Eurosport has obtained the media rights to the UEFA Youth League from 2013-15. 

Eurosport will get the first-pick of a match each matchweek. In this respect, viagra Eurosport will produce the first-pick matches (including the semi-finals and final) and broadcast them across its pan-European network of channels Eurosport or Eurosport 2.t. 

Eurosport is the first official broadcast partner of the 2013-15 UEFA Youth League, ampoule however UEFA Champions League rights holders will also have the opportunity to produce and broadcast UEFA Youth League matches. 

Commenting on the awarding of these rights, Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA, said: “UEFA is delighted to announce Eurosport as the first rights holder of the 2013-15 UEFA Youth League. UEFA is looking forward to working with Eurosport in order to build and promote this newly created competition. Eurosport’s wide reach and promotional and production expertise are key assets for the exposure of the competition and as a long-term partner of UEFA’s other youth competitions, Eurosport is a natural fit for the UEFA Youth League.“

The first match to be produced and broadcast live on Eurosport will be Manchester United FC v Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 17 September.

Major League Soccer announced today that Kansas City will be the host city for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game.

The annual showcase event will feature three days of festivities, cialis culminating in a match between the League’s top players and a renowned international club on Wednesday, medicine July 31 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, home of Sporting Kansas City. 

The 2013 MLS All-Star Game will be broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. ET on the ESPN, Univision, TSN and RDS family of networks. Exact networks will be announced at a later date. 

The 2013 All-Star Game will mark the tenth time that an elite international club has played the MLS All-Stars, who are 6-2-1 in those matches. In addition to honoring the best players in MLS, the game has featured successful, world-famous clubs such as Manchester United (2010 & 2011), Everton FC (2009), Chelsea FC (2006 & 2012), and Chivas de Guadalajara (2003). The opponent for this year’s game will be announced at a later date. 

Since opening in June of 2011, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park has hosted Sporting Kansas City’s full home schedule — selling out 17 of the 18 MLS games in 2012 — the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship, the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying semifinals and championship, both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams and international friendlies, as well as concerts such as FarmAid and Journey. 

The stadium’s inaugural season saw LIVESTRONG Sporting Park receive recognition locally, nationally and internationally, garnering many awards for venue, fan experience and technology. In 2012, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park was also recognized at TheStadiumBusiness Awards in Turin, Italy, receiving the highly acclaimed Venue of the Year award and the Product Innovation Award. The state-of-art venue was also nominated for facility of the year by the Sports Business Awards.

Harlequins Rugby club announced today that James Kendall has been appointed it’s Commercial Director.

Kendall is a sports industry specialist with 16 years experience working for the Volvo Ocean Race, Volvo Cars and BSkyB. The 40-year-old joins the London club from his position of Director at Portas Consulting, a professional services company specialising in sport.

A graduate of Durham University, Kendall brings strong project management expertise and a track record of delivering major strategic, organisational, membership, commercial and sponsor programmes for rights holders, federations and corporate businesses to his new role.

Announcing the appointment Harlequins Chief Executive David Ellis said: “The club is experiencing a remarkable period in its history both on and off the pitch. Last season’s success has focussed much attention on the club and that has created a wealth of commercial opportunities. It is important that we capitalise on them and I’m delighted that we have attracted an experienced executive of the calibre of James Kendall to lead the club in this vital role.”

Commenting on his move to Harlequins, James Kendall said: “Harlequins has a rich heritage and enviable assets on which to build a really exciting commercial proposition. This combined with the ambition and strategic focus of the club makes this a rare opportunity and a challenge I can’t wait to start. I look forward to bringing my broad experience from the sports industry and making a significant contribution towards the long term success of the club.”

Mr Kendall will take up his appointment on 5th November.

After Spain’s comprehensive defence of their title brought the UEFA European Championships to a close, see there was another spectacular finish with the Soccerex Euro 2012 Fantasy League coming to its climax.

