Soccerex have announced the first big names that will be speaking at the Soccerex African Forum in Durban, cialis 23-24 October 2012. Ex-South African and Leeds captain Lucas Radebe will be joined by former Liverpool and England legend John Barnes and ex-Everton and England legend Peter Reid at the event.

Liverpool legend Barnes made over 300 appearances and established himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the club. He earned 79 England caps and represented his country at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cup^TM. Barnes now works as a pundit for ESPN and South African sports broadcaster SuperSport.

Peter Reid enjoyed a long and successful career in English football playing for a host of top clubs including Everton where he enjoyed his most successful spell making over 150 appearances. He represented England on 13 occasions and played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and 1988 UEFA European Championships.

Radebe started his career at Kaizer Chiefs where he made 113 appearances for the South African powerhouse, he then moved to Leeds United where he became captain and a club legend, playing 200 games for the Yorkshire club. Radebe had a distinguished international career gaining 70 caps for his country and captaining them at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After retiring from professional football Radebe has stayed in close contact with the game through coaching, punditry and various charity and ambassador roles.

With his Leeds connection, Radebe’s attendance in Durban is symbolic of the special relationship between the cities, which became twinned in 1998. The link is also highlighted by another special Soccerex connection, as CEO Duncan Revie’s father Don Revie, famously managed Leeds United from 1962-1974.

Commenting on the announcement, Lucas Radebe said: “I am delighted to be speaking at the Soccerex African Forum. The event is crucial for the development of football in Africa something that I am very passionate about. The event will also be a great chance to catch up with former professionals’ and as John and Peter are heavily involved in African football  broadcasting through their work with SuperSport, they will be a great addition to the event.”

These greats of South African and English football will be just some of the names participating in the inaugural Soccerex African Forum, an event which will be focusing on a mixture of continental and global football issues; bringing together the leading decision makers in African football business with their counterparts from around the world for two days of unrivalled learning, networking and commercial opportunities.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)20 8742 7100 or visit http://www.soccerex.com/events/africa/

Production company Sunset+Vine has secured BBC’s contract to produce the coverage of England’s home matches for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The first of five matches takes place on Saturday 21 September, when England take on Belarus at Dean Court stadium in Bournemouth. The production contract was awarded to Sunset+Vine’s Welsh office.

The win follows a successful partnership for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2013, where Sunset+Vine’s specialist Oxford-based unit Sunset+Vine|APP produced 16 live games and three highlight shows for BBC Three, BBC Two and BBC Two HD. The core of the new Women’s World Cup Qualifiers’ team will be drawn from the original partnership.

Andrew Preece, from Sunset+Vine, commented on the deal: “We have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the BBC over the past couple of years with our work on the London 2012 sailing events and then the UEFA Women’s EURO 2013. To now be in a position to confirm a further contract for England Women’s World Cup qualifiers is testament to our team’s professional approach and the quality of its production. We are excited to be in a position to be able to provide continuity and support to the women’s game that is crucial for its development over the coming critical months.

“We look forward very much to the first of our five productions around England’s home World Cup qualifiers and look forward to delivering the world-class and innovative coverage that millions of BBC viewers across the UK have grown used to expecting.”

Live coverage of the England games will be shown on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Three, with additional multi-platform coverage across TV, radio and online.

Major League Soccer and USL PRO announced today a groundbreaking, arthritis multi-year partnership that will enhance the development of professional soccer players in North America, drugs strengthen the competition in both leagues, allergy and establish a solid foundation for future collaboration. 

For 2013, the partnership will include interleague play between USL PRO and MLS Reserve League teams, and the establishment of several exclusive team affiliations.  These initial programs will immediately improve professional player development in the United States and Canada. Additional technical and commercial initiatives between the two leagues will be announced as they are finalized in the coming months.

 “This partnership represents the first step in a long-term alliance between MLS and USL PRO to connect domestic professional soccer through a system that benefits player development, competition and the overall business of our sport ,” MLS Executive Vice President of Player Relations & Competition Todd Durbin said.  “Over the past several years, USL PRO has made great strides in restructuring their league in a manner that serves to complement the objectives of MLS.  This is a win-win for all involved, and it demonstrates our strong commitment to growing North American professional soccer at all levels.”

Each club affiliation will be customized to meet the needs of the respective teams, but all will include at least four players on long-term loan from the MLS parent club to its USL PRO affiliate.  Those MLS teams with formal USL PRO affiliates will not participate in the 2013 MLS Reserve League.  Neither MLS nor USL PRO clubs are required to enter into an affiliation, and specific affiliations will be announced in the coming days. 

