Scottish Premier League (SPL) club Hibernian’s financial struggles have continued after reporting a loss for the second year running as the club published its annual accounts.

The Edinburgh club did manage to cut staff costs but recorded a £900,000 loss before tax, the same level as the previous year.

Hibs now have a net debt of £6.4m, an increase of £500,000 from 2011.

The club reported turnover of £6.9m, down slightly, but slashed wages by £700,000, giving Hibs a wages to turnover ratio of 60%.

Much of the loss sustained came from a reduction in players sales, with just £100,000 made in 2011/12 compared to £900,000 the season before.

Club chairman Rod Petrie admitted the losses were “disappointing” and reflected a poor season on the pitch where Hibs finished one place above relegation.

Mr Petrie told the official Hibernian website: “The one sporting high of reaching the final of the Scottish Cup turned sour in the manner of the defeat.

“The club apologised to supporters for the lack of a performance on the day but now have the chance to atone for that defeat in this year’s competition.

“It is disappointing to report a loss for the year. The manager has rebuilt the team.

“Now the club is working closely with supporters to rebuild attendances at Easter Road Stadium and improve revenues for the current year despite the economic hardship that affects everyone.”

USA Weightlifting has announced the appointment of Michael Massik as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Michael joins the USAW having had a very deep background in NGB leadership and Olympic movement. For the past four years, denture he was a principal with Massik-Burton LLC, a firm that provides consulting services to multiple National Governing Bodies. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of USA Fencing for 12 years, from 1996 through 2008. Under his leadership, fencing went from no medals in Atlanta (1996 Olympic Games) to six medals in Beijing (2008), and a USA fencer won a gold medal in the sport for the first time in 100 years. During the same period, the annual budget for Fencing went from less than $1 million to nearly $4 million and membership grew from approximately 8,000 to 25,000.

Before joining USA Fencing, Michael was a senior manager at Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide, a Fortune 100 corporation where he worked for  12 years. While at Brown-Forman, he founded the Louisville Fencing Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the sport of fencing to low income youth within the city of Louisville, KY. That center developed one of the foremost fencing clubs in the USA, and its success continues to today.

Noel Jeffs, no rx the Stadium Director who oversaw the difficult transition from the old Wembley Stadium to the new Wembley Stadium, seek has agreed to join the panel of industry-leading speakers at Stadia & Arena 2012, sale Bordeaux (www.sam.uk.com).

Jeffs, who worked at Wembley from 1979 to 2007 and was the Stadium Director– when the new Wembley opened – will be in conversation with Alan Levett, Director of Stadia & Arena 2012, sharing his rollercoaster ride to completion.

Since leaving Wembley he has formed his own business Stadium Advisory Services and recently worked on a 2 year contract for AEG to oversee the opening of the new Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul, the home of Galatasaray SK and some of the loudest and most passionate football fans in the world.

He will be bringing more than 30 years experience of stadium management to Stadia & Arena, Europe’s most prestigious industry event. Other speakers include: 

? Damien Rajot, Director, Vinci Concessions 

? Stephane Pottier, Director, Lagardère Unlimited 

? Tom Jones, Principal, Populous 

? Thomas Torkelsson, Managing Director, Got Event, Gothenburg 

? Mark Collins, Managing Director, Global Spectrum South East Asia 

? Mark Roberts, Senior Consultant, Sports Business Group, Deloitte LLP 

? Andy Simons, Director KSS Design 

There will also be Classroom Sessions covering such areas as event safety and security, traffic management, sustainability and the environment, and turf.

These sessions will be chaired by Birger Nass, Match Operations & Stadia – Bundesliga, Craig Lovett – Director Spotless Facility Services Ltd and Dimitri Huygen General Secretary ESSMA.

For the full conference programme and your chance to win free travel and accommodation for the event visit www.sam.uk.com. Offer ends May 5th.

Book your place as a delegate, and organise accommodation, now through Carole Beckham (carole@aladltd.co.uk) or simple call on +44 (0)1732 459683.

By Ismail Uddin

Portsmouth Supporters Trust (PST) have revealed their frustrations over Portpin rejecting their offer for Fratton Park delaying the prospective takeover of Portsmouth.

The PST agreed a provisional deal for English League One team Portsmouth but Balram Chainrai’s company Portpin must agree to sell the stadium and administartors PKF are going to court to secure the rights to the stadium clearing a path for the takeover.