The game, price powered by Fantasy League Ltd, stuff attracted over 1000 users from all over the world, allowing people from across the industry to test their skills against friends, colleagues and their international counterparts during the tournament. All participants are being contacted about the winners of the league prizes which included an iPad2 16GB, an England shirt signed by Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Bryan Robson, John Barnes, Phil Thompson, Terry Venables, Mike Summerbee and Stuart Pearce, a Manchester United shirt signed by Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Robson and Denis Law and a Brazil shirt signed by Carlos Alberto Torres.

After 3 weeks of intense competition, inspired substitutions and last minute drama Soccerex is delighted to confirm that the winner of the main league was James Root from SEO specialists HP Group. James has won a VIP trip for two to the Soccerex Global Convention 2012 in Rio including flights, 5 star accommodation and VIP passes.

After a successful response to the game, David Wright, Marketing Director of Soccerex, said:

“We are delighted with the reaction we have received for the Fantasy League game and hope the game added extra excitement to the tournament for those who played.  I would like to offer my congratulations to all the prize winners and particularly James; I look forward to seeing you in Rio.”

James Root, HP Group commented:

“I am over the moon to have won; the game was a huge amount of fun within the office and very easy to play. A few tactical substitutions seem to have won it for me and I am very excited to attend the Soccerex Global Convention in Rio to witness the world’s leading business football event.”

The Soccerex Global Convention is the World’s largest football business event, seeing the global leaders in the business of football come together to debate, network and do business. Lasting 5 days, including a 2 day Football Festival on Copacabana Beach, it is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 24-28 November 2012. Visit www.soccerex.com/events/global for more information.

Sporting News Media, a subsidiary of PERFORM Group, today announced an agreement with the National Football League (NFL), bringing the NFL’s premium video content year-round to Sporting News Media’s SN ePlayer, the largest digital sports video-on-demand (VOD) broadcast platform, reaching more than 18 million sports fans in the U.S. every month.

Sporting News Media will offer VOD highlights of NFL games, as well as additional related video content throughout the year, across SN ePlayer local newspaper websites which includes top local publishing brands such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, among many others. The high quality NFL video content will be distributed across select NFL markets and be made available to sports fans via both their PCs and tablet devices.

“We are always looking for new distribution platforms to deliver more NFL content to our fans,” said Vishal Shah, Vice President, Digital Media at NFL. “The sports video market has experienced tremendous growth, and we are excited to leverage our relationship with Sporting News Media to distribute NFL video in new places.”

Sporting News Media CEO Juan Delgado added: “With demand for NFL highlights at an all-time high, and with sports fans spending 39% of their time each week engaging with digital sports content outside the live broadcast window, Sporting News Media is focused on video consumption opportunities that serve the entire ecosystem. From delivery of content to avid local sports fans, to empowering top professional leagues and governing bodies looking to serve their fans in unique and innovative ways, to marketers that seek high quality sight, sound and motion across their digital footprint, we cover all bases.”

Birmingham City have announced a profit of more than £15 million in newly-published accounts but will continue to cut costs.

The St Andrew’s outfit ended the year to June 30, online 2012 £15.7 million in the black, buy thanks to the sale of a string of players and Premier League “parachute” payments made to relegated teams.

But the directors’ report, accompanying the accounts, made it clear the club’s period of austerity would continue with parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd still mired in problems.

“Due to the number of player sales and the support of Premier League parachute payments, this current year shows a substantial profit and positive cashflow,” the document said.

“The directors intend to continue to seek cost reductions to help ensure the financial viability of the club.”

But the balance sheet revealed turnover dropped from £61 million in the 2010/11 Premier League campaign to £39 million.

And the club made an operating loss of just under £4 million when transfer deals were discounted.

Staff payments, including players’ wages, almost halved to just over £25 million from more than £45 million the previous year.

But boardroom fees rocketed from £80,247 to £687,611.

Match receipts increased to £9.2 million from £9.1 million, but broadcasting revenue dropped to £21 million from almost £44.5 million.