Each of the 13 USL PRO teams will compete in two interleague games against MLS Reserve teams.  With the exception of Antigua, which will play both of its games at MLS Reserve teams, USL PRO teams have been paired with a single MLS team to play a home and home series.  All interleague games will count in both the official USL PRO and MLS Reserve League standings.  Details of the fixtures will be announced in conjunction with the forthcoming release of the official 2013 USL PRO schedule. 

“USL PRO has for the past several years been the most sophisticated and competitive professional soccer league under MLS,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “This new partnership with MLS will elevate and strengthen the level of competition for domestic professional soccer while simultaneously creating a more sustainable financial model for team owners. As a result, we expect this partnership will forge a seamless system for the development of players and coaches, and promote the expansion of professional soccer into new North American markets.”

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have appointed Nazmul Hasan Papon, son of the country’s president as their new president. 

This follows the current president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal recently being nominated as the International Cricket Council (ICC) vice-president. He had to relinquish his role at the BCB to accept the position.

Kamal recently wrote to NSC chairman Sarker, who is also state minister for Bangladesh’s youth and sports, requesting him to appoint a new president of the BCB so he could hand over his responsibilities as chief of the apex cricket authority. 

Bangladesh’s Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Mahbub Ahmed confirmed to Xinhua the appointment of Papon as the 14th president of the BCB. 

Also the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has sold the worldwide broadcasting rights for the home series against West Indies to Virgo Media Ltd.

The outgoing BCB president Mustafa Kamal said Virgo, the owners of Channel 9 in Bangladesh, will produce the matches. “Channel 9 will handle the production and the board will be paid $50,000 dollars for the sale of the rights,” Kamal said. “We received a few other offers but this seemed like the most profitable deal.” 

Soccerex has announced Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) will be hosting a special workshop titled ‘Sport and Foreign Affairs: The Softpower of Nations and the Megaevents’ at the Soccerex Global Convention, ambulance Rio de Janeiro, 24-28, November.

The workshop will feature a range of influential speakers including Ministra Vera Cintia Alvarez ,Head of the General Coordination of Exchanges of Sport Cooperation, Stavros P. Xanthopoylos, Executive Director of FGV Online, Ricardo Trade, Executive Director of Operations of the Brazil 2014 LOC and Luís Antônio Paulino National Secretary of Football.

FGV Online, the Distance Learning division of the GetulioVargas Foundation, fuses state of the art technology with the FGV knowledge tradition and its renowned quality standards. It develops and delivers continuing education projects incorporating e-learning solutions, videoconferencing, satellite TV and webcasting an blended solutions – all designed to meet the expectation and needs of professionals and corporate clients.

The session will look at the successes and failures of previous ‘megaevents’ such as Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens and the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games. In particular the ‘megaevent’ legacies, or lack of, such as urban transformation, economic strategy and overall national delivery strategy. The main focus of the session will be to look at the ‘Softpower’ of host nations with a spotlight on Brazil and the transfer of their success in football into success in governmental international relations.

Commenting on the FGV Online workshop, Soccerex Sponsorship and Commercial Partnerships Director, Paul Brighten said “It is great to see an institution with such an excellent reputation as FGV Online taking a leading role in the Soccerex Global Convention. They have brought together a good group of speakers and this should be an extremely educational and relevant session.”

The Conference kicks off on Monday 26th November where Brazilian Minister of Sport, Aldo Rebelo will be among the dignitaries in the opening ceremony. A packed international exhibition and a programme of networking and social events complete the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.

The Sacramento Kings have announced a new broadcast agreement with Comcast SportsNet California.

Comcast will air 70 of the team’s 82 games during the 2013-14 regular season. This year marks the 10th consecutive season that CSNCA has served as the Kings primary broadcast partner.

The Kings commitment to providing the best TV experience continues with production of Kings games by the organization’s 10-time Emmy Award-winning broadcast team, including all telecasts produced in High Definition (HD).

“Comcast SportsNet is committed to providing the region’s most comprehensive Kings coverage through this 70-game telecast schedule along with season-long news and analysis on SportsNet Central and Yahoo! SportsTalk Live,” said Ted Griggs, President of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Comcast SportsNet California. “Vivek Ranadivé and his executive team have done a terrific job in assembling one of the most dynamic franchises in the NBA. General Manager Pete D’Alessandro and Head Coach Michael Malone have a tremendous roster of players to work with and we are confident that the Kings will provide their passionate and loyal fans with a playoff-caliber season.”

