 150th anniversary year. It’s a fantastic role and an opportunity I’m grateful for. 

“Like many people in this country, I’m a lifelong football fan, so to be involved professionally at the heart of the nation’s sport is very exciting.

“At the same time I’m very sad I’ll be leaving a great team of people. The journey The Jockey Club is on commercially is something I’ve really enjoyed being part of. 

“Every penny the Group makes goes back into growing Britain’s second biggest spectator sport and I’m sure there are many successful years ahead for both The Jockey Club and British racing.”

Crean will begin his new role in April 2013.

The South Korean government has appointed Kim Jin-sun, former Gangwon Province Governor, as ambassador for PyeongChang’s 2018 Winter Olympic Bid.

Kim was Governor for three consecutive terms and his appointment is considered a major boost for PyeongChang’s bid because of his experience leading the PyeongChang 2010 and 2014 Winter Games bids.

According to PyeongChang 2018, Kim will now work with the bid committee and “use his valuable international experience to help promote the bid to his network of global sporting community contacts”.

The Korea Times reports Kim is known to have a wide network within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international sports arena through his bid activities.

Yang ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of PyeongChang 2018 said, “on behalf of the bid committee I welcome the appointment of Jin-sum Kim as an ambassador for PyeongChang 2018. Jin-sun Kim will join the PyeongChang 2018 delegation at the OCA General Assembly this week and his wealth of experience working with the Olympic Family and the international sports community will prove invaluable as we approach the final months of the campaign”.

Meanwhile the South Korean government met Tuesday to reaffirm its support for PyeongChang 2018 and outline plans to coordinate and develop key features of the bid for the remainder of the campaign. Representatives from 14 government departments, Gangwon Province, the Korean Olympic Committee, and the PyeongChang 2018 bid committee also discussed how all parties will work effectively together to coordinate the forthcoming IOC Evaluation Commission visit in February.

The NFL’s Cleveland Browns today named Sashi Brown as the club’s Executive Vice President – General Counsel and Brent Stehlik as Executive Vice President – Chief Revenue Officer.

Brown joins the team after spending the previous eight seasons (2005-12) as General Counsel with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stehlik returns to the NFL after working the past three years (2010-12) with the San Diego Padres, including the last two as Senior Vice President – Business Operations.

“Sashi has been an excellent attorney for the Jaguars for the past eight seasons and, importantly, has significant experience with business and football matters,” said Browns President Alec Scheiner.  “He is highly regarded throughout the league and his expertise in both of these areas will be a tremendous asset to our organization.”

“Brent possesses an extensive background overseeing many elements of a sports franchise, including tickets, suites, sponsorships, concessions and stadium operations,” Scheiner said.  “His knowledge and success in all of these areas at each of his previous stops should be a huge benefit to our fans as we are committed to enhancing their in-stadium experience.”

In his role with the Jaguars, Brown’s responsibilities included contract negotiation, employment matters, insurance and risk management, intellectual property, licensing issues and litigation management. Prior to joining the Jaguars, Brown spent time as an attorney with Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm. He earned a degree from Hampton University in 1998 and a juris doctorate degree from Harvard Law School in 2002. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, he is a member of the New York, D.C. and Florida bars. He is married (Paige).

As Browns Executive Vice President – Chief Revenue Officer, Stehlik will oversee all aspects of revenue generation and client service. Prior to joining the Padres, Stehlik spent the 2009 season as the Director of Business Development with the Dallas Cowboys, as well as two years (2007-09) as the Vice President – Ticket Sales & Service with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has also held positions as the Chief Operating Officer of the Frisco RoughRiders (MiLB) (2003-07) and Director of Group Sales with the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) (1999-2003).

A native of Lakewood, Ohio, Stehlik is a 1999 graduate from the University of Mount Union with a Bachelor of Arts in sport business and a double minor in business administration and computer information systems. He and his wife, Molly, have a daughter, Sophie, and two sons, Boone and Griffin.

Stamford Bridge, health home of Chelsea FC, hosted over 450 football business grandees last night in a black-tie ceremony to announce the winners of the first ever Football Business Awards. Designed to recognise success off rather than on the pitch, the sixteen categories were fiercely contested by clubs and business working in football – not just from the UK but around the world.

The ceremony was hosted by Sky Sports News Vicky Gomersall and comedian Ian Moore with entertainment provided by holder of 5 world records and Freestyle Football Champion, Dan Magness.

“The Football Business Awards 2012 dinner was immensely enjoyable.  Besides giving us a forum to mix and converse with our colleagues, we were able to give due recognition to those in our industry who are at the top of their game.” Bruce Buck, Chairman, Chelsea FC

Winners of the 2012 awards are:

•  Best Club Marketing Campaign in the UK – Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

•  Best Business Serving Football up to £2m turnover – Statsports Technologies

•   Highly Commended – Piglets Pantry

•  Best Use of Social Media in Football – The Football Association

•   Highly Commended – Arsenal Media Group

•  Best Match Day Catering – Azure part of Elior UK

•  Best/Most Innovative use of Technology by Clubs – Manchester City FC

•   Highly Commended – FC Internationale Milano

•  Best/Most Innovative use of Technology (Football Business) – Teamer

•  Best Club Community Scheme – Everton in the Community

•   Highly Commended – Tottenham Hotspur Foundation

•  Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme – Standard Chartered Bank – Seeing is Believing

•  Venue Team of the Year – The American Express Community Stadium – Brighton & Hove Albion FC

•  Best Club Marketing Campaign Overseas – Coritiba Foot Ball Club

•  Best Business Serving Football over £2m turnover – Continental Tyre Group

•  Best Professional Service Business Serving Football – redboxdesign group

•  Best Retail/Merchandise Initiative – Aston Villa FC

•  Club Sponsorship/Partnership of the Year – Manchester City FC/ EA Sports (Circle Agency)

•  Sponsorship Partnership of the Year (Football Business) – Barclays Spaces for Sports & The Football Foundation

•  FC Business Magazine Football CEO of the Year – Karren Brady

For more information contact:

Rory Ross Russell

Email rory@footballbusinessawards.com

Tel 020 8788 3710

Simon Burton
Email simon@footballbusinessawards.com

07798 807657