Other commercial income also rose slightly to £8.7 million.

 

SportingPulse, viagra order the News Limited-backed online portal focused on solutions for sporting organisations, have recruited former Fox Sports executive Adam Oakes as CEO of the company.

The move came as News Limited announced it had increased its stake in the company from 51 percent to 89.5 percent.

Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany said in a statement: “It is with a touch of sadness that we bid farewell to Adam, but we certainly respect that he has been given a wonderful opportunity to take on a CEO role at SportingPulse, which is reflective of his expertise and respect in the broader sports landscape.

“Adam has given over 12 years of invaluable service. During those 12 plus years he has overseen several departments and operations within the company and has left an indelible imprint on the organisation.”

Oakes was Fox Sports’ Director of Specialist Channels, responsible for Fox Sports News, the Speed and Fuel TV channels and the Marketing and Traffic departments.

SportingPulse provides sports bodies with solutions to manage competitions, run events, and communicate with their communities through an extensive online network. It says it is responsible for 30,000 websites in 213 countries.

News Limited Chief Executive Kim Williams said: “since News’ initial investment in 2009, SportingPulse has continued to flourish. We are pleased to be continuing our support not only for the company, but for grassroots sport and digital communities in Australia.

“Adam is highly respected in the sports media industry and I am confident that his extensive experience in sports operations and management will be an invaluable addition to the SportingPulse business.

“His leadership and vision for the company can only further strengthen SportingPulse’s offering to its customers – advertisers, sporting organisations, sporting participants and their families.”

News Limited said founder and current SportingPulse Chief Executive Nick Maywald will stay on in a director of innovation role at SportingPulse.

 

Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) 2012 organisers’ Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group is proud to announce its partnership with iSportconnect, the world’s largest sports business community. The partnership will bolster both the scope and efficacy of Sports and Events Tourism Exchange’s online marketing campaign in the lead up to their event at the ICC Durban later this year (12-14 September).

Tasked with creating synergy between South Africa’s tourism, sport and event industries and promoting the country as a popular sports and events destination, there is a clear opportunity with SETE 2012 to maximize communication between the various elements with the help of a powerful specialized social media platform like iSportconnect, as well as others like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

SETE Conference Director Sugen Pillay said that “maximising our online presence is a big part of our marketing and PR strategy. Identifying the appropriate social media platform and choosing from one of the many channels available to ensure that our messages are targeting the right audience is crucial, and in this way the specialised nature of the iSportconnect community is an ideal match. The ability to communicate with a captive audience is crucial, and the user-friendly way in which iSportconnect amalgamates all relevant and useful information renders it a powerful tool in the sports business industry”.

iSportconnect offers an exclusive online platform that brings together thousands of sports business professionals worldwide. With a wide range of applications, iSportconnect combines business and social networking, detailed insights into the latest sports business news and market data, listings of business events and executive jobs, as well as market analysis to provide a one-stop shop for the sports business community. Existing LinkedIn and Twitter profiles can be synchronised and updated from iSportconnect, which also has iPhone and BlackBerry applications. iSportconnect has no introductory fees, and has no limit on communication.

iSportconnect’s Marketing and Partnership Manager Xavier Cureau said, “We are very pleased to be contributing to the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange event, as this will further expand our image in South Africa, and we look forward to promoting a major event from Africa across Europe, USA and the Middle East”.

One needs look no further than Africa’s biggest horseracing event, the upcoming Vodacom Durban July (7 July), to see how an effective social media campaign can contribute to the success of an event. Dave Macleod, Gameplan Media Managing Director, said that “in its 116th year, the Vodacom Durban July poses numerous challenges when communicating to its extremely diverse audience of potential clients, who each have very different expectations of the event. The core racing community thrives on a nourishing stream of online racing communication, betting and studying form online, and take a major race meeting like the Vodacom Durban July in their stride. They are however outnumbered on the day by the tens of thousands of socialites and fashionistas who need to be reached and inspired to attend this event every year. Social media, and Facebook in particular, has succeeded in entrenching their loyalty. Research done in 2009 showed that just under 20% of the race day attendance came from outside of KZN, in 2011 that figure had grown by 50%, much of which is attributable to the viral ‘July Fever’ that was cultivated on Facebook. The event Facebook page (The official Vodacom Durban July) is alive with daily banter from its core 6500 followers. Beyond that figure, 60 000 Facebook users a week browse the content of the page and virally the core community that “likes” the page reaches 2 111 244 people through their viral connections”.

