Successful Bid CEO and General Secretary of Supreme Council for Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup returns for an exclusive interview at Leaders in Football.

Hassan Al-Thawadi, capsule | the highly respected former CEO of Qatar’s successful bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 will address 1,000 director level stakeholders from 45 countries attending the fourth annual Leaders in Football conference on 5th and 6thOctober 2011.

In an exclusive in depth interview, Al-Thawadi will address some highs and lows of running a World Cup campaign as well as the big challenges and opportunities facing Qatar as the first Gulf state to organise a World Cup in the history of the competition.

Al-Thawadi was instrumental in delivering a compelling campaign which focused on Qatar’s potential to unite the world behind an accessible and safe tournament with impressive stadia and purpose built infrastructure.

Al-Thawadi is the latest in a list of world figures confirmed to speak at fourth edition of Leaders in Football making it the must attend event in the sports business calendar.  These include FIFA Executive Committee members, HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Dr Michel D’Hooghe and Jim Boyce; UEFA General Secretary, Gianni Infantino; Chairman of Chelsea FC, Bruce Buck; the independent Chairman of The Football Association, David Bernstein; former Prime Minister of Belgium and now Chairman of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Panel, Jean-Luc Dehaene; Owner of Stoke City FC and Bet 365, Peter Coates; Chairman of Sunderland AFC, Niall Quinn; Jamie Carragher, Vice-Captain, Liverpool FC; Pierluigi Collina, former World Cup Referee and Member, UEFA Referees Committee; and Chairman of the Football League Greg Clarke.

Leaders in Football in now very close to selling out and takes place within the Leaders Sports Summit, a coming together of 5 leading conferences including Sponsorship, Digital Sport, Performance and the business of Horse Racing, over 5th and 6th October at Chelsea FC.  For more information visit www.leadersinevents.com, contactenquiry@leadersinevents.com or call +44 (0) 207 042 8666.

ITV and Sky Sports have secured the broadcast rights to England’s international football matches for the Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualifying competitions.

ITV will show home and abroad matches for the Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualifying competitions.

The agreement continues and expands the channel’s commitment to showing live, free-to-air coverage of the England football team. It is the first time in recent years a single broadcaster will show all of England’s qualifying games for consecutive major tournaments. ITV has held the rights to show exclusively all England’s home games since 2008 as well as, since 2009, the team’s friendly matches both at home and away.

Today’s deal also includes the rights to broadcast 20 non-home nation qualifying games for ITV4.

Peter Fincham, ITV Director of Television, said: “Bringing viewers exclusive live coverage of each key England international match is hugely important to ITV and means football fans will be able to watch for free England’s progress both at home and abroad as they attempt to qualify for the final stages of these tournaments.”

ITV currently has exclusive rights to show live England’s remaining qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup, the FA Cup and is the exclusive free to air broadcaster for the Champions League in the UK.

Sky Sports on the other hand has been awarded the rights to Home Nations and Republic of Ireland qualification matches for UEFA EURO 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup.

They will provide highlights of England qualifying matches and live away matches should England play other Home Nations. The other Home Nations’ matches will be exclusively live on Sky Sports.

Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: “Both the UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup are football’s most important international tournaments and this deal offers Sky Sports viewers the complete qualification story.  We’ve been broadcasting international football since the beginning of Sky Sports and this deal means our viewers can enjoy watching some of the best players and nations over the next four years.

“There has never been a better time to be a Sky Sports subscriber, with an unrivalled breadth of sport offered across six different channels.  This year our viewers can enjoy The British & Irish Lions Tour, back-to-back Ashes Series, the ICC Champions Trophy, every race live in the F1 season, Super League, US Open & US PGA Golf, Andy Murray defending his US Open title and of course our biggest ever season of football.”

Sky Sports has also won the rights to broadcast all 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship matches exclusively live, adding to this summer’s exciting schedule of sport. The tournament, which features Europe’s brightest young stars from England and seven other nations, kicks off on 5 June. Taking place in Israel, coverage will include all group matches, both semi-finals the Final on 18 June.

Plans to build Hong Kong soccer’s first training centre will reportedly materialise as soon as the Hong Kong Football Association (HFKA), Hong Kong Jockey Club and government finalise the proposal.

HKFA CEO, Mark Sutcliffe said the facility will be built on a landfill site in Tseung Kwan O and could be ready for use as early as 2014.

Sutcliffe said: “My understanding is the Jockey Club has more or less confirmed funding and the government has agreed to underwrite the running cost.”

The project was initiated in 2003 when the construction cost was estimated to be HK$103M (US $13.M), all funded by the Jockey Club. But the plan has been ongoing for almost a decade as the HKFA has reportedly not been keen to to take the risk of bearing the running costs of the centre,” estimated at more than HK$10M (US$1.3M) a year.

