France’s national lottery operator Française des Jeux has renewed its sponsorship of UCI’s FDJ.fr team for a further three years until 2016.

The sponsorship is one of the longest-running of the current teams, having been started back in 1997. In the seventeen years since then the team has taken nine stage victories in the Tour de France, the green jersey with Baden Cooke in 2003 plus the most aggressive rider award with Jérémy Roy in 2011. 

Other successes include two stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and four in the Vuelta a España, spells in the leader’s jersey in all three Grand Tours, numerous national championships, single day victories in the 1997 Paris-Roubaix, the 1997 Classica San Sebastian, the 1997 Grand Prix of Zurich, the 2006 Paris-Touris and the 2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics. 

General manager Mark Madiot says the news is of big importance. “I welcome this decision, which allows us to work on the future of a young and brilliant generation in giving them a way to achieve their ambitions. At the same time, I hail the loyalty of FDJ for French cycling and this team in particular.”

The team has been part of the UCI WorldTour since 2012 and has been confirmed as once again having a place in the sport’s top division for 2014. 

Port wine producers Taylor’s Port have announced a partnership with London Wasps to become the Club’s official Man of the Match sponsors.

The ‘Taylor’s Port Man of the Match’ will be awarded to the most outstanding London Wasps player at each of the home games during the season. 

The winning London Wasps player will be presented with a magnum of Taylor’s Port at the end of each game. In addition Taylor’s Port will also sponsor the ‘Players’ Player of the Season’ award, with the winner being invited to the home of Taylor’s Port in Oporto at the end of the season.

Taylor’s Managing Director, Adrian Bridge, said: “Our UK agent, Mentzendorff, has enjoyed a strong association with London Wasps since 2002 through former Managing Director Bill Page. We are delighted that Taylor’s Port will take on the mantle for the next three years and continue a fruitful and rewarding relationship with one of the most respected rugby teams in Premiership Rugby.”

London Wasps CEO Nick Eastwood added: “We’re very pleased to welcome Taylor’s Port to the Wasps family and are delighted that a premium brand has come on board to sponsor our Man of the Match awards. We are looking forward to an excellent partnership.”

Swiss sports apparel manufacturer X-Bionic has signed a $2-million sponsorship deal with Singapore Athletic Association (SAA), it was announced today.

The one-year deal, which contains an option to a one-year extension, sees X-Bionic sign on as title sponsor for the all-woman Venus Run on Mar 8.

The sponsorship will see the 5,000 runners kitted in X-Bionic’s exclusive Venus Run Effektor shirt, specially designed for the 5km run.

The Venus Run was first introduced in 2011 and was held at Bedok Reservoir, before going on hiatus in 2012. It resumed this year at Marina Barrage – the venue of next year’s run, which will coincide with International Women’s Day.

The Rochester War Memorial, Home to American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans and National League Lacrosse’s Rochester Knighthawks,  will remain the Blue Cross Arena for at least 15 more years after an extension to their naming rights deal.

Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards this week asked City Council to extend an agreement with Excellus Health Plan (better known as Excellus Blue Cross/Blue Shield) for the continued naming rights of the arena through Oct. 31, 2028. Terms would remain unchanged from the original pact, authorized in June 1998. That includes the annual fee of $195,000.

That matter will come up for City Council consideration in mid-December.

In the meantime, city officials plan to tour the First Niagara Center early next month to see how operations are run there, said Carlos Carballada, the city’s neighborhood and business development commissioner.

“Not that we are going to be able to duplicate that,” Carballada said of the hoopla surrounding a home Sabres game. “We want to see what they are doing, get some ideas.”

The Sabres own the Rochester Americans hockey team, which is the main tenant at the downtown arena.

With the agreement set to expire, the city informally surveyed the market for potential interest.

“We did not get much of anything, and we had talked to Blue Cross, and they were interested in renewing at the same cost and time as they did before,” Carballada said. “We just didn’t think the business climate was in a situation we were going to do much better than what we had.”

Excellus had the right of first refusal on its naming rights contract for the arena. The city already lost sponsorship of the scoreboard after Constellation Brands Inc. chose not to renew its annual $125,000 agreement that has stood for 12 years.