This year’s 2nd annual SETE exhibition will feature a number of high profile international and local exhibitors, as well as more than 60 international buyers who have been attracted by South Africa’s solid reputation as a viable location for events. The two day SETE conference (12-13 September) boasts a line up of respected and influential speakers who will engage and exchange ideas that will ultimately enhance South Africa’s sport, tourism, and event industries. As one of the quickest growing types of global travel, the sports tourism industry is estimated to have contributed over R6 billion to the South African economy last year.

For more information, visit www.sportsandevents.co.za, like www.Facebook.com/SETE.ZA on Facebook, follow @SETE_ZA on Twitter.

Exhibition Details:

Sports and Events Tourism Exchange 2012

12 – 14 September

ICC Durban

Entrance: FREE

Times: Wed 12 September & Thurs 13 September 09h00 – 17h00, Fri 14 September 09h00 – 14h00

Conference:

12 – 13 September 2012

Registration: Open on www.sportsandevents.co.za <http://www.sportsandevents.co.za>

Fee:

R3500.00 excl VAT full package

R2000.00 excl VAT Day 1 Only

R1500.00 excl VAT Day 2 Only

Contact: Rene Staack on rene@tepg.co.za or Jenna Harper on jenna@tepg.co.za

 

Chelsea and its major sponsor, pills Korean consumer electronics company, pills Samsung, have launched a programme that will involve coaching clinics hosted in eight countries including China and Thailand.

The programme is called ‘Dream the Blues’ and is aimed at nine to 13-year-olds who have a Samsung product in their household.

During the coaching clinics, which will be run by Chelsea coaches, sixteen up and coming players will be selected to attend a training clinic with Chelsea in London in mid-2013.

Samsung Vice President and Head of Global Sports Marketing, Yungkook Lee said it is important for the company to support and motivate young people to develop their dreams.{jcomments on}

Troon Golf has announced the appointment of Chris Card as new Group General Manager at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

Card brings a wealth of experience in the golf industry and will oversee the entire club operations at each of the award-winning golf clubs, medic effective immediately.

Card boasts an impressive golfing CV, with over 18 years of experience in the industry, including a role as Director of Golf/General Manager at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Florida and, more recently, at famed Open Championship venue and the Troon-managed, Turnberry Resort in Scotland. He is also a fully qualified member of the PGA of America and the PGA of Great Britain.

Bruce Glasco, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Troon International Operations said: “We’re very excited to have Chris join the team in Abu Dhabi. Chris brings a diverse background of semi-private and professional tournament experience to this very dynamic and important position.  Through these many experiences, Chris has developed an outstanding reputation and will maintain the industry leading standards already in place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.”

Card commented; “It is an honour to join the established team here in Abu Dhabi and become part of what is an exciting time in the region. As the attraction of golf continues to grow on an international scale, we will ensure that our guests experience the highest in service and quality and our industry partners enjoy a fluid working relationship, continuing on the great work that has already been done here.”

Both courses are located within fifteen minutes’ drive of the city centre and just ten minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport. Both venues are ideally positioned for domestic and international guests with outstanding accommodation options on site. Abu Dhabi Golf Club hosts the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and is a favourite amongst the world’s elite players. Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is a Championship venue in its own right having hosted The Saadiyat Beach Classic. The Troon managed properties combine quality course conditioning, unbeatable facilities and first-class hospitality throughout, making them the ideal option for any golf visitor.