The centre will be built with both natural grass pitches and artificial turf. There will also be some facilities such as a physiotherapy centre, classrooms and gymnasium.

Sutcliffe said another priority of his new job would be setting up the professional league, which is scheduled to kick off in September for the 2013-14 season with at least 12 teams. {jcomments on}

The San Francisco 49ers signed General Manager Trent Baalke to a three-year contract extension through the 2016 season and promoted Gideon Yu to president and co-owner, generic the team said.

Baalke took over in January 2011 as general manager for the 49ers, arthritis who reached the National Football Conference’s championship game this season. He is in his eighth year with the team.

“Trent has distinguished himself as the man to direct our football operations for years to come,” CEO Jed York said in a team release.

Baalke thanked York and the York family, adding, “In addition, I would like to thank Coach Harbaugh, as well as our coaches, players, scouts, and entire football operations staff for their hard work and dedication this season. The success we experienced on the field was a direct result of their efforts. It is a privilege to work for the 49ers organization, alongside this group, as we continue our pursuit of championships.”

Yu was a general partner at Khosla Ventures, a venture capital company based in Menlo Park, California, until joining the 49ers as chief strategy officer last April.

Yu, previously chief financial officer at Facebook Inc. and YouTube LLC, has focused in the past year on securing funding for the 49ers’ proposed new $1 billion stadium in Santa Clara,California.

“He’s both a visionary and the ‘go-to’ guy who can lead us through the enormous opportunities ahead, such as the stadium construction, expansion of our brand and its businesses and positioning the franchise for the future,” York said in a team release.

The 49ers did not say how much of an ownership stake Yu will have in the team.

Yu will be responsible for all business operations. He and Baalke, who will lead the team’s football operations, both will report to York, the team said in its release.

by Ismail Uddin

sale helvetica, adiposity sans-serif;”>Held at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, the World Cricket Business Forum’s first day was a great success. The Forum brought together over 150 cricket business professionals from 5 different continents.

The conference kicked off with opening speeches from Haroon Lorgat, CEO of the International Cricket Council and David Collier, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The opening panel session focused on strategies for differentiating the three formats of the game, which proved an upbeat assessment of the current health of cricket and its prospects for growth.

The interactive panel was followed by an on-stage interview with South Africa star Hashim Amla, led by Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director from SportBusiness.  Hashim Amla affirmed this positive outlook for the game.  Experts including Sanjay Manjrekar, James Sutherland and Ed Smith all contributed innovative and fresh ideas on shaping the future of the sport.

Outside of the Forum programme, delegates were networking and holding various side meetings in the coffee and refreshment area.

The first day was wrapped up with a cocktail drinks reception where delegates could mingle and network with the exceptional gathering of top cricket industry professionals.

Day two will see presentations from sports outside of the industry, including one from Dan Markham of the NBA. The day will also cover effective sponsorship strategies, a session on maintaining the integrity and spirit of cricket, capitalising on broadcasting through multiple platforms and maximising the exposure of cricket through digital and social media.  The Forum will close with a keynote speech from legendary Australian All Rounder Alan Davidson.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is in line to invest in Rangers, according to the newco’s chief executive, Charles Green.

Ashley is one of the potential investors interested in buying a stake in the club, who kick off life in the Scottish Third Division on Saturday.

Asked by Sky Sports News whether the Sports Direct magnate would invest, Green replied: “Hopefully, yes.” However, he declined to give any details of the other two potential investors.

He explained that “talks are ongoing at the minute, so it would be premature to name them” and stressed that he would not expect Ashley to put huge sums of money into the Ibrox club.

“I don’t think Mike needs to throw [money at the club] – that’s not the model that I think is sustainable for any football club and not Rangers,” he said. “What Mike will do, subject to all the agreements going through, is bring the might of Sports Direct – and that in itself, in my mind, will bring £5-10 million a year from merchandising revenues back into the club.

“That is far, far more worthwhile than Mike individually signing a cheque, because that’s not the right way to run football clubs. It’s about sustainability, it’s about continuing revenues, it’s about brand awareness. It’s about developing the brand and doing it worldwide.”

Rangers manager Ally McCoist welcomed Ashley’s possible involvement at Ibrox and said: “The one thing about Mike Ashley you would say right away is that he looks a very astute and clever businessman.

“You could argue there’s not too many of them involved in football, but he certainly ticks the box.”

McCoist added that if Ashley could “bring his expertise and some of his wealth with him to support and push the club forward, I’m absolutely delighted with that”.

UK Athletics Chairman Ed Warner has today been named as the Chairman of the London 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships Organising Committee.

Warner, who led the successful bid to host the event in London has been appointed by the DCMS and Mayor of London’s office.

As Chair of London 2017, Warner will now submit a proposed corporate structure and governance framework to the IAAF for approval and will work with both the Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and Mayor Boris Johnson to appoint the remainder of the board.