A PST spokesman told iSportconnect: “It is very frustrating because at the end of the day it holds up the deal. We’re in a position where the club desperately need stability and without that, it makes it harder to attract players and keep players and tie them to longer term contracts.

“The key frustration surrounds the delay it brings. Pompey have been in administration now for the best part of ten months and really we want to get a result as soon as possible, but we’re confident we got a strong case to take to the High Court and we’re hopeful that we can finally draw a line under this and take control of the club and start moving forward again.”

Once the takeover is finalised PST is looking to reconnect the football club with the fan base, which they hope will result in increased attendances.

“One of the strategies is to reconnect the club with its fan base. A lot of our fans are a bit battered and bruised. They’ve lost a little bit of faith in the football club,” the spokesman added.

“The thing is to rebuild the bridges with our fan base. At the moment, our average attendance is holding up quite well, we’re in the bottom-third of League One, but we’re still averaging 12-13,000 which is a testament to the loyalty of our fans.

“We think we can get more out of that and by doing the right things off the field and engaging with them, we can improve our average attendance, which will improve our revenue, which will hopefully give us the opportunity then to expand on the playing side and help the team get up the table.”

Tonia Lushington, symptoms secretary general of the Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association, ailment has been appointed Chef de Mission for the Island’s team at the 2014 Games in Glasgow.

Tonia joined the Isle of Man CGA in 2007 as secretary and the Glasgow 2014 Games will be the second time she has been Chef de Mission for Team Isle of Man, having performed the same role at the 2010 Games in Delhi.

The Chef de Mission is the principal representative for competing teams and the key managerial figure who liaises with the organising committee.

In Glasgow, Tonia will be responsible for all admin issues for the Isle of Man squad and in overall charge of the team within the Games Village.

The Chef de Mission role involves overseeing the duties of all team members including athletes, coaches, managers, physiotherapists, and medical staff.

Soccerex are pleased to announce that England legend Sir Bobby Charlton will be speaking alongside former Brazil captain and one-time rival Carlos Alberto Torres, erectile as they are interviewed together for the first time at this year’s Soccerex Global Convention, treat 24-28 November, Rio de Janeiro.

Sir Bobby Charlton, the 1966 World Cup winner, Manchester United legend and England’s all time leading goal scorer will be speaking as part of a special session at the world’s largest football business event. He will be joined by the captain of the 1970 Brazil team, which beat England on their way to World Cup victory that year, Carlos Alberto Torres.

The session will explore the careers of the two greats, their thoughts on the modern game, and of course that memorable match during the 1970 tournament when defending champions England narrowly lost out to Brazil after a single goal from Jairzinho.

Soccerex CEO Duncan Revie commented “I’m really looking forward to this special interview; it will be great to have two of the World’s biggest football icons on stage together at Soccerex to share their insights and experiences. It will be a true treat for any football fan.”

The session will be part of an extensive conference programme with the initial agenda focusing on Goal Line technology, Major Event legacy, Player Development, Fan Engagement, The Future of Sports Rights, Media and the World Cup, Player Transfers & ownership, The Power of Image in Sport and Football Social Responsibility.

The world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, is set to become the top shareholder in troubled Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo after investing 2 million euros in the club, his third known sports acquisition so far this year.

Real Oviedo, once a top team, has gradually lost its luster amid deep financial and labor troubles. They last played in the top flight in 2001 and are now down in the regional Segunda B (third tier) and are currently fourth, five points behind leaders Tenerife.

Many individual investors have responded to the club’s appeal for cash in recent weeks. Real Madrid club invested earlier in November some USD 127,100 to help its Asturian rival keep afloat.

“We are at around 35 percent (stake) which makes us, by far, the top holder,” Slim’s spokesman and chief aide Arturo Elias Ayub told Reuters on Saturday.

He said additional investments in the Spanish team were being received until midnight Saturday. The investment in the Real Oviedo was made via Slim’s privately held Inmobiliaria Carso.

The team “has a lot of qualities, has an impressive history, a strong following,” Elias Ayub added. “More than a business investment, it was a personal investment (for Slim), a support to the team’s fans.”

Slim, who owns telecommunications, infrastructure, retail, mining and banking businesses, tapped the sports world in September after his mobile phone giant, America Movil.

Dutchman Tom Touber has been named as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Volvo Ocean Race.

Touber, 48, who has significant experience with the Race and within sailing generally, will report directly to CEO Knut Frostad and will assume operational responsibilities from Race headquarters in Alicante from September 3.