Asked whether the city thought the value of the arena naming rights had increased since 1998, Carballada said: “Our fear was just the opposite, after we did our evaluation. We ran the risk of course that we would have nobody interested. That would have been a real blow to the city.”                             

Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) and Rolex SA signed an unprecedented 10-year sponsorship agreement to make Rolex the “Official Timepiece” of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) and of the world-renowned FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF).

The FTI WEF serves almost 6, help 000 horses and 2,000 riders from 50 states and over 30 countries.

The long-term partnership will facilitate a record US $1.63 million dollar increase in prize money bringing the grand total to over US $8 million dollars at the FTI WEF, making it one of the richest circuits in the world. Three new FEI-rated CSI 5 events will be added to the schedule, which will make five of the 12 weeks during the circuit at the highest level in Show Jumping. There will also be a new US $1 million Palm Beach Challenge presented by Rolex bonus opportunity.

Another highlight of the association is that two of the CSI 5 Grand Prix events will be televised and many others will be distributed by Rolex through their media partnerships in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Mark Bellissimo, CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC, stated, “We are honored to be partnered with one of the most respected brands in the world. Through this partnership, we will provide the resources to elevate the level of Show Jumping for the Americas and expose PBIEC to a broader international audience.”

Arnaud Boetsch, Director of Communications with Rolex, said, “We are very pleased to extend and expand the scope of our long-lasting and successful partnership with this prestigious venue and the world-class, world-renowned events it hosts. Rolex and Palm Beach International Equestrian Center certainly share a common passion for excellence and perfection.”

NBA franchise Detroit Pistons have partnered with Military & Government e-commerce site, GovX to launch an online verification ticketing service exclusive to members of the U.S. Military and government first responders, providing specially priced Pistons tickets to this deserving group.

As a sincere ‘Thank you’ for their service, GovX has teamed up with the Pistons to donate $10,000 worth of Pistons tickets to local military service members, first responders and their families throughout the 2013-14 NBA season. GovX is also the presenting sponsor of the Color Guard and the National Anthem at all Pistons home games.

“Every day military service members and first responders, along with their families, sacrifice so much for all of the rest of us; it’s a special honor to bring them together with NBA teams like the Pistons to convey the community’s collective gratitude for their service,” said GovX President and Founder Tony Farwell. “In addition to privileged discounts to one of our nation’s most popular sporting events, we have joined with our team partners to donate close to 20,000 NBA tickets to military service members, first responders and their families during the NBA’s Military Appreciation Month in November and throughout the NBA season.”

GovX, the leading website and e-commerce network devoted to serving verified U.S. Armed Forces personnel and government first responders by offering privileged pricing on events, tickets and 20,000+ premium products, provides proprietary online verification technology enabling the Pistons to extend privileged online ticketing and recognition events.

“We are excited to partner with GovX to provide the thrill of the Pistons experience to members of the U.S. Military and first responders,” said Dennis Mannion, Palace Sports & Entertainment CEO/President. “This is a unique opportunity for the Pistons to salute them for their service to our country and our communities.”

The Hong Kong Open has announced asset management company Amundi as their new premium partner, capsule which will take place at Hong Kong Golf Club from December 5-8, bronchi 2013.

Amundi is one of the world’s market leaders in asset management with US$ 1 trillion in assets under management and offices around the globe. Amundi has had previous involvement in golf, adiposity having been a major sponsor of the Alstom Open de France for the last three years.

The Hong Kong Open, which is tri-sanctioned by the Hong Kong Golf Association, the Asian Tour and the European Tour, was first staged in 1959 and became part of The European Tour’s International Schedule in 2002.

Xiaofeng Zhong, Chief Executive Officer of Amundi Hong Kong, comments: “We are delighted to have signed this partnership. In addition to the international visibility it will offer Amundi, it will also enable us to share convivial sports moments with our clients and local partners. The values of golf correspond perfectly to our brand values – proximity, efficiency and commitment.”

Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, said: “We are delighted that Amundi will be supporting the Hong Kong Open as a Premier Partner.

“They have already shown their commitment to golf through their sponsorship of the Alstom Open de France, and it is excellent news that they are continuing their support with involvement in the Hong Kong Open.

“We are looking forward to working with Amundi on this year’s tournament and beyond.”