Warner said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as Chairman of the London 2017 LOC and have the opportunity to fulfil the promises we made in the bid. From the very start London 2017 has been a partnership between UKA, DCMS, the Mayor’s Office and UK Sport and I look forward to continuing that collaboration as we move into event delivery mode.”

“Our next step is to appoint a vice-chairman and the remainder of the board. In the short term UKA will be undertaking the work of the LOC until we need to increase the size of the operation to deliver the Championships.”

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said: ““The appointment of Ed Warner to chair the Organising Committee builds on the great work done by him and UK Athletics to win the bid. The challenge now will be to build on the momentum that London 2012 gives us to deliver a fantastic World Athletics Championships in 2017.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson added: “Ed is a Londoner and I know he will lead the committee to ensure an outstanding World Athletics Championships is staged here in the capital and continue London’s great tradition of hosting the world’s biggest events.”

Baroness Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, the agency responsible for the significant investment of National Lottery funds into the event commented: “Ed will do a fantastic job of leading the LOC that will stage the London 2017 World Athletics Championships. He has already shown the vision and leadership necessary to stage this event, which will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase our talented athletes, and the team here at UK Sport is looking forward to working with him to continue the momentum we have now built for hosting world class events in this country.”

Recently, Ed Warner was confirmed as a panellist for the iSportconnect Directors’ Club event on 21 February, joining Sir Craig Reedie, Sally Hancock, Paul Vaughan and Nic Coward for a special ‘question time’ session. 

by Ismail Uddin

Read Warner’s exclusive feature profile on iSportconnect here

anabolics helvetica, cheap ed sans-serif;”>Twitter joins Manchester City, order ESPN, BBC, Perform, EA and Turner whilst Nivea join Nokia, GE, Orange, NFL, Carlsberg and UniCredit at Digital and Sponsorship gathering.

The 5th and 6th October will see the biggest ever gathering of Director-level digital and sponsorship experts in sport at the Leaders Sports Summit at Chelsea FC which will be sold out within the next few days.

On 5th October at Leaders in Sponsorship, Andy Rawle, Marketing Head at Nivea becomes the latest speaker to be announced joining Daniele Penna, Head of Group Sport Sponsoring, UniCredit; Chris Katsuleres, Director, Olympic Marketing, GE; Chris Parsons, VP of International, NFL; Billy Wright, Global Sponsorship Director, Nokia; Paddy Power, Communications Director, Paddy Power; Mario Rauter, Head of Euro 2012 Project, Global Brand Team, Orange and Keld Strudahl, Marketing Director; Carlsberg amongst others.

On 6th October at Leaders in Digital Sport, Jessica Verrilli from world renowned social media giant, Twitter, has just been confirmed alongside other leaders including Ralph Rivera, Director of Future Media, BBC; Phil Sharpe, Senior VP New Media & Strategy, Turner Broadcasting; Tom Gleeson, VP of International Digital Media, ESPN; Stephen Norris, Director of Strategy, BT; Richard Ayres, Director of Digital Media, Manchester City FC; Simon Denyer, Joint CEO, Perform Group; Roy Meredith, VP Strategy, Square Enix and Andrew Wilson, Senior VP of Worldwide Development, EA Sports.

Leaders in Digital Sport and Leaders in Sponsorship take place within the Leaders Sports Summit, a coming together of 5 leading conferences including Football, Performance and the business of Horse Racing, over 5th and 6th October at Chelsea FC.  For more information visit www.leadersinevents.com, contactenquiry@leadersinevents.com or call +44 (0) 207 042 8666.

IMG Media, find a division of IMG Worldwide, stuff the global sports, fashion and media company, has signed a long-term partnership with the Alpari World Match Racing Tour to increase global viewing of the leading professional sailing series.

The engagement will see IMG Media distribute a series of highlights programs from each event, as well as a daily video news release (VNR) to all forms of media, including digital, throughout the series which begins with the first event in Langenargen, Germany, from May 15-20.

Sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with ‘Special Event’ status, the series awards more than U.S. $1.5 million in prize money with points awarded at each event culminating in the crowning of the “ISAF Match Racing World Champion.”  The prize fund includes a U.S. $500,000 overall Tour Bonus for the top teams in the Championship.

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, commented: “This is a very exciting partnership for us. IMG is a global player in television programming and has a solid track record in distributing some of the best known sporting events all over the world. The Tour is a growing series and to have the expertise and resource of IMG behind us will be a great asset for us.”

Melissa Payne, Director of Event Coordination IMG Media, said, “Match racing is fast, competitive and highly strategic with in-shore racing engaging and exciting sailing fans of all ages. The Alpari World Match Racing Tour is ideally suited to all forms of media and we are confident with our expertise and worldwide network that we will be able to increase exposure and drive awareness of the Tour and its events globally.”