He managed both the winning ABN AMRO team in the 2005-06 Race as well as the Delta Lloyd campaign in the 2008-09 edition. In addition, he was also engaged as a consultant by Frostad in preparing stopovers for the last Race, the closest and most successful in the event’s history which was won by French boat Groupama 4 in July.

In 1997-98 Touber was an executive board member of Brunel International and responsible for the sponsorship of their participation in that edition of the Race.

“I am delighted to welcome Tom on board and I believe his experience, passion and dedication to our Race will further strengthen our position going forward,” said Frostad. “The Race is standing at one of the most exciting moments in its history, having introduced a new one-design class and several other measures to grow its fleet and improve the sponsor and audience experience even more in the next edition.

“A strong and dedicated team at the helm of the Race is essential and I am looking forward to grabbing this great opportunity with Tom on board which strengthens our top-level management even further.”

Touber said on joining the management team: “After my first experience in the Volvo Ocean Race in 1997, I really got excited about the characteristics of the Race.

“The enormous challenge teams have to face to participate in this event, as well as the leadership and teamwork required to win provide a great platform to build and reinforce brands. Volvo Cars and Volvo Group and many of the team sponsors have shown how to do this by utilising the values of the Race.

“All projects that I was involved in brought more then we expected. I am really excited to be part of the Race Management now. I am sure that the new phase the Volvo Ocean Race is entering will enhance the competitiveness of the event and make it more attractive than ever.

“The fact that the barrier of entry for teams is lowered to 3 to 4 million euros per year makes this one-design ocean race an even better sponsor opportunity than ever. Shaping the operations around this new phase is my passion and I look forward to working with Knut Frostad and the rest of the team to make it happen.”

The 11th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, finished in Galway, Ireland in July this year. The next edition, featuring a new high-performance one-design boat, will begin from Alicante in 2014.

The race, which dates back to 1973 and is regarded as sailing’s toughest and most prestigious offshore event, is a world class sporting property and a unique sponsorship opportunity. An all-women’s crew, backed by global hygiene and forest products company SCA, has already announced it will be competing in the next edition in 2014-15.

Also read our Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race interview: bit.ly/Mr9IVd 

The trade meeting ground for sponsorship, the Think!Sponsorship conference is back for the 17^th event in the series on the 29^th May 2012 at Rich Mix, London.

Focussing on the changing nature of audiences and fans & the significance of the digital landscape in creating a new type of audience for sponsors and rights holders, the event will stimulate discussion and debate in the form of case study presentations, panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions.

Volkswagen’s ‘See Film Differently’, Beazley & British Fencing, Aviva’s sponsorship of NT Live, The Young Vic & Markit, Wickes, London Youth & Volunteer it Yourself (VIY) are all on the billing as speakers taking part in the event.

Our content programme looks at projects that maximise the value of employee engagement, digital sponsorship propositions, Big Society ideas and partnerships, business 2 business opportunities, and multi-platform, multi-partner arrangements. We strive to make the programme relevant and pragmatic to the needs of sponsorship sellers in the current challenging marketplace.

Over 90 delegates have already confirmed their attendance at the event including sponsors such as BMW, Coca-Cola, RBS, QBE, Lloyds TSB, BSKYB, Virgin Media, British Gas, Vodafone & many more!

To book your ticket from just £275 +VAT e-mail lorena@thinksponsorship.com or click here: www.regonline.co.uk/thinksponsorship

Think!Sponsorship also runs a specialist sponsorship sales training workshop at the conference – the Sell!Your Sponsorship Workshop. Delegates that opt to attend the workshop get the benefit of ALL the networking opportunities presented at the conference, with refreshment breaks timed to coincide with the conference delegates, and the opportunity to take part in the structured networking session that runs in the morning. The training workshop is designed to provide attendees with the tools they need to confidently take their sponsorship proposition to market after attending the course. Book your ticket to the Sell!Your Sponsorship Workshop at just £225 +VAT by e-mailing lorena@thinksponsorship.com

To view our full conference or training programme visit www.thinksponsorship.com or to discuss the most relevant programme for you or your team contact Catherine on 020 8534 4422.

Check out what previous delegates say about our event:

‘Great conference…worth every penny’

‘If you’re not at Think!Sponsorship, you’re not in the loop’

‘Great networking, great content’

‘You can meet people here that could be your title sponsor, your supporting sponsor, or simply a partner of your event. We wish we’d been here before’

‘Outstanding’

‘The material delivered at the conference has fundamentally affected our approach to sponsorship in the future’