“Our continued partnership with Comcast SportsNet California will once again allow us to provide excellent coverage and serve the most Kings fans possible on television,” said Kings President Chris Granger. “This season is the debut of a new era for Kings basketball in Sacramento, and we’re excited to collaborate with Comcast to share a variety of compelling storylines associated with this team.”

The Volvo Ocean Race has appointed Australian Nick Bice, shore manager for Team Sanya in the 2011-12 edition, to manage its Yacht Maintenance Centre which will oversee shared services for teams competing in the new one-design boat in the 2014-15 race.

Bice, 34, has sailed in two Volvo Ocean Race campaigns and been involved on the shore side in two others. 

His involvement with the world’s leading offshore sailing event goes back to 2001-02, when he was a boat builder with the Amer Sports campaign. He then raced with ABN AMRO TWO in 2005-06 and Delta Lloyd in 2008-09 before joining Team Sanya as shore manager during the past edition. 

His fifth race will see him take on the key role of Yacht Maintenance Centre Manager for 2014-15, the first edition to be contested by the new 65-foot one-design boats designed by Farr Yacht Design and built by a four-boatyard consortium – Green Marine (United Kingdom), Persico (Italy), Multiplast (France) and Decision (Switzerland).

“The new one-design concept extends a lot further than the boat,” Bice explained. “We’re setting up a Shared Services Centre, even to the extent that all the bases are going to look exactly the same. So we’re not only turning the boats into one-design: we’re hopefully turning every element of the race into a one-design race.

“I’ll be helping out all the suppliers and supplying the service to the teams to make sure their boats are 100 percent not only for the race but also at the stopovers.”

Volvo Ocean Race Chief Operating Officer Tom Touber believes Bice has all the skills and experience needed for the job. 

“With his background both as a sailor being involved in the race twice as well as shore manager/boat captain, he has exactly the experience to run this important part of the next race,” said Touber. 

“Personally I have very positive experience with Nick in both in the challenging two-boat campaign with ABN AMRO, where he was intensively involved from the day we built the boats to the moment we won the race.” 

That opinion is shared by Green Marine Managing Director Marcel Müller. 

“It’s fantastic to have Nick on board,” said Müller. “He comes in with a vast amount of experience in both sailing and fixing the boats. He is trusted by all the teams and sailors and for our consortium of boatyards. It’s another important milestone defining the Service Centre. Having a strong partner in there like Nick will add to the success of this boat.”

The switch to the new 65-foot one-design boat makes it simpler – and cheaper – for teams to enter in 2014-15 and the shared services concept is a key part of that. 

“All the teams will still have a shore crew but there will be no need for the teams to have an excess of shore crew,” the Australian said. 

“Doing this also reduces the cost of an overall team budget. You don’t need 15 or 20 shore crew on your books for the length of the race, which when you add up all the logistics, the flights and all the wages, is a big chunk of the budget.” 

Bice added: “From a sailing point of view, some of the best racing I’ve ever done has been on one-design boats. That makes it very exciting. It basically means everything is left to what we do out on the water.”

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ESPN have expanded their agreement with ATP World Tour in a new long-term deal.

The Disney owned company have extended their coverage of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells Sony Open Tennis in Miami; and the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals currently played in London.

More than 44 hours will be aired, drug including, pills for the first time, impotent both the women’s and men’s championships from the South Florida event.  Also, more live action from every ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and 500 tournament will be on ESPN3 – totaling up to 1,200 hours annually.

“ESPN is thrilled to expand coverage of three of the biggest events outside the Major Championships – Indian Wells, Miami and the ATP World Tour season finale,” said Jason Bernstein, ESPN senior director, programming & acquisitions who oversees both ESPN3 and ESPN’s tennis business.  “ESPN3 presents more live tennis action than any other U.S. outlet year-round, with multiple simultaneous matches available on broadband and via WatchESPN no matter where you are.”

Mark Young, CEO ATP Americas and Chief Media Officer, said, “We’re delighted to sign this extended agreement with ESPN, paving the way for even greater TV coverage and viewership in the US of our biggest events.  ESPN is a terrific broadcast partner for the ATP and, with more fans tuning into ATP World Tour events than ever before, it’s a very exciting time to be a part of the Tour.”